Tebbutt, John (1834 - 1916)

Summary

John Tebbutt was one of Australia's foremost nineteenth-century astronomers. He built a private observatory on his property at Windsor, New South Wales, adding more and better instruments over the years. In 1862 he declined the directorship of the Sydney Observatory, preferring to continue working at his own observatory. Tebbutt earned international recognition from his observations of comets in 1861 and 1881. For the first, one of the most brilliant known, he computed its approximate orbit. He also discovered the Nova Scorpii in 1862. He published a long series of papers in astronomical journals, particularly the Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society of London. From the early 1860s Tebbutt also made meteorological observations. In 1868 he published the first of his records as Meteorological observations made at the private observatory of John Tebbutt, Jnr.. In 1895 Tebbutt became inaugural President of the New South Wales Branch of the British Astronomical Society.

Details

Chronology

1861 - 1866

Career position - Member, Philosophical Society of New South Wales

1866 - 1916

Career position - Fellow, Royal Society of New South Wales

1867

Award - Silver Medal, Paris Exposition, for the paper "On the progress and present state of astronomical science in New South Wales"

1873 - 1916

Award - Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society, London

1895 - 1896

Career position - Inaugural President, New South Wales Branch, British Astronomical Society

1905

Award - Jackson-Gwilt Medal, Royal Astronomical Society, London

Related entries

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

• John Tebbutt - Records, 1860 - 1875, ML DOC 1142; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, c. 1847 - c. 1871, A3728; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1853 - 1910, A3729-3746, 3780; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1853 - 1859, A3745; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1864 - 1989, A3747-3757; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1899 - 1902, A3758; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1882 - 1901, A3759; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1862 - 1905, A3760-3774; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1885, A3777; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1885 - 1903, A3776; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, A3775; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1882, A3778; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1862 - 1863, A3779; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, A3781; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, A3782; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, A3783-4; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1859 - 1863, A3785-6; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1863 - 1913, A3787-99; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1857 - 1869, ML MSS 59; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
• John Tebbutt - Records, 1847 - 1915, A3682-3799; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

• Bhathal, Ragbir S., Australian Astronomer John Tebbutt: the Life and World of the Man on the $100 Note (Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press, 1993), 111 pp. Details
• Orchiston, W., John Tebbutt: rebuilding and strengthening the foundations of Australian astronomy (New York: Springer, 2016), 555 pp. Details
• Tebbutt, J., On the progress and present state of astronomical science in New South Wales (Sydney: Government Printer, 1871), 16 pp. Details
• Tebbutt, John, History and description of Mr. Tebbutt's observatory, Windsor, New South Wales (Sydney: Joseph Cook & Co., printers, 1887), 74 pp. Details
• Tebbutt, John, Astronomical Memoirs ... Being a popular and complete account of the astronomical work done by him at the Peninsula, Windsor, New South Wales, from the year 1853 to the close of 1907 (Sydney: F. W. White, 1908), 132 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Lomb, Nick, 'Early advances in observing eclipses' in Eclipse chasers, Lomb, Nick; and Stevenson, Toner, eds (Clayton South, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing, 2023), pp. 25-53. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Tebbutt vs Russell: Passion, Power and Politics in Nineteenth Century Australian Astronomy' in History of Oriental Astronomy, S.M.R. Ansari, ed. (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2002), pp. 169-201. Details
• Wood, Harley, 'Tebbutt, John (1834-1916), astronomer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 251-252. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/tebbutt-john-4696. Details

Conference Papers

• Kimpton, C., 'John Tebbutt - Amateur Astronomer', in 9th National Convention of Amateur Astronomers (Geelong: 1980), pp. 89-94.. Details

Journal Articles

• Bhathal, Ragbir, 'Australia's Great Comet Hunter', Astronomy and Geophysics, 51 (1) (2010), 1.23-1.25, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-4004.2010.51123.x/abstract. Details
• Lomb, Nick, 'Australian eclipses: three "men of science" and the Sydney eclipse of 1857', Journal of astronomical history and heritage, 24 (3) (2021), 619-28. Details
• Orchiston, W., 'John Tebbutt: an Australian Astronomer of Note', Astronomy Now, 2 (5) (1981), 11-16. Details
• Orchiston, W., 'Astronomical Memoirs by J. Tebbutt', Australian Journal of Astronomy, 2 (2) (1987), 79-81. Details
• Orchiston, W., 'Illuminating Incidents in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the Sydney Observatory Directorship of 1862', Australian Journal of Astronomy, 2 (1988), 149-158. Details
• Orchiston, W., 'Illuminating Incidents in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the Founding of the Windsor Observatory', Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 89 (6) (1988), 287-293. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Illuminating Incidents in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the Great Comet of 1881', Journal of the Astronomical Society of Victoria, 34 (6) (1981), 78-92. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Illuminating Incidents in Antipodean Astronomy: John Tebbutt and the abortive Australian Association of Comet Observers', Journal of the Astronomical Society of Victoria, 35 (5) (1982), 70-83. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'John Tebbutt and the Whakatane Eight Inch Refractor: a review of 'The Australian Connection'', Southern Stars, 29 (8) (1982), 215-244. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'John Tebbutt: Australian Astronomer Extraordinaire', Australian Journal of Astronomy, 2 (1) (1987), 44-46. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'The Astronomical Register, John Tebbutt, and Astronomy in the Antipodes', Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 100 (1990), 212. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Comets and Communication: Amateur-Professional Tension in Australian Astronomy', Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 16 (1999), 212-221. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales: a Pioneer Southern Hemisphere Variable Star Observer', Irish Astronomical Journal, 27 (2000), 47-54. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Politics and Personalities in Australian Astronomy: the Russell-Tebbutt Feud', AAO Newsletter, 95 (2000), 8-11. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, '"Sentinel of the Southern Heavens": the Windsor Observatory of John Tebbutt', Journal of the Antique Telescope Society, 21 (2001), 11-23. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'John Tebbutt and Observational Astronomy at Windsor Observatory', Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 114 (2003), 141-154. Details
• Orchiston, Wayne, 'Highlighting the History of Nineteenth Century Australian Astronomy: the Tebbutt Collection in the Mitchell Library, Sydney', Journal of Astronomical Data, 10 (2004), 59-79. Details
• Roser, S. R.; and White, G. L., 'John Tebbutt's Observations of Halley's Comet in 1910', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 6 (1986), 354-358. Details
• White, G. L., 'John Tebbutt and the Astronomy at Windsor Observatory', Proceedings of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 3 (6) (1979), 408-411. Details

Resources

• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/59866099. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q433765. Details
• 'Tebbutt, John (1834-1916)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-571640. Details

See also

• Moyal, Ann, 'Creative foundations: the Royal Society of New South Wales, 1867 and 2017', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 150 (2) (2017), 232-45. Details
• Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details