Little is known about Jeremiah Horrocks' early life, except that he was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, circa 1619. He entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1632 as a 'sizar', or poor scholar, and taught himself astronomy and mathematics.
At this period of time, the scientific revolution in Europe had just begun. Copernicus' book "On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres" heralded an era where scholars and scientists increasingly realised the importance of mathematics and experiments in making scientific advances. Many of the new ideas in science, however, were strongly opposed - particularly by the Roman Catholic Church.
Hoole church |
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After leaving Cambridge, Horrocks moved to Hoole as a curate.
Here he was able to predict and observe the transit of Venus across the face of the sun, an account of which he entitled "Venus in Sole Visa" (venus in the face of the sun).
This was published posthumously in 1662, Horrocks having died in 1641 (aged only about 22) after an illness. |
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Despite living in a remote rural location such as Hoole, in the days before proper roads, transport, and postal services, Horrocks managed to maintain some contact with other astronomers, in particular William Crabtree of the village of Salford. |
Carr House - where horrocks lived |
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The ideas of these astronomers were never printed in their own day, and many papers were lost during the Civil War or the Great Fire of London.
What did survive, however, was eventually recognised to be of great importance, and Horrocks' prediction that a transit of Venus would occur in 1769 - but visible on the other side of the world - was one of the reasons Captain Cook's scientific expedition to Tahiti was organised.
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