View source for William Huggins

{{Short description|British astronomer}}
{{other people||William Huggins (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix  = [[Sir]]
| name              = William Huggins
| image             = Sir William Huggins by John Collier.jpg
| alt               = 
| caption           = Portrait by [[John Collier (Pre-Raphaelite painter)|John Collier]], 1905
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1824|2|7|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Cornhill, London|Cornhill]], [[Middlesex]], England
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1910|5|12|1824|2|7|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[Tulse Hill]], [[County of London|London]], England
| fields            = [[Astronomy]]
| doctoral_advisor  = 
| academic_advisors = 
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students  = 
| known_for         = [[Astronomical spectroscopy]]
| awards            = [[Royal Medal]] <small>(1866)</small><br>[[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] {{small|(1867)}}<br>[[Lalande Prize]] <small>(1870)</small><br>[[Rumford Medal]] <small>(1880)</small><br>[[Valz Prize]] <small>(1882)</small><br>[[Janssen Medal (French Academy of Sciences)|Janssen Medal]] <small>(1888)</small> <br>[[Copley Medal]] <small>(1898)</small><br>[[Actonian Prize]] {{small|(1900)}}<br>[[Henry Draper Medal]] <small>(1901)</small><br>[[Bruce Medal]] <small>(1904)</small>
| signature         = <!--(filename only)-->
| signature_alt     = 
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = [[Margaret Lindsay Huggins]]
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OM|KCB|FRS|size=100%}}
}}
''' Sir William Huggins''' (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was a British astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, [[Margaret Lindsay Huggins|Margaret]].<ref>{{cite DNB12|author=Henry Park Hollis|wstitle=Huggins, William}}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:Huggins William 1910.jpg|thumb|William Huggins (1910)]]
William Huggins was born at [[Cornhill, London|Cornhill]], [[Middlesex]], in 1824. In 1875, he married [[Margaret Lindsay Huggins|Margaret Lindsay]], daughter of John Murray of [[Dublin]], who also had an interest in astronomy and scientific research.<ref name=Becker4>
{{citation
 | last1 = Becker
 | first1 = Barbara J.
 | title = Eclecticism, Opportunism, and the Evolution of a New Research Agenda: William and Margaret Huggins and the Origins of Astrophysics
 | chapter = Ch 4—1 – Margaret Huggins: The Myth of the 'able assistant'
 | chapter-url = http://faculty.humanities.uci.edu/bjbecker/huggins/ch4.html
}}
</ref>

She encouraged her husband's photography and helped to put their research on a systematic footing.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Huggins built a private [[observatory]] at 90 Upper [[Tulse Hill]], London, from where he and his wife carried out extensive observations of the spectral [[emission line]]s and [[absorption line]]s of various celestial objects.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

On 29 August 1864, Huggins was the first to take the spectrum of a [[planetary nebula]] when he analysed [[NGC 6543]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Huggins |first1=William |last2=Miller |first2=W.A. |title=On the spectra of some of the nebulae |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London |date=1864 |volume=154 |pages=437–444 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000049721522;view=1up;seq=503 |doi=10.1098/rstl.1864.0013|doi-access=free |bibcode=1864RSPT..154..437H }} See p. 438, "No. 4373".</ref><ref name=Kwok1>{{citation
 | last1 = Kwok
 | first1 = Sun
 | author1-link = Sun Kwok
 | title = The origin and evolution of planetary nebulae
 | chapter = Chapter1: History and overview
 | date = 2000
 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 | pages = 1–7
 | isbn = 0-521-62313-8
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7NfqpZxO_o0C
}}</ref>

He was also the first to distinguish between [[nebula]]e and [[galaxy|galaxies]] by showing that some (like the [[Orion Nebula]]) had pure emission spectra characteristic of gas, while others like the [[Andromeda Galaxy]] had the spectral characteristics of [[star]]s.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

Huggins was assisted in the analysis of spectra by his neighbor, the chemist [[William Allen Miller]]. Huggins was also the first to adopt [[dry plate]] photography in imaging astronomical objects.<ref name=Becker4 />

