John Goodricke (September 17, 1764 – April 20, 1786) was an amateur astronomer. He was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, but lived most of his life in England. He was named after, and was a grandson of, Sir John Goodricke. September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... Groningen is a municipality and city in the north of the Netherlands, and capital of Groningen province. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st...

He is best known for his observations of the variable star Algol (Beta Persei) in 1782. Although several stars were already known to vary in apparent magnitude, Goodricke was the first to propose a mechanism that could account for this. He suggested that Algol is what is now known as an eclipsing binary. He presented his findings to the Royal Society in May 1783, and for this work, the Society awarded him the Copley Medal for that year. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on April 16, 1786. He never learned of this honour, as he died four days later, probably from pneumonia. Most stars are of almost constant luminosity. ... ALGOL (short for ALGOrithmic Language) is a family of imperative computer programming languages originally developed in the mid 1950s which became the de facto standard way to report algorithms in print for almost the next 30 years. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... // Headline text HEY!! HOW ARE YOU ALL?? Its nice of you to come read this page. ... Animation showing how an eclipsing binary stars light intensity changes as they orbit An eclipsing binary star is a binary star in which the orbit plane of the two stars lies so nearly in the line of sight of the observer that the components undergo mutual eclipses. ... The premises of the Royal Society in London (first four properties only). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Copley Medal is a scientific award for work in any field of science, the highest award granted by the Royal Society of London. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Pneumonia is an illness of the lungs and respiratory system in which the microscopic, air-filled sacs (alveoli) responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere become inflamed and flooded with fluid. ...

Goodricke was profoundly deaf through most of his life, due to scarlet fever in early childhood. His parents sent him to Braidwood's Academy, a school for the deaf in Edinburgh in Scotland, and then, in 1778, to the Warrington Academy. After leaving the Academy, he returned to live with his parents in York. There, he became friends with Edward Pigott, whose father Nathaniel Pigott had built a sophisticated private observatory. Edward was already interested in variable stars, and he gave Goodricke a list of those that he thought were worthy of observation. The word deaf can have very different meanings depending on the background of the person speaking or the context in which the word is used. ... For other uses, see Edinburgh (disambiguation). ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... 1778 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... York is a city in northern England, at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss. ... Moletai Astronomical Observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. ...

Between October 2005 and March 2006, Sean Ellingham and James Valner from the University of York undertook a project to find the position of Goodricke's observatory using the data he recorded. A study by Sidney Melmore in 1949 showed that he worked from Treasurer's House, near York Minster Cathedral. By recreating his observations, the two students were able to conclude that he had observed from the Eastern-most window of the second floor, looking south towards the Minster. This article is about the British university. ...

Goodricke College at the University of York is named after Goodricke. Goodricke College is a college of the University of York, a British campus university founded in 1963. ... This article is about the British university. ...

External links

Goodricke's life and astronomical work. Features animations of different types of variable stars.

Goodricke College