Person

O'Reilly, Henry George (1824 - 1877)

Born
22 February 1824
Dublin, Ireland
Died
18 February 1877
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Astronomer and Mariner

Summary

Henry O'Reilly was a mariner, employed by the Australasian Steam Navigation Company as Captain of its ships on the Sydney to Brisbane run until 1863. For the next 14 years he was Manager for the Company in Brisbane. O'Reilly was an enthusiastic amateur astronomer, building an observatory adjacent to the Company's office in 1871. Here he checked the accuracy of ship's clocks and made astronomical observations, including of the Transit of Venus in 1871 and 1874. After his death, instruments from the observatory were acquired by the Queensland Government and made available to the its Meteorological Observer. O'Reilly became a Member (and later a Member of Council) of the Philosophical Society of Queensland in 1871.

Details

Chronology

1852
Life event - Migrated to Australia
1863 - 1876
Career position - Manager, Australasian Steam Navigation Company, Brisbane
1871 - 1877
Career position - Member (later Member of Council), Philosophical Society of Queensland
1872 - 1877
Award - Fellow, Royal Society of Tasmania
1872 - 1877
Award - Fellow, Royal Astronomical Society, United Kingdom

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Anderson, P., 'Brisbane's famous early astronomer: Captain Henry O'Reilly', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 124 (2020), 99-119. Details

Helen Cohn

EOAS ID: biogs/P006999b.htm

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