Edward Troughton
|
|
Edward Troughton (October 1753 – June 12 1835) was a British instrument maker, who was notable for making telescopes and other astronomical instruments.
In 1779 he became a partner with his brother John, and soon established himself as the top maker of navigational, surveying and astronomical instruments in Britain. He created the Groombridge Transit Circle in 1806, which Stephen Groombridge used to compile his star catalogue. He did not merely build instruments, but designed and invented new ones.
He was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society in 1809.
In 1826, in failing health, he took on William Simms as a partner and the firm became known as Troughton & Simms.
He was involved in a notorious lawsuit against Sir James South, who was dissatisfied with the quality of an equatorial mounting that Troughton had made for him. Troughton sued for payment, and with informal legal counsel provided by Richard Sheepshanks, he prevailed.
Troughton was color blind.
External links
- Biography (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Troughton.html)
Obituaries
- MNRAS 3 (1836) 149 (http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0003//0000149.000.html)