Chairs of Astronomy Currently associated with the Institute of Astronomy
Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy (1704)
This chair was endowed using funds from the bequest of Thomas Plume, Archdeacon of Rochester who lived 1630-1704 ODNB WIKI.
Holders of this chair are:
Roger Cotes (1707–1716) ODNB WIKI
Robert Smith (1716–1760) ODNB WIKI
Anthony Shepherd (1760–1796) ODNB WIKI
Samuel Vince (1796–1821) ODNB WIKI
Robert Woodhouse (1822–1827) ODNB WIKI
George Airy (1828–1836) ODNB WIKI
James Challis (1836–1882) ODNB WIKI
George Darwin (1883–1912) ODNB WIKI
Arthur Eddington (1913–1944) ODNB WIKI
Harold Jeffreys (1946–1958) ODNB WIKI
Fred Hoyle (1958–1972) ODNB WIKI
Martin Rees (1973–1991) WIKI
Richard Ellis (1993–1999) WIKI
Jeremiah Ostriker (2001–2004) WIKI
Robert C. Kennicutt, Jnr. (2005–2017) WIKI
Christopher S. Reynolds (2017-)
Professor of Astrophysics (1909)
This chair granted to him by the University in 1909 was endowed by Hugh Newall on his retirement in 1928.
Holders of this chair are:
Hugh Newall (1909-1928) ODNB WIKI
F.J.M. Stratton (1928-1947) ODNB WIKI
R.O. Redman (1947-1971) ODNB WIKI
Donald Lynden-Bell (1971-1997) WIKI
George Efstathiou (1997–2023)
Hiranya Peiris (2023-)
Other Cambridge Chairs
The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics (1663)
Some previous Directors of the Cambridge Observatory held this chair, but it is now mainly held by physicists.
The Lowndean chair of Astronomy and Geometry (1747)
Some previous Directors of the Cambridge Observatory held this chair, but it is now mainly held by mathematicians.
Links in this page
Links in this page are to ODNB (the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) or to WIKI (Wikipedia) enabling you to find out more about the lives of the individual professors.