Abstract
The Observatory of the Rajah of Travancore "We have seen with not a little pleasure,” said the Athenœum of December 7, 1839, “an Astronomical Ephemeris, printed at the press of the Rajah of Travancore, and calculated for the meridian of the observatory recently established at Trivandrum, the capital of that State. Those who feel an interest in the intellectual progress of the people of India must be gratified to learn that the computations for this work were all made by native youths of Travancore, who received their education at the free school maintained by the Rajah. His Highness . . . came to a determination, in 1837, to establish at his capital an observatory of a superior kind; with the double view of affording his aid to the advancement of astronomical science, and of introducing, by its means, correct ideas of the principles of this scienco among the rising generation under his government. For the situation of Astronomer he chose Mr. John Caldecott, who, aided by Colonel Fraser, the British Resident at Travancore, decided on the plan of the building which is now erected, and which stands in latitude 8° 30′ 35″ N., longitude 76° 59′ 45″ E. Hitherto the observations have been carried on with small but excellent instruments belonging to Mr. Caldecott; but his Highness the Rajah intends to furnish it with the finest instruments to be procured in Europe, having, for this purpose, secured the services of T. Jones, T. Simms, and Dollond. ..."
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Science News a Century Ago. Nature 144, 952 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144952a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144952a0