Roger Cotes - Astronomy

Astronomy

Roger Cotes's contributions to modern computational methods lie heavily in the fields of astronomy and mathematics. Cotes began his educational career with a focus on astronomy. He became a fellow of Trinity College in 1707, and at age 26 he became the first Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. On his appointment to professor, he opened a subscription list in an effort to provide an observatory for Trinity. Unfortunately, the observatory still was unfinished when Cotes died, and was demolished in 1797.

In correspondence with Isaac Newton, Cotes designed a heliostat telescope with a mirror revolving by clockwork. He recomputed the solar and planetary tables of Giovanni Domenico Cassini and John Flamsteed, and he intended to create tables of the moon's motion, based on Newtonian principles. Finally, in 1707 he formed a school of physical sciences at Trinity in partnership with William Whiston.