Roderick Oliver Redman FRS (1905–1975) was Professor of Astronomy at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Education

Redman was born at

Rodborough Rodborough is a large village and civil parish in the district of Stroud, Gloucestershire, in South West England. It is directly south of the town of Stroud, north of the town of Nailsworth and north-west of the town of Minchinhampton. The pari ...

near

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and educated at

Marling School Marling School is a grammar school with academy status for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form located in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. It is on the Cainscross Road, the main route out of Stroud towards the M5, and is situated next to the ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

Career

He was director of the University of Cambridge Observatories 1947–72. He had started his career at the

Dominion Astrophysical Observatory The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, located on Observatory Hill, in Saanich, British Columbia, was completed in 1918 by the Canadian government. The Dominion architect responsible for the building was Edgar Lewis Horwood. The main instrume ...

(DAO) in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

1928–31. He moved to

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, UK and was Assistant Director at the Solar Physics Observatory 1931–37. he was then Chief Assistant at the

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Radcliffe Observatory Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a Grade I listed building. Today, the obse ...

outside

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

from 1939–1947. Among his doctoral students were John Hutchings, Colin Scarfe, and Gordon Walker. He received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

under the direction of

Arthur Stanley Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lum ...

in 1931. In 1946 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

. From 1947 to 1972 he was Director of Combined Observatories. He served as president of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

from 1959 to 1961.

Honors

The inner

main-belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

asteroid 7886 Redman, discovered by Canadian astronomer David D. Balam in 1993, has been named in his memory, jointly with the astronomer Russell Ormond Redman. No relation except for their shared initials and the fact that both worked at the DAO during significant parts of their careers. The official naming citation was published on 10 June 1998 ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redman, Roderick Oliver 1905 births 1975 deaths Academics of the University of Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Marling School Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society People from Rodborough