Person
Biggs, Alfred Barrett (1825 - 1900)
- Born
- 10 April 1825
London, England - Died
- 19 December 1900
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia - Occupation
- Inventor, Teacher and Astronomer
Summary
Alfred Biggs was a teacher, instrument maker, inventor, and pioneer in astronomy, seismology and telecommunications in Tasmania. From 1845 to 1852 he was a schoolteacher in Tasmania, then in Melbourne 1852-1863 and again back in Tasmania 1863-1880. After he moved to Launceston in 1880 as a bank officer, he established an observatory there, recording observations and measurements. He also constructed and trialled a telephone connection between Launceston and Campbell Town, and built a siesmometer.
Details
Chronology
- 1884
- Career event - Fellow, Royal Society of Tasmania
- 1888 -
- Career event - Original [founding] member, Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
Related entries
Archival resources
Archives Office of Tasmania
- Alfred Barrett Biggs - Records, 1845 - 1900, NS 984; Archives Office of Tasmania. Details
Published resources
Books
- Giordano, Margaret, Watcher of the skies: the story of Alfred Barrett Biggs, pioneer in astronomy, seismology and telecommunications (Launceston, Tas.: Regal Publications, 1995), 124 pp. Details
- Orchiston, Wayne, Alfred Barrett Biggs and Amateur Astronomy in Tasmania (Perth: NACAA, 1983), 97-110 pp. Details
Book Sections
- George, Martin, 'Biggs, Alfred Barrett (1825-1900), Teacher, Bank Officer, Astronomer and Inventor' in Australian dictionary of biography: supplement 1580 - 1980, with a name index to the Australian dictionary of biography to 1980, Christopher Cunneen, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2005), p. 31. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10039b.htm. Details
- Orchiston, Wayne, 'The Astronomical Activities of Alfred Barrett Biggs of Launceston'.' in Earth Tremors: proceedings of a seminar commemorating the centenary of instrumental seismology in Australia, J. L. Perdix, ed. (Launceston, Tasmania: Royal Society of Tasmania, 1983), pp. 11-27. Details
Journal Articles
- Orchiston, Wayne, 'The Contribution of Alfred Barrett Biggs to Australian and Tasmanian Astronomy', Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, 89 (1985), 1-28. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535360. Details
- 'Biggs, Alfred Barrett (-1900)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1466976. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Biggs, Alfred Barrett', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001600p.htm. Details
Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 18 September 2024
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