Horrocks, JEREMIAH

Horrocks, JEREMIAH, an astronomer of remarkable genius, generally known as the first observer of the transit of Venus, an account of which phenomenon he has given in a Latin treatise entitled Venus in Sole visa. He was born at Toxteth, near Liverpool, apparently in 1619; he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, May 18, 1632; was appointed in 1639 to the curacy of Hoole, Lancashire, in which village he made his famous observation (November 24, 1639, o.s.), while a mere youth. He died suddenly on January 3, 1641, the day before an intended journey, having promised to visit his chief friend, William Crabtree. Dr Wallis, his contemporary, informs us that Horrocks at the time of his death 'had not completed his twenty-third year.' Newton, in the Principia, bears honourable testimony to the value of Horrocks's astronomical work, especially commending his lunar theory as the most ingenious yet brought forward, adding, 'and, if I mistake not, the most accurate of all.' Horrocks is frequently mentioned by the scientific men of the 17th century; the observation of the transit being by no means regarded as his sole astronomical achievement, as he added to our knowledge of the physical cause of celestial motions, deduced the solar parallax, corrected the solar diameter, and made tidal observations. Hevelius printed the Venus in Sole visa, which first appeared in Germany (1662); a translation of this work, with memoir by Whatton, appeared at London in 1859. In 1678 Horrocks's fragmentary works were published under the auspices of the Royal Society, being edited by Dr Wallis, with the title Jeremie Horroccii Opera Posthuma, &c. The name of Jeremiah Horrocks, long forgotten except by astronomers, is now, 'after the lapse of more than two centuries,' engraven on marble in Westminster Abbey.