Robert Blair FRSE (1748 – 22 December 1828) was a Scottish

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

Life

He was born in

Garvald, East Lothian Garvald is a village south-east of Haddington in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies on the Papana Water south of the B6370, east of Gifford. The combined parish of Garvald and Bara, borders Whittingehame to the East, Morham to the North, Yester ...

, the son of Rev Archibald Blair, the local minister. In 1773 he was apprenticed to Dr Francis Balfour, a

naval surgeon A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail. Ancient uses Speciali ...

, and served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. On return to Scotland he studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and qualified as a doctor in 1785. Robert Blair was the first Regius Professor of

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

at the

(1785 until death). He invented the

aplanatic In optics, spherical aberration (SA) is a type of optical aberration, aberration found in optical systems that have elements with spherical surfaces. Lens (optics), Lenses and curved mirrors are prime examples, because this shape is easier to man ...

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

and also coined this term. This was a significant step in reducing the

aberration in optical systems In optics, aberration is a property of optical systems, such as lenses, that causes light to be spread out over some region of space rather than focused to a point. Aberrations cause the image formed by a lens to be blurred or distorted, with t ...

. He also experimented with hollow lenses, holding different solutions. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1786. He died in Westloch, Berwickshire on 22 December 1828.

References

* Jean Eisenstaedt, "Light and relativity, a previously Unknown Eighteenth-Century Manuscript by Robert Blair (1748–1828)", Annals of Science, 62 347-376 (2005). * Jean Eisenstaedt, Avant Einstein Relativité, lumière, gravitation, Paris, Seuil (2005).

External links

Robert Blair
��a short biography 1748 births 1828 deaths Scottish astronomers Academics of the University of Edinburgh Scottish inventors People from Garvald, East Lothian Scottish surgeons Alumni of the University of Edinburgh {{UK-astronomer-stub