View source for Biography:Edmond Halley

{{short description|English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist }}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name              = Edmond Halley
|image             = Edmond Halley 072.jpg
|image_size        = <!-- only required for images under 220px and leave off the px part -->
|caption           = Portrait by Richard Phillips, before 1722
|birth_date        = {{OldStyleDate|8 November|1656|29 October}}
|birth_place       = Haggerston, Middlesex, England
|death_date        = {{OldStyleDateDY|25 January|1742|14 January 1741}} (aged 85)
|death_place       = Greenwich, Kent, England
|resting_place     = St. Margaret's, Lee, South London
|nationality       = English
|field             = [[Astronomy:Astronomy|Astronomy]], [[Physics:Geophysics|geophysics]], mathematics, [[Physics:Meteorology|meteorology]], [[Physics:Physics|physics]], [[Earth:Cartography|cartography]]
|work_institutions = [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]]<br />Royal Observatory, Greenwich
|alma_mater        = [[Organization:The Queen's College, Oxford|The Queen's College, Oxford]]
|doctoral_advisor  =
|doctoral_students =
|influences        =
|influenced        =
|prizes            =
|spouse            = {{marriage|Mary Tooke|1682}}
|children          = Edmond Halley (d. 1741)<br /> Margaret (d. 1713)<br /> Richelle (d. 1748)
|footnotes         =
|signature         =
}}
'''Edmond'''<ref name=edmond/> (or '''Edmund'''<ref name="ICQ">{{cite journal|page=14|url=http://www.icq.eps.harvard.edu/hughes_icq29_7t14.pdf|title=Halley's First Name: Edmond or Edmund|last1=Hughes|first1=David W.|last2=Green|first2=Daniel W. E.|date=January 2007|journal=International Comet Quarterly|publisher=[[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]]|quote=Might we suggest... simply recogniz[ing] both forms, noting that—in the days when Halley lived—there was no rigid 'correct' spelling, and that this particular astronomer seemed to prefer the 'u' over the 'o' in his published works.}}</ref>) '''Halley''', FRS ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|æ|l|i}};<ref name=jones>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Daniel |last2=Gimson |first2=Alfred C. |title=Everyman's English Pronunciation Dictionary |edition=14 |series=Everyman's Reference Library |year=1977 |origyear=1917 |publisher=J. M. Dent & Sons |location=London |isbn=0-460-03029-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/everymansenglis000jone }}</ref><ref name=kenyon>{{cite book |last1=Kenyon |first1=John S. |authorlink1=John Samuel Kenyon |last2=Knott |first2=Thomas A. |authorlink2=Thomas Albert Knott |title=A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English |year=1953 |publisher=Merriam-Webster Inc. |location=Springfield, MA |isbn=0-87779-047-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/pronouncingdicti00keny }}</ref> {{OldStyleDate|8 November|1656|29 October}} – {{OldStyleDateDY|25 January|1742|14 January 1741}}) was an English [[Astronomy:Astronomer|astronomer]], geophysicist, [[Biography:Mathematician|mathematician]], [[Meteorologist|meteorologist]], and [[Physicist|physicist]]. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/halley_edmond.shtml | author=BBC | title=Edmond Halley (1656–1742)| accessdate=28 March 2017}}</ref>

