English astronomer who was among the group of scientists who convinced King Charles II to build a national observatory in Greenwich Observatory. Charles II agreed, and made Flamsteed the first royal astronomer. He was a meticulous observer, refusing to publish until his work was completed. Eventually, he published a star catalog three times as large as Tycho Brahe's. Flamsteed grudgingly provided observations of the moon to Newton for use in his lunar theory. As Newton grew more and more overbearing, demanding the observations be turned over to him, Flamsteed grew more and more recalcitrant to provide data (Westfall 1988, p. 391). Flamsteed was one of the only astronomers to maintain the comets of 1680-1681 were the same, viewed before and after perihelion.

Brahe, Newton

Additional biographies: Bonn