Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy explained

The Plumian chair of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy is one of the major professorships in Astronomy at Cambridge University, alongside the Lowndean Professorship (which is now mainly held by mathematicians). The chair is currently held at the Institute of Astronomy in the University. The Plumian chair was founded in 1704 by Thomas Plume, a member of Christ's and Archdeacon of Rochester, to "erect an Observatory and to maintain a studious and learned Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, and to buy him and his successors utensils and instruments quadrants telescopes etc."

Trustees were appointed, and statutes drawn up by Isaac Newton, John Flamsteed and John Ellys.^[1] The first Professorship was awarded in 1706 to Roger Cotes, a former student of Newton, and the stipend was increased in 1768 by Dr Robert Smith, the second Plumian Professor.

Plumian Professors

1. Roger Cotes (1706–1716)^[2]
2. Robert Smith (1716–1760)^[3]
3. Anthony Shepherd (1760–1796)^[4]
4. Samuel Vince (1796–1821)^[5]
5. Robert Woodhouse (1822–1827)^[6]
6. George Biddell Airy (1828–1835)^[7]
7. James Challis (1836–1882)^[8]
8. George Darwin (1883–1912)^[9]
9. Arthur Eddington (1913–1944)^[10]
10. Harold Jeffreys (1946–1958)^[11]
11. Fred Hoyle (1958–1972)^[12]
12. Martin Rees (1973–1991)^[13]
13. Richard Ellis (1993–2000)^[14]
14. Jeremiah Ostriker (2001–2003)^[15]
15. Robert Kennicutt (2006–2017)^{[16] [17]}
16. Christopher S. Reynolds (2017–)^[18]

Sources

• R. A. Doe & C. C. Thornton, Dr Thomas Plume, 1630–1704. His life and legacies in Essex, Kent and Cambridge, University of Hertfordshire Press, 2020

Notes and References

1. Book: Joseph Edleston. Sir Isaac Newton. Roger Côtes. Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes. 30 May 2013. 1850. Routledge. 978-0-7146-1597-4. lxxiv note 158.
2. Cotes, Roger . 12 . Clerke . Agnes Mary . Agnes Mary Clerke.
3. Smith, Robert (16891768) . 53 . Courtney . William Prideaux . H. F. Baker.
4. Shepherd, Antony . 52 . Baker . Henry Frederick . H. F. Baker.
5. Vince, Samuel . Clerke . Agnes Mary . Agnes Mary Clerke . 58.
6. Phillips . Christopher . 2006 . Robert Woodhouse and the Evolution of Cambridge Mathematics . . 44 . 1 . 69–93 . 10.1177/007327530604400104 . 162375713 . In addition to holding the Lucasian Chair from 1820 to 1822, Woodhouse was the Plumian Professor from 1822 to 1827 and the first director of the Cambridge Observatory when it opened in 1824..
7. Turner . H. H. . Herbert Hall Turner . 1892 . George Biddell Airy . Obituary notice . . 52 . 4 . 212–229 . 10.1093/mnras/52.4.212 . free.
8. Clerke . A. M. . Wilson . Agnes Mary Clerke . David B. . 5024 . Challis, James (1803–1882), astronomer and physicist . 19 May 2011.
9. Kushner . David . 32718 . Darwin, Sir George Howard (1845–1912), mathematician and geophysicist . 28 May 2015.
10. Spencer Jones . H. . Whittaker . E. T. . 1945 . Arthur Stanley Eddington . Obituary notice . . 105 . 2 . 68–79 . 10.1093/mnras/105.2.68 . free.
11. Cook . Alan . 1990 . Sir Harold Jeffreys, 2 April 1891 – 18 March 1989, Elected F.R.S. 1925 . . 36 . 302–333 . 770090.
12. News: 22 August 2001 . Professor Sir Fred Hoyle . Obituary . . London . 11 September 2019.
13. News: Radford . Tim . 2 December 2005 . Martin Rees . Profile . . London . 11 September 2019.
14. Heidi . Aspaturian . Interview with Richard Ellis . http://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu/234/ . Oral History . 234 . January–February 2014 . Oral History Project . Archives . California Institute of Technology . Pasadena, California . 11 September 2019.
15. Elections . . 5849 . 6 June 2001 . 7 September 2019.
16. Elections, appointments, and reappointments . . 6023 . 18 January 2006 . 7 September 2019.
17. Professors . Special numbers . . 136 . 4, Officers Number – Michaelmas Term 2016 . 3 . 3 November 2006 . 7 September 2019.
18. Elections, appointments, reappointments, and grants of title . . 6461 . 447 . 20 April 2017 . 5 September 2019.