Part of the Lancashire Lantern network, the Pioneers gives details of people who were famous local people in science, technology and innovation. These pioneers were either born in Lancashire or their endeavours made a significant contribution to the development of the County.
Jeremiah Horrocks - Horrocks in context
1543 Copernicus published his treatise on the solar system, propounding the view that the planets, including earth, circled the sun. It was banned by the Roman Catholic Church. 1609 Kepler defined 2 of his planetary laws of motion, on which much of Newton's work later depended. 1610 Galileo discovered Saturn's rings, Jupiter's moons, and sunspots. 1616 Galileo was banned by the church from further scientific work. 1619? Birth of Jeremiah Horrocks. 1632 Horrocks studied at Cambridge until 1635. 1633 Galileo taken before the Inquisition for not obeying the decree of 1616. 1635 Horrocks met William Crabtree. 1639 Horrocks moved to Hoole as curate, and predicted and observed the transit of Venus. 1641 Death of Horrocks on 3rd January. 1642 Birth of Isaac Newton. 1660 The Royal Society founded. 1662 Publication of Horrocks' Venus in sole visa. 1678 Publication of his papers by John Wallis as Opera posthuma. 1682 Halley observed, and predicted future return of, a comet. 1761 Mikhail Lomonosov discovered that Venus has an atmosphere. 1768 Captain James Cook sailed to Tahiti in the Endeavour.