From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena,<ref name=Ridpath>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/halley.htm| author=Ian Ridpath| title=Edmond Halley's southern star catalogue| accessdate=29 June 2012}}</ref> Halley recorded a [[Astronomy:Transit of Mercury|transit of Mercury]] across the Sun. He realised a similar [[Astronomy:Transit of Venus|transit of Venus]] could be used to determine the size of the Solar System.<ref name=Horrocks>Jeremiah Horrocks, William Crabtree, and the Lancashire observations of the transit of Venus of 1639, Allan Chapman 2004 Cambridge University Press {{doi|10.1017/S1743921305001225}}</ref> He also used his observations to expand contemporary star maps. He aided in observationally proving [[Biography:Isaac Newton|Isaac Newton]]'s [[Physics:Newton's laws of motion|laws of motion]], and funded the publication of Newton's influential ''[[Physics:Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]''.<ref name=EB1911>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Halley, Edmund |volume=12 |page=856 |first=Agnes Mary |last=Clerke |}}</ref>
From his September 1682 observations, he used the laws of motion to compute the periodicity of [[Astronomy:Halley's Comet|Halley's Comet]] in his 1705 ''Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets''.<ref>{{cite book |title=A synopsis of the astronomy of comets By Edmund Halley, Savilian Professor of Geometry, at Oxford; And Fellow of the Royal Society. Translated from the Original, printed at Oxford |place= Oxford |publisher=John Senex |year=1705 |url= https://archive.org/details/synopsisofastron00hall/page/n3/mode/2up |accessdate=16 June 2020 |via= Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Halley & His Comet|author=P. Lancaster-Brown|publisher=Blandford Press|date=1985|isbn=0-7137-1447-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/halleyhiscomet00pete/page/76 76]|url=https://archive.org/details/halleyhiscomet00pete/page/76}}</ref> It was named after him upon its predicted return in 1758, which he did not live to see.

Beginning in 1698, he made sailing expeditions and made observations on the conditions of terrestrial [[Physics:Magnetism|magnetism]]. In 1718, he discovered the [[Astronomy:Proper motion|proper motion]] of the "fixed" stars.<ref name=EB1911/>

==Early life==
Halley was born in Haggerston in Middlesex. His father, Edmond Halley Sr., came from a Derbyshire family and was a wealthy soap-maker in London.<ref name=EB1911/> As a child, Halley was very interested in mathematics. He studied at St Paul's School<ref name=EB1911/> where he developed his initial interest in astronomy, and from 1673 at [[Organization:The Queen's College, Oxford|The Queen's College, Oxford]].<ref name=EB1911/> While still an undergraduate, Halley published papers on the [[Astronomy:Solar System|Solar System]] and sunspots.<ref name=WA-OD />

==Career==

===Publications and inventions===
While at the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]], Halley was introduced to John Flamsteed, the Astronomer Royal. Influenced by Flamsteed's project to compile a catalogue of northern stars, Halley proposed to do the same for the [[Earth:Southern Hemisphere|Southern Hemisphere]].<ref name=bbc/>

In 1676, Halley visited the south Atlantic island of Saint Helena and set up an observatory with a large sextant with telescopic sights to catalogue the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name=Ridpath/> While there he observed a [[Astronomy:Transit of Mercury|transit of Mercury]] across the Sun, and realised that a similar [[Astronomy:Transit of Venus|transit of Venus]] could be used to determine the absolute size of the Solar System.<ref name=Horrocks/> He returned to England in May 1678. In the following year he went to Danzig (Gdańsk) on behalf of the Royal Society to help resolve a dispute.  Because astronomer [[Biography:Johannes Hevelius|Johannes Hevelius]] did not use a [[Astronomy:Telescope|telescope]], his observations had been questioned by Robert Hooke. Halley stayed with Hevelius and he observed and verified the quality of Hevelius' observations.  In 1679, Halley published the results from his observations on St. Helena as ''Catalogus Stellarum Australium'' which included details of 341 southern stars.<ref name="Carter">{{cite journal | last =Carter | first =Harold B. | title =The Royal Society and the Voyage of HMS Endeavour 1768–71 | journal =Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London | volume =49 | issue =2 | page = 248 | publisher =The Royal Society | location =London, UK | date =July 1995 | jstor =532013 | doi=10.1098/rsnr.1995.0026| doi-access =free }}<!--| accessdate =30 August 2014 --></ref><ref name=Kanas>{{cite book|last=Kanas|first=Nick|title=Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography (Second Edition)|year=2012|publisher=Springer|location=Chickester, U.K.|isbn=978-1-4614-0916-8|page=122}}</ref> These additions to contemporary star maps earned him comparison with [[Biography:Tycho Brahe|Tycho Brahe]]: e.g. "the southern Tycho" as described by Flamsteed. Halley was awarded his M.A. degree at Oxford and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society at the age of 22. In September 1682 he carried out a series of observations of what became known as Halley's Comet, though his name became associated with it because of his work on its orbit and predicting its return in 1758 (which he did not live to see).<ref>[http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1986JRASC..80...62Y/0000067.000.html Yeomans DK, Rahe J, Freitag RS. ''The history of comet Halley''. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 1986 Apr; '''80''' 62–86; page 81.]</ref>

