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When the day of the transit, 3 June 1769, finally arrived, the pair were lucky to have a reasonably clear day and they were able to observe the transit at around local midday. However, the two astronomers' results for the time of first contact, when Venus first appeared to cross the disc of the Sun,
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They were to stay in Canada for another three months before making the return voyage to
England, thus becoming the first scientists to spend the winter at Hudson Bay. On his return, Wales was still upset by the difference in the observations and refused to present his findings to the Royal Society
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Due to winter pack ice making the journey impossible during the winter months, Wales and Dymond were obliged to begin their journey in the summer of 1768, setting sail on 23 June. Ironically, Wales when volunteering to make a journey to observe the transit, had requested that he be sent to a more
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Due to the scarcity of building materials at the chosen site, the party had to bring not only astronomical instruments, but the materials required for the construction of living quarters. On their arrival, the pair constructed two "Portable
Observatories", which had been designed by the engineer
904:
Journal of a Voyage, Made by Order of the Royal
Society, to Churchill River, on the North-West Coast of Hudson's Bay; Of Thirteen Months Residence in That Country; and of the Voyage Back to England; In the Years 1768 and 1769: By William
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until March 1770; however, his report of the expedition, including the astronomical results as well as other climatic and botanical observations, met with approval and he was invited by James Cook to join his next expedition.
228:. Wales compiled a log book of the voyage, recording locations and conditions, the use and testing of the instruments entrusted to him, as well as making many observations of the people and places encountered on the voyage.
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to observe the transit, with the pair being offered a reward of £200 for a successful conclusion to their expedition. Other Royal
Society expeditions associated with the 1769 transit were Cook's
366:
308:. In his journal, Vancouver recorded his gratitude and indebtedness to Wales's tutelage "for that information which has enabled me to traverse and delineate these lonely regions."
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in 1795, serving in that position until his death in 1798. He was nominated by the First Lord of the
Admiralty, Earl Spencer, and his appointment confirmed 5 December 1795.
208:. Wales' brother-in-law Charles Green, had been the astronomer appointed by the Royal Society to observe the 1769 transit of Venus but had died during the return leg of
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Francis Lucian Reid "William Wales (ca. 1734–1798): playing the astronomer", Studies in
History and Philosophy of Science, 39 (2008) 170–175
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265:, another of Wales' pupils, remembered him as "a good man, of plain simple manners, with a heavy large person and a benign countenance".
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The
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, from Their Commencement, in 1665, to the Year 1800: 1763–1769
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A catalogue of the different specimens of cloth collected in the three voyages of
Captain Cook, to the Southern Hemisphere
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Following his return, Wales was commissioned in 1778 to write the official astronomical account of Cook's first voyage.
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337:"Journal of a voyage, made by order of the Royal Society, to Churchill River, on the North-west Coast of Hudson's Bay"
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255:. It has been suggested that Wales' accounts of his journeys might have influenced Coleridge when writing his poem
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770:"Papers of the Board of Longitude : Confirmed minutes of the Board of Longitude, 1780-1801 (5 December 1795)"
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Lord Byron and some of his comtemporanies with recollections of the author's life and of his visit to Italy
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The
Original Astronomical Observations, Made in the Course of a Voyage...in the Resolution and Adventure
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and was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society in 1776. Amongst Wales' pupils at Christ's Hospital were
170:. Construction work occupied the pair for a month and then they settled in for the long winter season.
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122:(the distance between the Earth and the Sun), Wales and an assistant, Joseph Dymond, were sent to
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Educational comic book produced by the Hudson's Bay Company for Canadian high school students
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during Cook's second circumnavigation, named Wales Point, a cape at the entrance to
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differed by 11 seconds; the discrepancy was to prove a cause of upset for Wales.
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hospitable location. The party arrived at Prince of Wales Fort in August 1768.
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that could be used to establish the longitude of a ship, for Maskelyne's
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Wales was born around 1734 to John and Sarah Wales and was baptised in
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English mathematician and astronomer known for serving under James Cook
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Captain Cook’s Computer: the life of William Wales, F.R.S. (1734-1798)
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300:, in honour of his tutor; the name was later applied to the nearby
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Extracts of William Wales's Journal kept on his voyage aboard HMS
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540:"Transits, Travels and Tribulations, IV: Life on the High Arctic"
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Full digitised version of Wales' Logbook from his voyage on HMS
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Who's Who in Science (Marquis Who's Who Inc, Chicago Ill. 1968)
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288:, who had studied astronomy under Wales as a midshipman on HMS
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Portable observatory made by William Wales and Willam Bayly
22:(1734? – 29 December 1798) was a British mathematician and
72:. In 1765 he married Mary Green, sister of the astronomer
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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
30:'s second voyage of discovery, then became Master of the
326:, discovered in 1998, was named after Wales and Dymond.
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European and American voyages of scientific exploration
212:. The primary objective of Wales and Bayly was to test
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58:) that year. As a youth, according to the historian
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Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
502:"A (Not So) Brief History of the Transits of Venus"
934:Article on Wales compiled for Captain Cook Society
353:The Method of Finding the Longitude by timekeepers
1377:Observations Made During a Voyage Round the World
679:The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers: A-L
676:Orchison, Wayne (2007). Hockey, Thomas A. (ed.).
