Thomas Maclear ( 1794 - 1879 )

Birth: Newtownstewart, County Tyrone [now in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom] (17 March 1794) Death: Mowbray, near Cape Town, South Africa, Africa (14 July 1879) Burial: The grounds of the Royal Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa Profession: Physician; astronomer Research field: Astronomy Education: Medicine at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, London Career: Bedford Infirmary (1815); practised medicine at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire where he set up a small observatory (1823); appointed Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope (1833-1870); observed alpha and beta Centauri and confirmed the parallax measured by Thomas Henderson; re-measured and extended the meridian arc of Lacaille which laid the foundation for the mapping of Africa; awarded Lalande Prize (1867); helped establish lighthouses and the transmission of time signals to Port Elizabeth and Simon's Town; friend of Livingstone and Stanley; also collected meteorological, magnetic and tide data; retired to Mowbray near Cape Town (1870); lost his sight (1876); a lunar crater bears his name as does a town in South Africa Memberships: FRCS (1815); FRAS Honours: Kt 1860 Membership: Fellow Election Date: 8/12/1831 Medals/Prizes: Royal Medal 1869.