[[File:Edmond Halley Royal Greenwich Observatory Museum.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Bust of Halley (Royal Observatory, Greenwich)]]
In 1686, Halley published the second part of the results from his Helenian expedition, being a paper and chart on trade winds and [[Earth:Monsoon|monsoon]]s. The symbols he used to represent trailing winds still exist in most modern day weather chart representations. In this article he identified solar heating as the cause of [[Earth:Atmosphere of Earth|atmospheric]] motions. He also established the relationship between [[Engineering:Barometer|barometric pressure]] and height above sea level. His charts were an important contribution to the emerging field of information visualisation.<ref>Halley E. (1686), "An Historical Account of the Trade Winds, and Monsoons, Observable in the Seas between and Near the Tropicks, with an Attempt to Assign the Phisical {{sic|hide=yes}} Cause of the Said Winds", ''Philosophical Transactions'', '''16''':153–168 {{doi|10.1098/rstl.1686.0026}}</ref>

Halley spent most of his time on lunar observations, but was also interested in the problems of [[Physics:Gravity|gravity]]. One problem that attracted his attention was the proof of [[Kepler's laws of planetary motion]]. In August 1684, he went to [[Organization:University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] to discuss this with [[Biography:Isaac Newton|Isaac Newton]], much as John Flamsteed had done four years earlier, only to find that Newton had solved the problem, at the instigation of Flamsteed with regard to the orbit of comet Kirch, without publishing the solution. Halley asked to see the calculations and was told by Newton that he could not find them, but promised to redo them and send them on later, which he eventually did, in a short treatise entitled, [[Physics:De motu corporum in gyrum|''On the motion of bodies in an orbit'']]. Halley recognised the importance of the work and returned to Cambridge to arrange its publication with Newton, who instead went on to expand it into his ''[[Physics:Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica|Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica]]'' published at Halley's expense in 1687.<ref>Peter Ackroyd. ''Newton.'' Great Britain:  Chatto and Windus, 2006.</ref> Halley's first calculations with comets were thereby for the orbit of comet Kirch, based on Flamsteed's observations in 1680-1. Although he was to accurately calculate the orbit of the comet of 1682, he was inaccurate in his calculations of the orbit of comet Kirch. They indicated a periodicity of 575 years, thus appearing in the years 531 and 1106, and presumably heralding the death of Julius Caesar in a like fashion in −44 (45 BCE). It is now known to have an orbital period of circa 10,000 years.

In 1691, Halley built a [[Engineering:Diving bell|diving bell]], a device in which the atmosphere was replenished by way of weighted barrels of air sent down from the surface.<ref name=spums_hx>{{cite journal |author1=Edmonds, Carl |author2=Lowry, C |author3=Pennefather, John |title=History of diving. |journal=South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Journal |volume=5 |issue=2 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/5894 |accessdate=17 March 2009}}</ref> In a demonstration, Halley and five companions dived to {{convert|60|ft}} in the River Thames, and remained there for over an hour and a half. Halley's bell was of little use for practical salvage work, as it was very heavy, but he made improvements to it over time, later extending his underwater exposure time to over 4 hours.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.londondivingchamber.co.uk/index.php?id=history&page=4| publisher=London Diving Chamber| title=History: Edmond Halley| accessdate=6 December 2006}}</ref> Halley suffered one of the earliest recorded cases of middle ear [[Medicine:Barotrauma|barotrauma]].
<ref name=spums_hx/> That same year, at a meeting of the Royal Society, Halley introduced a rudimentary working model of a magnetic [[Physics:Compass|compass]] using a liquid-filled housing to damp the swing and wobble of the magnetised needle.<ref>Gubbins, David, ''Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism'', Springer Press (2007), {{ISBN|1-4020-3992-1}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4020-3992-8}}, p. 67</ref>

