James Short FRS (10 June O.S. (21 June N.S.) 1710 – 14 June 1768) was a Scottish

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and manufacturer of

optical instrument An optical instrument is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes, telescopes, and camera ...

s, principally

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s. During his 35-year career as a telescope-maker he produced approximately 1,360 scientific instruments.

Early life and education

Short was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1710 to Margaret Grierson and William Short, a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

. When he was orphaned at about the age of 10, he was accepted into the

Heriot's Hospital George Heriot's School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private primary education, primary and secondary education, secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has ...

, an orphanage, and at 12 transferred to the Royal High School where he excelled in the study of the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. In 1726 he entered the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

, however after being inspired by lectures given by professor of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

Colin Maclaurin Colin Maclaurin (; ; February 1698 – 14 June 1746) was a Scottish mathematician who made important contributions to geometry and algebra. He is also known for being a child prodigy and holding the record for being the youngest professor. ...

, he transferred to

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and mathematics.

Telescope manufacture

In 1732 Maclaurin gave Short access to use his rooms in the university to work on for experiments in the construction of telescopes. Such was the quality of Short's instruments that in recognition of his skill he was elected 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 ...

on 24 March 1737. In Short's first telescopes the specula were made of glass, as suggested by James Gregory, however later he used metallic specula only, and thus succeeded in giving them true parabolic and elliptic shapes. Short then adopted telescope-making as his profession, which he practised first in Edinburgh up until 1738, after which he transferred to

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 ...

. Almost all of Short's telescopes were of the Gregorian form, and some of them even today retain their original high polish and sharp definition. In 1736 Queen Caroline requested him to instruct her second son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, in mathematics. In March 1737 Short was elected a

and in 1758 became a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. He was a founder member of the

Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce The Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, founded in 1754, was the precursor of The ''Royal'' Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce now more usually known as the RSA. The original Society gaine ...

in 1754. Short died in

Newington Butts Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, London, England, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park ...

, London in 1768, having made a considerable fortune from his profession.

References

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James Short's Reflecting Telescopes, Reflecting Telescopes, National Museums Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, James 1710 births 1768 deaths People associated with astronomy Scientists from Edinburgh Telescope manufacturers People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Businesspeople from Edinburgh British scientific instrument makers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Early life and education

Telescope manufacture

See also

References