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Hector Macpherson (astronomer)

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Hector Copland Macpherson (right) with his father and firstborn son

Hector Copland Macpherson, FRAS FRSE (1 April 1888 – 19 May 1956) was a Scottish astronomer and minister. He was the son of the writer Hector Carsewell Macpherson. His 1940 work Biographical Dictionary of Astronomy was later incorporated into the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, which was first published in 2007.[1][2][3]

Biography

Macpherson was born in Edinburgh in 1888. As a child, Macpherson had rheumatic fever. The illness was the reason he did not attend school. Instead, he was taught at home until he went to university. At age 13, he was given a telescope. Macpherson set up an observatory in the family garden with the gift.[1] In 1911, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, proposed for fellowship by the Astronomer Royal Frank Watson Dyson.[4] Eight years later, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[1]

Macpherson studied theology at New College, Edinburgh and became a minister for the United Free Church of Scotland. He served five years at a church in Louden, Ayrshire. In 1921, Macpherson returned to Edinburgh, and was named the minister of the Guthrie Memorial Church. He led the church during its 1929 merger with the Church of Scotland and served the congregation until his death. He earned a Ph.D from Edinburgh in 1923, for his research on the Covenanter movement.[1]

Macpherson married Catherine Anne Chisholm in 1917, with whom he had four children: Hector, Fergus, Mari Margaret Anne, and Catherine Isabel.[1]

Books

  • Macpherson, H. C. (1905). Astronomers of To-day and Their Work. London: Gall & Inglis, Publishers.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1906). A Century's Progress in Astronomy. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1908). Through the Depths of Space: A Primer of Astronomy. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1911). The Romance of Modern Astronomy, Describing in Simple but Exact Language the Wonders of the Heavens. London: Seeley and Co.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1919). Herschel. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Bibcode:1919hers.book.....M.
  • Macpherson, Hector (1919). Practical Astronomy with the Unaided Eye. London: T. C. & E. C. Jack.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1926). Modern Astronomy: its Rise and Progress. London: Humphrey Milford. Bibcode:1926marp.book.....M.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1929). Modern Cosmologies: A Historical Sketch of Researches and Theories Concerning the Structure of the Universe. London: Oxford University Press. Bibcode:1929mchs.book.....M.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1933). Makers of Astronomy. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Bibcode:1933maas.book.....M.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1940). Biographical Dictionary of Astronomers. Edinburgh: privately published by the author. Bibcode:1940bda..book.....M.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1943). Guide to the Stars. London: T. Nelson and Sons Ltd. Bibcode:1943gust.book.....M.
  • Macpherson, H. C. (1955). Thomas David Anderson, Watcher of the Skies. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. Bibcode:1955tdaw.book.....M.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Brück, Mary T.; Gavine, David M. (2011). "Hector Copland Macpherson (1888–1956), Clergyman, educator, lecturer and writer on astronomy and its history". The Antiquarian Astronomer. 5. Society for the History of Astronomy: 4–7. Bibcode:2011AntAs...5....4B. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ^ Ellison, Mervyn A. (1957). "Hector Copland Macpherson". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 117 (3). London, England: Royal Astronomical Society: 254–256. Bibcode:1957MNRAS.117..254.. doi:10.1093/mnras/117.3.254. Retrieved 30 January 2016.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  3. ^ "Obituary: Hector Copland Macpherson, 1888–1956". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 66 (8). London, England: British Astronomical Association: 325. 1956. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ "June 9th, 1911". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 71 (8). Royal Astronomical Society: 605. 1911. Bibcode:1911MNRAS..71..605.. doi:10.1093/mnras/71.8.605. Retrieved 30 January 2016.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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