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ASTRONOMER

John Michell

1724 - 1793

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John Michell (; 25 December 1724 – 21 April 1793) was an English natural philosopher and clergyman who provided pioneering insights into a wide range of scientific fields including astronomy, geology, optics, and gravitation. Considered "one of the greatest unsung scientists of all time", he is the first person known to have proposed the existence of stellar bodies comparable to black holes, and the first to have suggested that earthquakes travelled in (seismic) waves. Recognizing that double stars were a product of mutual gravitation, he was the first to apply statistics to the study of the cosmos. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of John Michell has received more than 385,735 page views. His biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia. John Michell is the 229th most popular astronomer (down from 201st in 2019), the 1,993rd most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,800th in 2019) and the 30th most popular British Astronomer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 390k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 52.90

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 30

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.49

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.86

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of John Michells by language


Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, John Michell ranks 229 out of 531. Before him are Walter Lewin, Tamara Smirnova, Milton L. Humason, George Ellery Hale, Nancy Roman, and Thomas Gold. After him are Agrippa, Henri Debehogne, Eleanor F. Helin, James Glaisher, Adriaan Blaauw, and Rudolph Minkowski.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1724, John Michell ranks 20. Before him are Eva Ekeblad, Franz Aepinus, Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, George Stubbs, Franz Anton Maulbertsch, and Gottfried Heinrich Bach. After him are Claude Balbastre, John Smeaton, Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, Dai Zhen, Johann Julius Walbaum, and Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood. Among people deceased in 1793, John Michell ranks 27. Before him are Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière, Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, John Hunter, Pietro Nardini, Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, and Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. After him are Nicolaas Laurens Burman, Frederick Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, Armand Louis de Gontaut, William Hudson, William Aiton, and Jean Joseph Marie Amiot.

Others Born in 1724

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Others Deceased in 1793

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Michell ranks 1,993 out of 7,765. Before him are B. C. Forbes (1880), John Stevens Henslow (1796), Madge Syers (1881), Rick Wakeman (1949), John Needham (1713), and William Hartnell (1908). After him are John Bagot Glubb (1897), Dudley Moore (1935), John Sulston (1942), William Amherst, 1st Earl Amherst (1773), Herbert Read (1893), and Graham Bonnet (1947).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among ASTRONOMERS In United Kingdom

Among astronomers born in United Kingdom, John Michell ranks 30. Before him are Francis Baily (1774), Edward Walter Maunder (1851), James Dunlop (1793), Edward L. G. Bowell (1943), Alfred Fowler (1868), and James Ferguson (1797). After him are James Glaisher (1809), Nevil Maskelyne (1732), George Mary Searle (1839), David Gill (1843), Robert T. A. Innes (1861), and John Machin (1680).

British born Astronomers

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