571:"Historical observations of the transit of Venus"
134:, with observations of the transit being made at
106:1769 transit of Venus and wintering at Hudson Bay
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66:. By the mid-1760s, Wales was contributing to
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182:Captain Cook's second circumnavigation voyage
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538:Fernie, J. Donald (September–October 1998).
899:. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
1003:1769 transit of Venus observed from Tahiti
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929:– Results of Wales' work published in 1777
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797:. Porcher Island Cannery. Archived from
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1356:A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas
600:Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
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114:to make observations of the June 1769
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268:He was appointed as Secretary of the
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1500:18th-century British mathematicians
1332:Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar
79:In 1765, Wales was employed by the
708:"From Fu Man Chu to a grizzly end"
476:. State Library of New South Wales
14:
845:. JPL Small-Body Database Browser
54:(near the West Yorkshire town of
1495:18th-century British astronomers
1424:Puhi Kai Iti / Cook Landing Site
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896:Dictionary of National Biography
843:"15045 Walesdymond (1998 XY21)"
500:Hudon, Daniel (February 2004).
258:The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
652:"Log book of HMS 'Resolution'"
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1505:Schoolteachers from Yorkshire
1363:Characteres generum plantarum
445:Journal for Maritime Research
408:"William Wales' First Voyage"
1510:Fellows of the Royal Society
940:The Transit of William Wales
110:As part of the plans of the
654:. Cambridge Digital Library
306:British Hydrographic Office
239:Wales became Master of the
132:first voyage to the Pacific
40:Fellow of the Royal Society
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1310:Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne
821:"Captain George Vancouver"
682:. Springer. p. 1189.
220:chronometer, based on the
1349:An Account of the Voyages
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774:Cambridge Digital Library
241:Royal Mathematical School
32:Royal Mathematical School
1454:Voyage on a Dinner Table
1370:A Voyage Round the World
200:second voyage of 1772–75
138:, and the expedition of
1158:Johann Reinhold Forster
945:28 October 2014 at the
738:. Colburn. p. 352.
276:Recognition of his work
249:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1446:Stormy Was the Weather
1411:James Cook Collection:
890:"Wales, William"
795:"Wales Island Cannery"
712:Times Higher Education
414:. Captain Cook Society
371:Wales, Wendy (2015).
330:Works by William Wales
304:by an official at the
190:were appointed by the
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1515:People from Wakefield
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60:John Cawte Beaglehole
823:. Discover Vancouver
758:. 1809. p. 683.
732:Hunt, Leigh (1828).
704:Christopher Ondaatje
556:10.1511/1998.37.3396
451:on 28 September 2011
311:Wales featured on a
124:Prince of Wales Fort
1315:St Kilda, Melbourne
1148:Alexander Dalrymple
210:Cook's first voyage
1462:Captain James Cook
1213:Nathaniel Portlock
985:Captain James Cook
594:Glyndwr Williams.
569:Steven van Roode.
544:American Scientist
439:(September 2002).
270:Board of Longitude
192:Board of Longitude
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1414:Australian Museum
1401:Birthplace Museum
1320:Hyde Park, Sydney
706:(15 March 2002).
689:978-0-387-31022-0
324:15045 Walesdymond
282:voyage of 1791–95
245:Christ's Hospital
120:astronomical unit
69:The Ladies' Diary
36:Christ's Hospital
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375:. Hame House.
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298:British Columbia
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286:George Vancouver
116:transit of Venus
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81:Astronomer Royal
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1014:Third voyage
999:First voyage
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799:the original
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1490:1798 deaths
1429:Cook Island
1263:John Webber
1218:Edward Riou
630:Ian Ridpath
518:18 February
280:During his
94:ephemerides
1520:James Cook
1479:Categories
1438:Depictions
1284:Zoffany's
1258:John Watts
1183:James King
1106:Associates
1096:Resolution
920:Resolution
912:Resolution
779:15 January
550:(5): 422.
514:(1): 11–13
412:Cook's Log
290:Resolution
263:Leigh Hunt
232:Later life
205:Resolution
196:James Cook
186:Wales and
128:Hudson Bay
64:George III
46:Early life
24:astronomer
1295:Anchorage
1168:John Gore
1094:HMS
1086:HMS
1080:Grenville
1078:HMS
1072:Endeavour
1070:HMS
1062:HMS
1056:Discovery
1054:HMS
1048:Adventure
1046:HMS
849:10 August
827:10 August
805:10 August
717:11 August
576:10 August
56:Wakefield
52:Warmfield
1325:Victoria
1291:Statues
1277:Artworks
1088:Pembroke
943:Archived
635:6 August
605:6 August
480:6 August
455:6 August
361:See also
89:computer
1394:Related
1038:Vessels
992:Voyages
862:Sources
317:Vanuatu
198:on his
1465:(1986)
1457:(1954)
1449:(1948)
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658:28 May
379:
148:Norway
136:Tahiti
38:and a
1341:Books
1064:Eagle
1018:Death
905:Wales
388:Notes
315:(now
86:as a
1198:Omai
869:ISBN
851:2009
829:2009
807:2009
781:2017
719:2009
684:ISBN
660:2013
637:2009
607:2009
578:2009
520:2022
482:2009
457:2009
420:2009
377:ISBN
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