Dirk Klinkenberg (15 November 1709,

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

– 3 March 1799,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

) was secretary of the Dutch government for 40 years. He was also known as a mathematician and amateur astronomer.

Jan de Munck Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

, Dirk Klinkenberg, and

Jean-Philippe de Cheseaux Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux (; 4 May 1718 – 30 November 1751) was a Swiss astronomer. Biography Loys de Cheseaux was born on 4 May 1718 in Lausanne, Vaud, to Paul-Etienne Loys de Cheseaux, a banneret, and Estienne-Judith de Crousaz. His ...

each independently discovered the

Great Comet of 1744 The Great Comet of 1744, whose official designation is C/1743 X1, and which is also known as Comet de Chéseaux or Comet Klinkenberg-Chéseaux, was a spectacular comet that was observed during 1743 and 1744. It was discovered independently in lat ...

(aka C/1743 X1). Klinkenberg would later also discover comets C/1748 K1 and C/1762 K1. Anticipating the return of

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

, he made an independent calculation of its orbit and sent Paris astronomers an estimate that it might reappear by May 1758. It was not observed until late December 1758. He was able to confirm its return independently on 24 April 1759.Joseph N de l'Isle,
Sur la comète de 1759, ou le retour de celle de 1682
" ''Mémoires de mathématique et de physique MDCCLX'' (Paris, 1766) pp. 380-465 Asteroid 10427 Klinkenberg, named after him, was discovered on September 24, 1960 by husband and wife team

Cornelis Johannes van Houten Cornelis Johannes "Kees" van Houten (18 February 1920 – 24 August 2002) was a Dutch people, Dutch astronomer. Early life and education Born in The Hague, he spent his entire career at Leiden University except for a brief period (1954–1956) as ...

and

Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld (; ; 21 October 1921 – 30 March 2015) was a Dutch astronomer. Background In a jointly credited trio with Tom Gehrels and her husband Cornelis Johannes van Houten, she was the discoverer of many thousands of as ...

.Fabio Zugno
''Dirk Klinkenberg (November 15, 1709 - May 3, 1799).''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klinkenberg, Dirk 1709 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Dutch astronomers Scientists from Haarlem