Astronomer. His interest in astronomy was sparked as a young man by the appearance of the Great Comet of 1744. In the employ of the astronomer of the French Navy, Joseph Nicolas Delisle, he made his first recorded observation, the transit of Mercury on May 6, 1753. In 1764 he was made a fellow of the English Royal Society and elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1770. He discovered thirteen comets and published a sky catalog in 1774 listing 45 objects. By the time the last version of the catalog was published in 1781 the listing had grown to 103 objects. In 1806 he was presented with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor by Napoleon. The Messier designations used in the catalog are still in use by astronomers today.Wife Marie-Francoise de Vermauchampt
Astronomer. His interest in astronomy was sparked as a young man by the appearance of the Great Comet of 1744. In the employ of the astronomer of the French Navy, Joseph Nicolas Delisle, he made his first recorded observation, the transit of Mercury on May 6, 1753. In 1764 he was made a fellow of the English Royal Society and elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 1770. He discovered thirteen comets and published a sky catalog in 1774 listing 45 objects. By the time the last version of the catalog was published in 1781 the listing had grown to 103 objects. In 1806 he was presented with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor by Napoleon. The Messier designations used in the catalog are still in use by astronomers today.Wife Marie-Francoise de Vermauchampt
