Edmond Halley (1656-1742), Astronomer

Sitter in 13 portraits
The greatest of English astronomers. At the age of 22 he published his catalogue of the stars of the Southern hemisphere and in 1705, his celebrated work on comets. Halley published Newton's Principia at his own expense in 1687. By collecting observations of earlier comets, he was able to predict the appearance of the great comet of 1758 ('Halley's Comet'). He was appointed Astronomer Royal in 1721.