Colin Campbell (astronomer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Colin Campbell | |
|---|---|
| Died | 26 January 1752 |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Spouse | Margaret Foster |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Colin Campbell FRS (died 26 January 1752) was a Scottish astronomer.
He grew up in Jamaica and died there in Kingston in 1752. He matriculated at Glasgow University, in 1720. He was invested as a fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 7 November 1734. He studied Newton's theory of the diminution of gravity away from the equator. He made astronomical observations, in correspondence with Edmund Halley.[1] He held the office of Member of the Council (Jamaica) in 1742. After 1742, he sold his astronomical instruments to Alexander Macfarlane.[2] In 1748, he lived at St. George Hanover Square, London.
In Jamaica, Campbell was a slaveholder and planter. In his will, Campbell bequeathed to his wife, Margaret Campbell, "the use and enjoyment of any of my Negroes at her own choice".[3] In his will, he also bequeathed to his son, Colin, his "Negroes" at his two sugar plantations, Orange Bay and Fish River.[4]