In 1691, Halley sought the post of [[Astronomy:Savilian Professor of Astronomy|Savilian Professor of Astronomy]] at Oxford.  While a candidate for the position, Halley faced the animosity of the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, and his religious views were questioned.<ref name="Hughes">{{cite journal | last =Hughes | first =David W. | title =Edmond Halley, Scientist | journal =Journal of the British Astronomical Association | volume =95 | issue =5 | page =193 | publisher =British Astronomical Association | location =London, UK | date =August 1985 | url=http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1985JBAA...95..193H&amp;data_type=PDF_HIGH&amp;whole_paper=YES&amp;type=PRINTER&amp;filetype=.pdf|accessdate=28 March 2017|bibcode = 1985JBAA...95..193H }}<br><br> "To what extent Halley's failure was due the animosity of John Flamsteed or to his stout defence [sic] of his religious belief that not every iota of scripture was necessarily divinely inspired is still a matter of some argument. All Oxford appointees had to assent to the Articles of Religion and be approved by the Church of England. Halley's religious views could not have been too outlandish because the University was happy to grant him another chair 12 years later."<br>Hughes at 198.<br><br>"Halley held liberal religious views and was very outspoken.  He believed in having a reverent but questioning attitude towards the eternal problems and had little sympathy for those who unquestioningly accepted dogma.  He was certainly not an atheist."<br>Hughes at 201.</ref>  His candidacy was opposed by both the [[Religion:Archbishop of Canterbury|Archbishop of Canterbury]], John Tillotson, and Bishop Stillingfleet, and the post went instead to David Gregory, who had the support of Isaac Newton.<ref>Derek Gjertsen, ''The Newton Handbook'', {{ISBN|0-7102-0279-2}}, pg 250</ref>

In 1692, Halley put forth the idea of a [[Hollow Earth|hollow Earth]] consisting of a shell about 500 miles (800&nbsp;km) thick, two inner concentric shells and an innermost core.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Halley, E. | title = An account of the cause of the change of the variation of the magnetic needle; with an hypothesis of the structure of the internal parts of the earth | journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London | year = 1692 | volume = 16 | pages = 470–478 | url = https://archive.org/stream/philosophicaltra03royarich#page/470/mode/2up7 | issue = 179–191}}</ref> He suggested that atmospheres separated these shells, and that each shell had its own [[Earth:Earth's magnetic field#Magnetic poles|magnetic poles]], with each sphere rotating at a different speed. Halley proposed this scheme to explain anomalous compass readings. He envisaged each inner region as having an atmosphere and being [[Astronomy:Luminosity|luminous]] (and possibly inhabited), and speculated that escaping gas caused the [[Astronomy:Aurora|aurora borealis]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Carroll|first=Robert Todd|date=13 February 2006|url=http://skepdic.com/hollowearth.html|title=hollow Earth|work=Skeptic's Dictionary|accessdate=23 July 2006}}</ref> He suggested, "Auroral rays are due to particles, which are affected by the magnetic field, the rays parallel to Earth’s magnetic field."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/10-illuminating-facts-about-the-northern-lights|title=10 Illuminating Facts about the Northern Lights|website=Oceanwide Expeditions|accessdate=24 August 2018}}</ref>

In 1693 Halley published an article on [[Social:Life annuity|life annuities]], which featured an analysis of age-at-death on the basis of the Breslau statistics Caspar Neumann had been able to provide. This article allowed the British government to sell life annuities at an appropriate price based on the age of the purchaser. Halley's work strongly influenced the development of [[Actuarial science|actuarial science]]. The construction of the life-table for Breslau, which followed more primitive work by John Graunt, is now seen as a major event in the history of [[Demography|demography]].

