- John Goldingham
John Goldingham was the first official astronomer of the
Madras Observatory , appointed in 1802. Goldingham headed the Madras Survey School later which grew into theGuindy Engineering College and thenAnna University . Born inLondon in 1767, Goldingham was hired by astronomer-sailorMichael Topping as his assistant in 1788.Goldingham was put in charge of building an observatory in 1792, and later appointed as the Presidency Civil Engineer in 1800. Although a mathematician, he managed to learn both astronomy and engineering. In 1796, he married Maria Louisa Popham, niece of Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham, in St. Mary's in
Fort St. George . In 1802, Goldingham formulated theMadras time which was 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead ofGMT thus paving the way for it to be adopted a century later as theIndian Standard Time in 1906.In 1800 he designed the Banqueting Hall (now
Rajaji Hall ), for which he was granted a commission of 15% on all bills. After the Board of Directors found that Goldingham had drawn 22,500 pagodas¹ as commission on the 180,000 spent on the work till September 1801, the commission was suspended.He then returned to his work as Government Astronomer, in the course of which he published two volumes of observations: one of them contains his observations on the length of the pendulum, the velocity of sound, of meteorolgical phenomena, as well as determinations of the longtitude of Madras, and a discussion of the longititudes of the three Presidencies.
He retired back to England, where he died at
Worcester , in July 1849. He was a Fellow of theRoyal Society , theRoyal Geographical Society , and theRoyal Astronomical Society .References
* [http://pierre-marteau.com/wiki/index.php?title=Money_(India)] for information on the pagoda
*Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol 10, 1849-50
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/01/06/stories/2003010600140300.htm Snared in the Net] , "The Hindu "Publications
"Observations for Ascertaining the Length of the Pendulum at Madras in the East Indies, Latitude 134'19".1 N. with the Conclusions drawn from the Same."
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 112 (1822): 127-70."Of the Difference of Longitudes found by Chronometer, and by correspondent Eclipses of the Satellites of Jupiter, with some supplementary Information relative to Madras, Bombay, and Canton; as also the Latitude and Longitude of Point de Galle and the Friar's Hood."
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 112 (1822): 431-36."Of the Geographical Situation of the Three Presidencies, Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, in the East Indies."
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 112 (1822): 408-30.Madras Observatory Papers. Madras: College Press, 1827.
"A Method of Rectifying a Route Protraction." Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1 (1832): 19-20.
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