Richard van der Riet Woolley held which official position from 1956 until 1971?

Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley (24 April 1906 – 24 December 1986) was an English astronomer who became Astronomer Royal. His mother's maiden name was Van der Riet.

Woolley was born in Weymouth, Dorset and attended Allhallows College, then in Honiton, for about 18 months, but then moved with his parents to South Africa upon their retirement. There he attended and received his degree from the University of Cape Town. Woolley returned to the United Kingdom and studied at University of Cambridge.

From 1937 to 1939 he was Senior Assistant Observer and John Couch Adams Astronomer at the Cambridge Observatory.

Woolley specialized in solar astronomy and in 1939 he was appointed director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory in Canberra, Australia. He later returned to the United Kingdom to take up his appointment as Astronomer Royal from 1956 to 1971.

Woolley was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1953 and won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1971. From 1972 to 1976 he was director of the new South African Astronomical Observatory. He retired in the late 1970s and spent most of his retirement in South Africa.

Woolley was appointed an OBE in 1953 and knighted in 1963.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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6 Comments

Chris Brown

With an interest in astronomy myself, it was ideal for me. My maternal grandfather, who was born in Lonon in 1862, came to New Zealand around 1880 and in the 1890s, developed an interest in astronomy himself, later constructing his own telescopes. He died in 1927, 20 years before I was born.

David Colloby

did not know but knew was not the three other options

Chris Brown

I totally agree, Richard, Gary. It is international and if he doesn't like the questions served up, perhaps he should leave/unsubscribe and try another quiz website.

Richard G Schwartz

Thanks loads majority vote.

Richard D. Boyle

roylynn, it’s an international quiz club. Even so, most questions are US oriented because the majority of members are from the US. Don’t complain when you find a question about which you know NOTHING! Treat it as an opportunity to learn something. Non US members have to endure our questions every day. I wish there were more non US questions so I could fill in gaps in my fund of knowledge about our world.