Edmund Halley (1656-1741/2).
[1045]Mr. Edmund Hally, astronomer, born October 29, 1656, London—this nativity I had from Mr. Hally himself.
[1046]Mr. Edmund Halley[1047], Artium Magister, the eldest son of <Edmund> Halley, a soape-boyler, a wealthy citizen of the city of London; of the Halleys, of Derbyshire, a good family.
He was born in Shoreditch parish, at a place called Haggerston, the backside of Hogsdon.
At 9 yeares old, his father's apprentice taught him to write, and arithmetique. He went to Paule's schoole to Dr. Gale: while he was there he was very perfect in the Caelestiall Globes insomuch that I heard Mr. Moxon (the globe-maker) say that if a star were misplaced in the globe, he would presently find it.
At ... he studyed Geometry, and at 16 could make a dyall, and then, he said, thought himselfe a brave fellow.
At <16> went to Queen's Colledge in Oxon, well versed in Latin, Greeke, and Hebrew: where, at the age of nineteen, he solved this useful probleme in astronomie, never donne before, ☞ viz. 'from 3 distances given from the sun, and angles between, to find the orbe' (mentioned in the Philosophicall Transactions, Aug. or Sept. 1676, No. 115), for which his name will be ever famous.
Anno Domini ... tooke his degree of Bacc. Art.; Anno Domini ... tooke his degree of Master of Arts[1048].
Anno ... left Oxon, and lived at London with his father till <1676>; at which time he gott leave, and a viaticum of his father, to goe to the Island of Sancta Hellena, purely upon the account of advancement in Astronomy, to make the globe of the Southerne Hemisphere right, which before was very erroneous, as being donne only after the observations of ignorant seamen. There he stayed ... moneths. There went over with him (amongst others) a woman ... yeares old, and her husband ... old, who had no child in ... yeares; before he came from the island, she was brought to bed of a child. At his returne, he presented his Planisphere, with a short description, to his majesty who was very well pleased with it; but received nothing but prayse.