The Royal Society censured Halley for suggesting in 1694 that the story of Noah's flood might be an account of a cometary impact.<ref>V. Clube and B. Napier, ''The Cosmic Serpent'' London: Faber and Faber, 1982.</ref> This theory was independently suggested by modern researchers as [[Earth:Tollmann's bolide hypothesis|Tollmann's bolide hypothesis]] (1992), but is generally rejected by geologists.<ref name="DeutschOthers1993">Deutsch, A., C. Koeberl, J.D. Blum, B.M. French, B.P. Glass, R. Grieve, P. Horn, E.K. Jessberger, G. Kurat, W.U. Reimold, J. Smit, D. Stöffler, and S.R. Taylor, 1994, ''The impact-flood connection: Does it exist?'' Terra Nova. v. 6, pp. 644–650.</ref>

===Exploration years===

In 1698, Halley was given command of the {{HMS|Paramour|1694|2}}, a {{convert|52|ft}} [[Engineering:Pink (ship)|pink]], so that he could carry out investigations in the South Atlantic into the laws governing the [[Magnetic declination|variation of the compass]].  On 19 August 1698, he took command of the ship and, in November 1698, sailed on what was the first purely scientific voyage by an English naval vessel.  Unfortunately problems of [[Insubordination|insubordination]] arose over questions of Halley's competence to command a vessel. Halley returned the ship to England to proceed against officers in July 1699. The result was a mild rebuke for his men, and dissatisfaction for Halley, who felt the court had been too lenient.<ref>{{cite book |last=Halley|first=Edmond|title=The Three Voyages of Edmond Halley in the Paramore, 1698–1701|pages=129–131|year=1982|publisher=Hakluyt Society|location=UK|isbn=0-904180-02-6}}</ref> Halley thereafter received a temporary commission as a Captain in the Royal Navy, recommissioned the ''Paramour'' on 24 August 1699 and sailed again in September 1699 to make extensive observations on the conditions of terrestrial [[Physics:Magnetism|magnetism]].<ref name=EB1911/> This task he accomplished in a second Atlantic voyage which lasted until 6 September 1700, and extended from 52 degrees north to 52 degrees south.<ref name=EB1911/> The results were published in ''General Chart of the Variation of the Compass'' (1701).<ref name=EB1911/> This was the first such chart to be published and the first on which isogonic, or Halleyan, lines appeared.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Alan|title=Edmond Halley: Charting the Heavens and the Seas|date=12 April 1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford USA|isbn=0198500319|edition=1|url=http://www.abebooks.co.uk/Edmond-Halley-Charting-Heavens-Seas-Alan/11789151926/bd?cm_mmc=gmc-_-gmc-_-PLA-_-v01|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Edmond Halley plaque in Westminster Abbey 2.jpg|left|thumb|Plaque in South Cloister of Westminster Abbey]]

The preface to Awnsham and John Churchill's collection of voyages and travels (1704), supposedly written by John Locke or by Halley, made the link.{{clarify|date=September 2013}}

<blockquote> "Natural and moral history is embellished with the most beneficial increase of so many thousands of plants it had never before received, so many drugs and spices, such unaccountable diversity. Trade is raised to highest pitch, and this not in a niggard and scanty manner as when the Venetians served all Europe ... the empire of Europe is now extended to the utmost bounds of the Earth."''</blockquote>

[[File:Tombstone of Edmond Halley.jpg|thumb|right|Edmond Halley's tombstone, re-positioned at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich; he is not buried there, but at St Margaret's, Lee, some 30 minutes' walk away to the south]]
In November 1703, Halley was appointed Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford, his theological enemies, John Tillotson and Bishop Stillingfleet having died, and received an honorary degree of doctor of laws in 1710.<ref name=EB1911/> In 1705, applying [[Astronomy:Historical astronomy|historical astronomy]] methods, he published ''Astronomiae cometicae synopsis'', which stated his belief that the comet sightings of 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682 were of the same comet, which he predicted would return in 1758. Halley did not live to witness the comet's return, but when it did, the comet became generally known as Halley's Comet.

