Colin Campbell (died 26 January 1752) was a Scottish

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. He grew up in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and died there in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

in 1752. He matriculated at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

, in 1720. He was invested as a

fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in 1733. He studied Newton's theory of the diminution of gravity away from the equator. He made astronomical observations, in correspondence with

Edmund Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

. He held the office of Member of the Council (Jamaica) in 1742. After 1742, he sold his astronomical instruments to

Alexander Macfarlane Alexander Macfarlane FRSE LLD (21 April 1851 – 28 August 1913) was a Scottish logician, physicist, and mathematician. Life Macfarlane was born in Blairgowrie, Scotland, to Daniel MacFarlane (Shoemaker, Blairgowrie) and Ann Small. He s ...

. In 1748, he lived at St. George Hanover Square,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In Jamaica, Campbell was a slaveholder and planter. In his will, Campbell bequeathed to his wife, Margaret Campbell, "the use and enjoyment of any of my Negroes at her own choice". In his will, he also bequeathed to his son, Colin, his "Negroes" at his two sugar plantations, Orange Bay and Fish River.

Family

He was the son of Colonel John Campbell and Katherine Claiborne. He married Margaret Foster who died in London in 1786; they had children * John Campbell b. 8 January 1735. John Campbell left Jamaica in 1756 "owing to a bad state of health" but returned in 1767 to dispose of the estates in order to clear his debts. * Elizabeth Campbell born 15 December 1736. * Margaret Jane Campbell born a 6 January 1739. She died in Surrey in September 1771. * Colin Campbell1 b. a 1747. He was a Lt. Colonel in the 1st Guards and died at Portman Square, London, in 1793 having contracted "the Dunkirk fever" while campaigning against the French in Flanders.General Evening Post, London, 2 November 1793, news item

Works

"An Account of Some Observations Made in London, by Mr. George Graham, F.R.S. and at Black-River in Jamaica, by Colin Campbell, Esq; F.R.S. concerning the Going of a Clock; In Order to Determine the Difference between the Lengths of Isochronal Pendulums in Those Places"
Communicated by J. Bradley, M. A. Astr. Prof. Savill. Oxon. F.R.S. ''Phil. Trans''. 1733 38:302-314;

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Colin Year of birth unknown 1752 deaths 18th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century British astronomers Alumni of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish astronomers Scottish slave owners