George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield
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George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield (c. 1695 or 1697 – March 17, 1764), was celebrated as an astronomer.
As Viscount Parker he was member of parliament for Wallingford from 1722 to 1727, but his interests were not in politics. In 1722 he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and he spent most of his time in astronomical observations at his Oxfordshire seat, Shirburn Castle, which had been bought by his father in 1716; here he built an observatory and a chemical laboratory.
He was very prominent in effecting the change to the Gregorian calendar, which came into effect in 1752. His action in this matter, however, was somewhat unpopular, as the opinion was fairly general that he had robbed the people of eleven days.
From 1752 until his death, Macclesfield was president of the Royal Society, and he made some observations on the great 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
| Preceded by: Thomas Parker | Earl of Macclesfield | Followed by: Thomas Parker |
Reference
- This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.