By 1706 Halley had learned Arabic and completed the translation started by Edward Bernard<ref>M.B. Hall, '[https://books.google.com/books?id=4H2fESItCVIC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154 Arabick Learning in the Correspondence of the Royal Society, 1660–1677]', ''The 'Arabick' Interest of the Natural Philosophers in 17th-Century England'', p.154</ref> of Books V-VII of [[Biography:Apollonius of Perga|Apollonius]]'s ''Conics'' from copies found at Leiden and the Bodleian Library at Oxford.  He also completed a new translation of the first four books from the original Greek that had been started by the late David Gregory. He published these along with his own reconstruction of Book VIII<ref>Michael N. Fried, '[https://books.google.com/books/about/Edmond_Halley_s_Reconstruction_of_the_Lo.html?id=gcmg3M3K8awC Edmond Halley's Reconstruction of the Lost Book of Apollonius's Conics: Translation and Commentary]', Spring 2011</ref> in the first complete Latin edition in 1710.

In 1716, Halley suggested a high-precision measurement of the distance between the Earth and the Sun by timing the [[Astronomy:Transit of Venus|transit of Venus]]. In doing so, he was following the method described by [[Biography:James Gregory (mathematician)|James Gregory]] in ''Optica Promota'' (in which the design of the [[Astronomy:Gregorian telescope|Gregorian telescope]] is also described). It is reasonable to assume Halley possessed and had read this book given that the Gregorian design was the principal telescope design used in astronomy in Halley's day.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wakefield|first1=Julie|last2=Press|first2=Joseph Henry|title=Halley s Quest: A Selfless Genius and His Troubled Paramore|date=2005|publisher=National Academies Press|location=USA|isbn=0309095948|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780309095945|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref> It is not to Halley's credit that he failed to acknowledge Gregory's priority in this matter. In 1718 he discovered the [[Astronomy:Proper motion|proper motion]] of the "fixed" stars by comparing his [[Astronomy:Astrometry|astrometric]] measurements with those given in Ptolemy's ''[[Astronomy:Almagest|Almagest]]''. [[Astronomy:Arcturus|Arcturus]] and [[Astronomy:Sirius|Sirius]] were two noted to have moved significantly, the latter having progressed 30 arc minutes (about the diameter of the moon) southwards in 1800 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holberg|first=JB|title=Sirius:Brightest Diamond in the Night Sky|pages=[https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/41 41–42]|year=2007|publisher=Praxis Publishing|location=Chichester, UK|isbn=0-387-48941-X|url=https://archive.org/details/siriusbrightestd0000holb/page/41}}</ref>

In 1720, together with his friend the [[Social:Antiquarian|antiquarian]] [[Biography:William Stukeley|William Stukeley]], Halley participated in the first attempt to scientifically date [[Unsolved:Stonehenge|Stonehenge]]. Assuming that the monument had been laid out using a magnetic compass, Stukeley and Halley attempted to calculate the perceived deviation introducing corrections from existing magnetic records, and suggested three dates (460 BC, AD 220 and AD 920), the earliest being the one accepted. These dates were wrong by thousands of years, but the idea that scientific methods could be used to date ancient monuments was revolutionary in its day.<ref>Johnson, Anthony, ''Solving Stonehenge, The New Key to an Ancient Enigma''(Thames & Hudson 2008) {{ISBN|978-0-500-05155-9}}</ref>

