Sir William Huggins, OM, FRS (February 7 1824 – May 12 1910) was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy.
Life and work
William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex in 1824. He married Margaret Lindsay, who was a capable astronomer in her own right. She encouraged her husband's photography and helped to systemise their research.
Huggins built a private observatory at 90 Upper Tulse Hill, South London from where he and his wife carried out extensive observations of the spectral emission lines and absorption lines of various celestial objects. He was the first to distinguish between nebulas and galaxies by showing that some (like the Orion Nebula) had pure emission spectra characteristic of gas, while others like the Andromeda Galaxy had spectra characteristic of stars. Huggins was assisted in the analysis of spectra by his neighbour, the chemist William Allen Miller.
Huggins was president of the Royal Society between 1900 and 1905.
He died in 1910 and was buried at Golders Green Cemetery.
Honours and awards
Named after him
- Spectrum analysis in its application to the heavenly bodies. Manchester, 1870 (Science lectures for the people; series 2, no. 3)
- (with Lady Huggins): An Atlas of Representative Stellar Spectra from 4870 to 3300, together with a discussion of the evolution order of the stars, and the interpretation of their spectra; preceded by a short history of the observatory. London, 1899 (Publications of Sir William Huggins's Observatory; v. 1)
- The Royal Society, or, Science in the state and in the schools. London, 1906.
- The Scientific Papers of Sir William Huggins; edited by Sir William and Lady Huggins. London, 1909 (Publications of Sir William Huggins's Observatory; v. 2)