With observations of [[Sirius]] showing a [[redshift]] in 1868, Huggins hypothesized that a [[radial velocity]] of the star could be computed.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Huggins | first=W. | title=Further observations on the spectra of some of the stars and nebulae, with an attempt to determine therefrom whether these bodies are moving towards or from the Earth, also observations on the spectra of the Sun and of Comet&nbsp;II | journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London]] | date=1868 | volume=158 | pages=529–564 | doi=10.1098/rstl.1868.0022 | bibcode=1868RSPT..158..529H}}</ref>

Huggins won the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1867, jointly with [[William Allen Miller]]. He later served as [[President of the Royal Astronomical Society]] from 1876 to 1878, and received the Gold Medal again (this time alone) in 1885. He served as an officer of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]] for a total of 37 years, more than any other person.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Dreyer | first1 = John L. E. | last2 = Turner | first2 = Herbert H. | title = History of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1820–1920 | publisher = [[Royal Astronomical Society]] | volume = 1 | date = 1923 | location = London | page = 250 }}</ref>

Huggins was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in June 1865, was awarded their [[Royal Medal]] (1866), [[Rumford Medal]] (1880) and [[Copley Medal]] (1898) and delivered their [[Bakerian Lecture]] in 1885.

He then served as [[President of the Royal Society]] from 1900 to 1905. For example, his Presidential Address in 1904 praised the fallen Fellows and distributed the prizes of that year.<ref>Wm Huggins (30 November 1904) [https://archive.org/details/philtrans05492392 Huggins Presidential Address], link from Internet Archive</ref>

He died at his home in Tulse Hill, London, after an operation for a [[hernia]] in 1910 and was buried at [[Golders Green Crematorium]].

== Telescopes ==
In 1856 Huggins acquired a 5-inch diameter [[aperture]] telescope by Dollond.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0GGtNxUpeR4C&q=William+Huggins+telescopes+18+inch+reflector&pg=PA10|title=Report of the National Academy of Sciences for the Year ...|last=Sciences (U.S.)|first=National Academy of|date=1902|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 1858 an 8-inch telescope by Clark was added.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title=1913ApJ....37..145H Page 145|bibcode = 1913ApJ....37..145H| last1=Hale | first1=George E. | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | year=1913 | volume=37 | page=145 | doi=10.1086/141983 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> These were both [[refracting telescope]]s.<ref name=":0" /> They had glass [[Objective (optics)|objectives]].

In 1871 Huggins acquired an {{convert|18|in|m|adj=on}} [[speculum metal|speculum]] [[reflecting telescope]] from the [[Grubb Telescope Company]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nall |first1=Joshua |title=18-inch telescope primary mirror, speculum, from William Huggins' Tulse Hill Observatory, by Howard Grubb, Irish, 1871 |url=https://collections.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/objects/13295/ |website=[[Whipple Museum]] |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=27 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=":0"/>