[[File:Halley Edmund grave.jpg|right|thumb|Halley's grave]]
Halley succeeded John Flamsteed in 1720 as Astronomer Royal, a position Halley held until his death.<ref name=bbc/> Halley died in 1742 at the age of 85. He was buried in the graveyard of the old church of St Margaret's, Lee (since rebuilt), at Lee Terrace, Blackheath.<ref>{{cite web|title=Location of Edmond Halley's tomb|url=http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=2054|website=shadyoldlady.com|publisher=The Shady Old Lady's guide to London|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref> He was interred in the same vault as the Astronomer Royal John Pond; the unmarked grave of the Astronomer Royal Nathaniel Bliss is nearby.<ref>Halley's gravesite is in a cemetery at the junction of Lee Terrace and Brandram Road, across from the Victorian Parish Church of St Margaret.  The cemetery is a 30-minute walk from the Greenwich Observatory.</ref> His original tombstone was transferred by the Admiralty when the original Lee church was demolished and rebuilt – it can be seen today on the southern wall of the Camera Obscura at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. His marked grave can be seen at St Margaret's Church, Lee Terrace.<ref>{{cite web|title=Photograph of Edmond Halley's Tombstone|url=http://www.flamsteed.org/fashstmar.htm|website=flamsteed.org|publisher=Flamsteed Society|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Redfern|first1=Dave|title=Doing the Halley Walk|date=Summer 2004|publisher=Horizons|location=London|edition=Issue 14|url=http://www.flamsteed.org/fashstmar.htm|accessdate=5 January 2015}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Halley married Mary Tooke in 1682 and settled in Islington. The couple had three children.<ref name=WA-OD>{{cite web|author1=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|title=Edmond Halley|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/edmond-halley|publisher=Westminster Abbey|accessdate=3 May 2015|date=2004}}</ref>

==Named after Edmond Halley==
[[File:Solar eclipse 1715May03 Halley map.png|thumb|upright|Halley's map of the path of the Solar eclipse of 3 May 1715 across England]]
* Halley's Comet (orbital period (approximately) 75 years)
* [[Astronomy:Halley (lunar crater)|Halley (lunar crater)]]
* Halley (Martian crater)
* Halley Research Station, Antarctica
* [[Halley's method]], for the numerical solution of equations
* Halley Street, in Blackburn, Victoria, Australia
* Edmund Halley Road, Oxford Science Park, Oxford, OX4 4DQ UK
* Edmund Halley Drive, Reston, Virginia, United States
* Halley's Mount, Saint Helena (680m high)
* Halley Drive, Hackensack, New Jersey, intersects with Comet Way on the campus of Hackensack High School, home of the Comets
* Rue Edmund Halley, Avignon, France
* The Halley Academy, a school in [[Place:London|London]], England
* Halley House School, Hackney London (2015)
* Halley Gardens, Blackheath, London.

==Pronunciation and spelling==
There are three pronunciations of the surname ''Halley''. The most common, both in Great Britain<ref name=jones /> and in the United States,<ref name=kenyon /> is {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|æ|l|i}} (rhymes with "valley"). This is the personal pronunciation used by most Halleys living in London today.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ianridpath.com/halley/halley3.htm#hallo| author=Ian Ridpath| title=Saying Hallo to Halley| accessdate=8 November 2011}}</ref>
The alternative {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|eɪ|l|i}} is often preferred for the man and the comet by those who grew up with rock and roll singer Bill Haley, who called his backing band his "Comets" after the common pronunciation of Halley's Comet in the United States at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oldies.about.com/od/rockabill1/p/billhaley.htm |title=Guide Profile: Bill Haley |publisher=Oldies.about.com |accessdate=8 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121031553/http://oldies.about.com/od/rockabill1/p/billhaley.htm |archive-date=21 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Colin Ronan, one of Halley's biographers, preferred {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɔː|l|i}}. Contemporary accounts spell his name ''Hailey, Hayley, Haley, Haly, Halley, Hawley'' and ''Hawly'', and presumably pronunciations varied similarly.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/14/science/q-a-237647.html |title=Science: Q&A|publisher=Nytimes.com |date=14 May 1985 |accessdate=8 November 2011}}</ref>

