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 entries
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
Created: 2 June 2022