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–)

 

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.