As for his given name, although the spelling "Edmund" is quite common, "Edmond" is what Halley himself used, according to a 1902 article,<ref name=edmond>''The Times'' (London) ''Notes and Queries'' No. 254, 8 November 1902 p.36</ref> though a 2007 ''International Comet Quarterly'' article disputes this, commenting that in his published works, he used "Edmund" 22 times and "Edmond" only 3 times,<ref>{{cite journal|page=1|url=http://www.icq.eps.harvard.edu/hughes_icq29_7t14.pdf|title=Halley's First Name: Edmond or Edmund|last1=Hughes|first1=David W.|last2=Green|first2=Daniel W. E.|date=January 2007|journal=International Comet Quarterly|publisher=[[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]]}}</ref> with several other variations used as well, such as the Latinised "Edmundus". Much of the debate stems from the fact that, in Halley's own time, English spelling conventions were not yet standardised, and so he himself used multiple spellings.<ref name="ICQ"/>

== In Popular Media ==

* In horror-fiction podcast, ''The Magnus Archives'', Halley is an incarnation of Maxwell Rayner, a devotee of the fear entity known as The Dark.

==See also==
* [[Physics:History of geomagnetism|History of geomagnetism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book | author = Armitage, Angus | title = Edmond Halley | year = 1966 | publisher = Nelson | location = London}}
* {{cite journal | author = Coley, Noel | title = Halley and Post-Restoration Science | journal = History Today | year = 1986 | volume = 36 | issue = September | pages = 10–16 | url = http://www.historytoday.com/noel-coley/halley-and-post-restoration-science}}
* {{cite book | author = Cook, Alan H. | title = Edmond Halley: Charting the Heavens and the Seas | year = 1998 | publisher = Clarendon Press | location = Oxford}}
* {{cite book | author = Ronan, Colin A. | title = Edmond Halley, Genius in Eclipse | year = 1969 | publisher = Doubleday and Company | location = Garden City, New York}}
* {{cite journal | author = Seyour, Ian | title = Edmond Halley – explorer | journal = History Today | year = 1996 | issue = June | volume = 46 |pages = 39–44 | url = https://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5000361197 }}
* {{cite journal | author = Sarah Irving | title = Natural science and the origins of the British empire (London,1704), 92–93| journal = A collection of voyages and travels | year = 2008 | issue = June | volume = 3 |pages = 92–93}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://messier.seds.org/xtra/Bios/halley.html Edmond Halley Biography (SEDS)]
* [https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/athens/olympus/6745/OdysseyI.htm&date=2009-10-25+12:53:46 A Halley Odyssey]
* The National Portrait Gallery (London) has several portraits of Halley: [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/ Search the collection]
* Halley, Edmond, [http://www.pierre-marteau.com/editions/1693-mortality.html An Estimate of the Degrees of the Mortality of Mankind (1693)]
* Halley, Edmond, [http://www.jasoncolavito.com/halley-on-noahs-comet.html Some Considerations about the Cause of the Universal Deluge (1694)]
* Material on Halley's life table for Breslau on the Life & Work of Statisticians site: [http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/lifework.htm#h Halley, Edmond]
* Halley, Edmund, [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1942ASPL....4..103A Considerations on the Changes of the Latitudes of Some of the Principal Fixed Stars (1718)] – Reprinted in R. G. Aitken, ''Edmund Halley and Stellar Proper Motions'' (1942)
* Halley, Edmund, [https://books.google.com/books?id=GPR3vEzN694C ''A Synopsis of the Astronomy of Comets'' (1715)] annexed on pages 881 to 905 of volume 2 of ''The Elements of Astronomy'' by David Gregory
* {{MacTutor Biography|id=Halley}}
* [http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0180%2FRGO%202 Online catalogue of Halley's working papers (part of the Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives held at Cambridge University Library)]
* Halley, Edmond (1724) [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/earththeory/id/2435 "Some considerations about the cause of the universal deluge, laid before the Royal Society, on the 12th of December 1694"] and [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/ref/collection/earththeory/id/2439 "Some farther thoughts upon the same subject, delivered on the 19th of the same month"] ''Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious, in Many Considerable Parts of the World. Vol. 33'' p.&nbsp;118–125. – digital facsimile from Linda Hall Library
* {{Librivox author |id=11637}}

{{Savilian Professors of Geometry}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Halley, Edmond}}
[[Category:Scientific instrument makers]]

{{Sourceattribution|Edmond Halley|1}}