Whether or not ancient monuments such as the pyramids and Stonehenge were constructed to align with certain formations of the stars or other celestial phenomena, as archaeologists and historians would have us believe, it is clear that early humankind realised the movements of the stars across the heavens provided a signal when to sow and gather crops, when to expect the arrival of the rainy seasons or the migrations of animal species, and when it was propitious to embark on sea voyages. Little wonder then that the study of the heavens has been among the most important of humankind's concerns from time immemorial.
We should not be surprised, therefore, that among the entries for over 1,500 individuals contained in the work under review a considerable number date from early antiquity. In fact the earliest “person” recorded in this work is the Greek poet, Homer, the supposed author of the Iliad and Odyssey. Classical scholars have long disputed the existence of a single poet called “Homer”. Such scholars, however, will find that the author of this particular article offers an up to date discussion on the likely identity of the author of the poems together with a detailed description of his (or “her”, or possibly “their”) knowledge of astronomy. Proof of humankind's need to understand the movements of the heavens in order to regulate his daily activities is shown by the large number of entries from the major civilisations of the past, including the Greco‐Roman and Arab worlds, and China, Japan, and India. Historians of science and philosophy will not be surprised at the preponderance of entries for astronomers from the Arab civilisation whose great centres of learning stretching from Persia in the East to Spain in the West kept alight the flame of classical learning which led directly to the European Renaissance some centuries later.
This encyclopaedia is the work of some 400 specialist contributors under the supervision of a team of editors led by Dr Thomas Hockey, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls in the United States. Entries range from the few lines accorded to Anthony Ascham (England sixteenth century), author of one of the earliest astronomical treatises in English, to entries covering several pages in the case of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Many entries are illustrated with portraits of the individual in question and nearly all entries include a list of selected references. In his preface chief editor Hockey explains that the aim is to offer users opportunities for further research rather than to provide a work that is complete in itself. To this end references are generally more difficult to identify sources in preference to standard reference sources. One wonders how easy it might be to obtain copies of some of the more obscure references listed. Hockey also comments that some lesser‐known astronomers may appear to have been given lengthier entries than their more illustrious counterparts. He explains that this has been done to provide biographical details on those for whom information is not otherwise readily available.
An initial glance at the encyclopaedia's contents reveals a number of surprising gaps. In his preface the editor in chief explains that entries have generally been limited to persons born up to the year 1918. The result of this policy is a number of anomalies, such as the inclusion of British astronomer, Sir Fred Hoyle (1915‐2001) but no mention of his near‐contemporaries and colleagues who developed the steady state theory of cosmology with him at Cambridge University, Sir Herman Bondi (1919‐2005) and Thomas Gold (1920‐2004). Although their theory was subsequently discredited, Bondi later became Director General of the European Space Research Organisation (1967‐1971) and Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Ministry of Defence (1971‐1977), whilst Gold was appointed Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Readers should also be aware that this encyclopaedia is by no means comprehensive on astronomers born in the years prior to the end of the First World War. The reviewer searched in vain for a James Wigglesworth (1815‐1888) who had a private observatory constructed in the unlikely location of Scarborough. Wigglesworth was instrumental in the discovery and cataloguing of a number of celestial objects and, for his discoveries, was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society shortly before his death in 1885. His observatory was subsequently removed to Italy where it was used to discredit the belief that the surface of Mars was criss‐crossed by a network of canals.
Despite such criticism this encyclopaedia contains a wealth of information including classical authors, Ovid and Seneca, the early English bard, Alcuin of York, and Richard of Wallingford (ca. 1291‐ca. 1335) who is best remembered as the creator of the astronomical clock at St Alban's abbey. Here, too, are Maria Mitchell 1818‐1889, the first woman astronomer in the USA and her near contemporary Irish/British astronomer, Margaret Lindsay Murray Huggins. In collaboration with her husband, William, Margaret Huggins was responsible for early work on the spectra of planets and comets. The entries for Maria Mitchell and for both Margaret and William Huggins are illustrated by early portrait photographs. Perhaps most surprising is the inclusion of Alfred Russel Wallace who is best known for the development of the theory of evolution which some scholars believe precipitated his contemporary Charles Darwin into print. The work is completed by a general bibliography of recent publications, together with indexes of illustrations, persons covered by the encyclopedia, and a useful index of subjects covered. There is also listing of contributors and the articles they have submitted.
Despite the omissions necessary to keep a work of this nature to a manageable size and the likely problems in tracing some of the reference sources cited, this remains an impressive work. It deserves to be on the shelves of both general academic as well as departmental libraries in institutions where astronomy is studied. However, the work contains so much historical information, albeit with an astronomical slant, that it should appeal to a much wider public. Moreover, the aim of the editorial panel has been to bring together information not readily available elsewhere. It should, therefore, also be considered for inclusion in the reference sections of large public libraries. Publisher Springer Verlag is to be congratulated on making this information available to the public. Perhaps they should now consider the preparation of a further volume to include individuals working in this field in more recent times.
