Author Archive

Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley (1656–1742), an English astronomer, mathematician, and natural philosopher, made foundational contributions to the scientific understanding of cometary orbits, famously predicting the return of the comet that now bears his name. Beyond astronomy, he produced the first meteorological map, pioneered actuarial science with the Breslau life tables, and financed the publication of Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica . His wide-ranging intellect encompassed oceanic trade winds, diving bells, and classical philology, securing his legacy as a vital catalyst of the early Enlightenment and empirical science.

15 summaries in the archive

18th Century A Description of the Passage of the Shadow of the Moon over England – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Halley used this occasion to present a detailed prediction and visualisation of the eclipse's path.

1 min read

Astronomy Ephemeris for the Year 1686 (Ephemeris ad annum a nativitate Domini 1686) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Ephemeris for the Year 1686 is a short astronomical almanac produced by Edmond Halley in the mid-1680s.

1 min read

18th Century Astronomical Tables with Precepts, Both in English and Latin, for Computing the Places of the Sun, Moon, Planets, and Comets – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

This book is a comprehensive collection of astronomical tables and precepts compiled by Edmond Halley, who served as…

42 min read

18th Century An Instance of the Excellence of the Modern Algebra – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Halley uses the work to show how problems can be handled more directly and elegantly through algebra.

1 min read

Astronomy Ephemeris for the Year 1687 (Ephemeris ad annum a nativitate Domini 1687) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

This work is a practical astronomical almanac that Edmond Halley compiled for the year 1687.

1 min read

18th Century Catalogus Stellarum Australium – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Catalogus Stellarum Australium is a scientific work by Edmond Halley, presenting the results of his astronomical observations conducted…

19 min read

18th Century A Description of the Passage of the Shadow of the Moon over England as It Was Observed in the Late Total Eclipse of the Sun April 22d 1715 Mane – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Halley describes the 1715 total solar eclipse, the first seen in London in over 500 years, and presents…

13 sec read

18th Century Universal Arithmetic (Arithmetica universalis; sive, De compositione et resolutione arithmetica liber) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Universal Arithmetic is a comprehensive mathematical treatise by Edmond Halley, presented here in a nineteenth-century Glasgow edition published…

43 min read

18th Century Atlas Coelestis – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

The Atlas coelestis is a star atlas published posthumously in 1729, compiled from observations made by John Flamsteed.

4 min read

18th Century A Description of the Passage of the Shadow of the Moon over Europe, as It May Be Expected May 11th 1724 in the Evening – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley produced this astronomical treatise in advance of the total solar eclipse of 11 May 1724, which…

1 min read

18th Century A Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets (Astronomiae cometicae synopsis) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

The work compiles and analyzes all known comet observations up to that time, presents a systematic method for…

20 min read

Classic Literature Apollonius of Perga: On the Cutting-off of a Ratio (Apollonii Pergaei de sectione rationis libri duo) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

This work is an early eighteenth-century Latin reconstruction by English astronomer and mathematician Edmond Halley, published in 1706.

1 min read

18th Century A Description of the Passage of the Shadow of the Moon over England in the Total Eclipse of the Sun on the 11th Day of May 1724 in the Evening – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Edmond Halley provides a detailed astronomical prediction for the total solar eclipse of 11 May 1724, aiming to…

13 sec read

Astronomy Astronomical Tables (Tabulae astronomicae) – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Astronomical Tables is an 18th-century scientific work by Edmond Halley, published posthumously.

20 min read

18th Century Miscellanea curiosa – Edmond Halley Edmond Halley

Miscellanea Curiosa is a collection of scientific papers and discourses assembled and published under the editorship of Edmond…

55 min read