Swept under the Carpet

A talk by Martin Lunn on Edward Crossley and Joseph Gledhill, the Halifax astronomers behind England's largest reflecting telescope.

The Mexborough & Swinton Astronomical Society hosts a talk on the forgotten story of Edward Crossley and Joseph Gledhill. In 19th-century Halifax, the carpet manufacturer Crossley and his employed assistant astronomer Gledhill ran an observatory housing the largest reflecting telescope in England, and both made significant contributions to astronomy. The talk also covers how their telescopes, the 36-inch Common reflector and 9.3-inch Cooke refractor, continued in astronomical research after their deaths. The meeting is hybrid, available in person and live via Zoom.