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Item: 148476
Surname: Russell
First Name: Henry Chamberlain
Ship: -
Date: -
Place: -
Source: Australian Dictionary of Dates and Men of the Time
Details: Born at West Maitland 17 March 1836, son of Bourn Russell and Jane nee Mackreth. Appointed Assistant in the Sydney Observatory in 1859 and Gov. Astronomer in 1870


 
Item: 174812
Surname: Russell
First Name: Henry Chamberlain
Ship: -
Date: 4 September 1912
Place: -
Source: NMH
Details: Mr. Henry Chamberlain Russell whose office as Government Astronomer for many years, made his name a household one in NSW was born at West Maitland on 17th March 1836. He was educated at the Grammar School, West Maitland and at the Sydney University, where he graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1858 and took a scholarship for general proficiency, and the Deas-Thomson scholarship for chemistry and physics. On the first of January 1859 he was appointed assistant in the Sydney Observatory and after eleven years service in that office, he was appointed Government Astronomer, taking up those duties in August 1870. In 1872 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, London; in 1874 a Fellow of the Meteorological Society, London; and in 1875 honorary member of the South Australian Philosophical Society and a member of the Royal Colonial Institute, London. Under his auspices an extensive set of meteorological observations was collected from all parts of the colony, which were of much assistance in arriving at a correct knowledge of many matters in connection with the climate and rainfall of Australia. In 1874 he organised four distinct parties for the observation of the transit of Venus, and he obtained more photographs on that occasion than were obtained by the representatives of any other country. The results were used with great advantage by the Astronomer Royal in the determination of the suns distance. During later years Mr. Russells work in connection with astronomy and more particularly in connection with meteorology has been well known to every Australian. It is interesting to recall that an attempt was made upon his life by means of a kind of infernal machine on the 9th September 1877. Mr. Russell was the author of many papers on the subjects connected with astronomy and meteorology



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