This is a revealing account of the family life and achievements of the Third Earl of Rosse, a hereditary peer and resident landlord at Birr Castle, County Offaly, in nineteenth-century Ireland, before, during and after the devastating famine of the 1840s. He was a remarkable engineer, who built enormous telescopes in the cloudy middle of Ireland. The book gives details, in an attractive non-technical style which requires no previous scientific knowledge, of his engineering initiatives and the astronomical results, but also reveals much more about the man and his contributions - locally in the town and county around Birr, in political and other functions in an Ireland administered by the Protestant Ascendancy, in the development and activities of the Royal Society, of which he was President from 1848-54, and the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The Countess of Rosse, who receives full acknowledgement in the book, was a woman of many talents, among which was her pioneering work in photography, and the book includes reproductions of her artistic exposures, and many other attractive illustrations.
Autorentext
Charles Mollan is a retired science administrator, editor and publisher, and a historian of Irish science
Klappentext
This book provides the first comprehensive biographical account of the Third Earl of Rosse. A remarkable man, he was a resident landlord and a key member of the Protestant ascendancy in nineteenth-century Ireland before, during and after the devastating Irish famine of the 1840s. He has received lasting fame as the builder of Birr Castle in County Offaly, where he constructed enormous reflecting telescopes which allowed the recognition for the first time of the spiral shape of some galaxies. As well as giving a comprehensive account of the engineering genius the astronomical achievements of the Earl and his assistants, the book reveals new details about his other key roles, not only in the local community at Birr, but in the Royal Society, of which he was president from 184854, in the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and in various political and administrative structures in Ireland. This volume also sheds new light on the family life of the Earl and Countess, whose children included Sir Charles Parsons, the inventor of the steam turbine engine, which revolutionised electricity generation and marine transport. The Countess' own pioneering achievements in photography are detailed here alongside reproductions of her work.With chapters from an international selection of distinguished contributors, this book will interest a wide readership, particularly historians of nineteenth-century British and Irish science, astronomy and photography, and those studying nineteenth-century Irish history.
Inhalt
Preface Daniel McDowellIntroduction Charles MollanSuccession of the Parsons Family at Birr1. History of the Parsons family and Birr Castle The Earl and Countess of Rosse2. Origin of the 3rd Earl's interest in astronomy Trevor Weekes3. Mary, Countess of Rosse (181385) Daniel McDowell, Alison, Countess of Rosse, and David Davison4. William Parsons' influence on the town and community of Birr Margaret Hogan5. Negotiating 'a difficult sectarian terrain': The public life and political opinions of the 3rd Earl of Rosse Andrew Shields6. A Consummate Engineer Charles Mollan7. Birr Castle observations of non-stellar objects and the development of nebular theories Wolfgang Steinicke8. William Parsons and the Irish nineteenth-century tradition of independent astronomical research Allan Chapman9. 'A presiding influence': The relations of the 3rd Earl of Rosse with scientific institutions in Britain and Ireland Simon Schaffer10. The 3rd Earl of Rosse: An assessment Trevor WeekesSelect bibliographyIndex