Sir James South (October 1785 – October 19, 1867) was a British astronomer. 1785 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... October 19 is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ...

He helped found the Astronomical Society of London, and it was under his name that a petition was successfully submitted to obtain a royal charter in 1831, whereupon it became the Royal Astronomical Society. Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research (mainly carried on at the time by gentleman astronomers rather than professionals). ...

He and John Herschel jointly produced a catalogue of 380 double stars in 1824, reobserving many of the double stars that had been discovered by William Herschel. He then continued and observed another 458 double stars over the following year. John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel (7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English mathematician and astronomer. ... When two stars are so nearly in the same direction as seen from Earth that they appear to be a single star to the naked eye but may be separated by the use of telescopes, they are referred to as a double star. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Frederick William Herschel, FRS KH (November 15, 1738 – August 25, 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer who became famous for discovering the planet Uranus. ...

He won the Copley Medal in 1826 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in that same year. He was knighted in 1831. Craters on Mars and the Moon are named in his honor. The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Gold Medal awarded to Asaph Hall The Gold Medal is the highest award of the Royal Astronomical Society. ... Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Tycho crater on Earths moon. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Bulk composition of the Moons mantle and crust estimated, weight percent Oxygen 42. ...

He was involved in a notorious lawsuit brought against him by the instrument maker Edward Troughton over an equatorial-mount telescope which the latter had constructed for him, which South considered defective. Troughton sued him for payment and won. South promptly demolished the telescope; the lens, which had been purchased separately, was preserved and presented to the Dublin Observatory in 1862. Edward Troughton (October 1753 – June 12, 1835) was a British instrument maker, who was notable for making telescopes and other astronomical instruments. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• National Portrait Gallery portrait

Obituary

• MNRAS 28 (1868) 69