Cross-currents in Astronomy and Navigation: Thomas Hornsby, FRS (1733-1810)

Thomas Hornsby was a hard-working, scientifically ambitious and significant man of vision (in more senses than one) during the second half of the eighteenth century. He was a notable astronomical observer, founder of the Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford, a successful lecturer, a Commissioner of Longitude at a critical time, and editor of James Bradley's Astronomical Observations. This paper presents some long-neglected facts; in assembling scattered fragments into a coherent account, it raises new speculations.