==Honours and awards==
'''Honours'''
*Elected an International Honorary Member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] in 1892.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-09 |title=William Huggins {{!}} American Academy of Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/william-huggins |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=amacad.org}}</ref>
*Elected an International Member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1895.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=William+Huggins&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>
*Knight Commander of the [[Order of the Bath]] (KCB) in the [[1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours]] list on 22 June 1897.<ref>{{cite journal|title='''HUGGINS, Sir Wm.''', K.C.B. cr. 1897|journal=Who's Who|date=1907|volume= 59|pages=889–890|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEcuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA889|last1=Addison|first1=Henry Robert|last2=Lawson|first2=William John|last3=Oakes|first3=Charles Henry|last4=Sladen|first4=Douglas Brooke Wheelton}}</ref>
*Huggins was among the original recipients of the [[Order of Merit]] (OM) in the [[1902 Coronation Honours]] list published on 26 June 1902,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Coronation Honours |date=26 June 1902 |page=5 |issue=36804}}</ref> and received the order from King [[Edward VII]] at [[Buckingham Palace]] on 8 August 1902.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular |date=9 August 1902 |page=6 |issue=36842}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27470|page=5679|date=2 September 1902|}}</ref>
*Elected an International Member of the United States [[National Academy of Sciences]] in 1904.<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Huggins |url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/20001312.html |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=nasonline.org}}</ref>
'''Awards'''
*[[Royal Medal]] (1866)
*[[Lalande Prize]] (1870)
*[[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] (jointly with [[William Allen Miller]] in 1867, solo in 1885)
*[[Rumford Medal]] (1880)
*[[Valz Prize]] (1882)<ref name=Popular>{{cite journal | title = The Valz Prize | journal = Popular Astronomy | volume = 21 | pages = 384 | date = 1913 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hr0zAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA384}}</ref>
* Member of the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] (1883)
*[[Janssen Medal (French Academy of Sciences)|Janssen Medal]] (1888)
*[[Copley Medal]] (1898)
*[[Henry Draper Medal]] from the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] (1901)<ref name=Draper>{{cite web|title=Henry Draper Medal|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/henry-draper-medal.html|publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]]|access-date=19 February 2011}}</ref>
*[[Bruce Medal]] (1904)
''' Named after him'''
*[[Huggins (lunar crater)]]
*[[Huggins (Martian crater)]]
*[[Asteroid]] [[2635 Huggins]]

==Publications==
[[File:William huggins00.jpg|thumb|right|Caricature of Huggins by [[Leslie Ward]] in ''[[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'']]
* 1870: ''Spectrum analysis in its application to the heavenly bodies''. Manchester, (Science lectures for the work
people; series 2, no. 3)
* 1872: (editor) [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn3317;view=1up;seq=9 Spectrum analysis in its application to terrestrial substances and the physical constitution of heavenly bodies] by H. Schellen, translated by Jane and Caroline Lassell, link from [[HathiTrust]].
* 1899: (with Lady [[Margaret Lindsay Huggins|Huggins]]): ''An Atlas of Representative Stellar Spectra from  <math>\lambda</math>4870 to <math>\lambda</math>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, (Publications of Sir William Huggins's Observatory; v. 1)
* 1906: ''The Royal Society, or, Science in the state and in the schools''. London.
* 1909: ''The Scientific Papers of Sir William Huggins''; edited by Sir William and Lady Huggins.  London, (Publications of Sir William Huggins's Observatory; v. 2)

==See also==
* [[Planetary nebula#Observations]]
*[[Timeline of knowledge about the interstellar and intergalactic medium]]
* [[List of presidents of the Royal Society]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|William Huggins}}
{{wikisource author}}
* [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/34039 Huggins, Sir William (1824–1910)] Barbara J. Becker, [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], 2004 (subscription required)
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Huggins, Sir William | volume= 13 |last1= Clerke |first1= Agnes Mary |author1-link= Agnes Mary Clerke | pages = 856–857 |short=1}}
* [http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1845.htm Audio description of Huggins' work]
* [http://eee.uci.edu/clients/bjbecker/huggins/index.html Eclecticism, Opportunism, and the Evolution of a New Research Agenda: William and Margaret Huggins and the Origins of Astrophysics] Barbara J. Becker
* [[William Wallace Campbell]] [https://archive.org/details/jstor-40691722 Sir William Huggins, K.C.B.,O.M.], [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]] link from [[Internet Archive]].

{{s-start}}
{{s-npo|pro}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Joseph Lister]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Royal Society|President of the Royal Society]]|order=38th|years=1900–1905}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lord Rayleigh]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Copley Medallists 1851-1900}}
{{Royal Society presidents 1900s}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huggins, William}}
[[Category:1824 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]
[[Category:British astrophysicists]]
[[Category:19th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:People educated at the City of London School]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Bruce Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Copley Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Royal Medal winners]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:Spectroscopists]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Photographers from London]]
[[Category:Academics from London]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Lalande Prize]]
[[Category:Members of the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala]]
[[Category:International members of the American Philosophical Society]]