Scope and Contents From the File: 'Letters, Memoranda, and Journal, containing the History of Mr William Gooch [Fellow of Caius College], Astronomer of the Daedalus Transport: from the time of his entering College in 1786, to his premature end in 1792.' These letters, the greater portion of which are in Gooch's own writing, and written to his parents, give a complete history of his life, the assistance he met with in enabling him to come to College, the examination for his degree (1791), his appointment as Astronomer, and...

Scope and Contents Minutes of Board of Longitude meetings regarding, among other matters, the rates of various chronometers; Charles Hutton's tables of products, powers and roots of natural numbers; the voyages of HMS 'Resolution' and HMS 'Discovery' and the examination of their log books; John Arnold's improvements to his watches; a suitable site for the Board of Longitude's instruments after the burning of the cupola of the Greenwich Hospital where they had been kept; improvements to reflecting telescopes;...

Scope and Contents These pages are inverted in the volume and should be read from 153v-150*r. A daily, narrative account of activity at Hawaii from 28 April until 7 May 1792, just a few days before Gooch was killed. The entries contain many ethnographic observations, and include a list of translated [Polynesian] words [RGO 14/62: 153v]; an account of their reception by the chief who enquired after King George’s health and presented a child he had named after him [RGO 14/62: 153v]; news of Captain...

Scope and Contents A copy of journal entries written by Gooch while travelling on the Daedalus ship from Rio de Janeiro. In addition to accounts of daily life on the ship, the journal includes descriptions of Rio de Janeiro and his impressions of its people, customs and dress, with comments on the slave trade, crime and punishment, and the country’s natural resources [Mm.6.48: 139v-160v]. It also includes descriptions of the Falkland Islands and of a sea-lion hunt there [Mm.6.48: 161v-176r]; an...

Scope and Contents Outgoing correspondence regarding many astronomical and nautical subjects, including accounts with printers, the production of the 'Nautical Almanac', expeditions to Australia, a reward for a method of making glass of a sufficient quality for instruments, the trial of various timepieces and their employment on board Royal Navy vessels, replies to projectors proposing various methods of finding longitude at sea, and instructions for astronomers (including William Gooch on board the Daedalus...

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Vindicating the reputation of Lieutenant Hergest and informing Gooch of the execution of those people who were an accessory to the massacre.

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Letter, dated 4 March 1796, concerning observations Vancouver had made during a voyage around the world on HMS Discovery. With a copy of a note to Sir Joseph Banks (on the back page) that the observations were to be reduced, dated 13 December 1796.

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Concerning a mode by which chronometers could be kept at a stable temperature.

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Concerning his deceased son's salary and will, and offering his condolences.

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Concerning the date of his son's death and the payment of his salary, and including an extract from a letter by George Vancouver respecting the sale of Mr Gooch's effects at Nootka Sound.

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On the proving of Mr Gooch's will and payment of his salary, and clarifying the date of his death (10 May 1792).

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Providing directions with regard to his son's will.

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Concerning the bill of sale of his son's effects.

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Concerning the money raised by the sale of his son's effects and the appointment of John Crosley as William Gooch's replacement as astronomer.

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Regarding money owed by and to his son.

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Regarding the settling of his son's accounts.

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Concerning a delay to the departure and his expected duties as astronomer.

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A set of loose pages dealing with problems in ascertaining latitude and longitude at sea by observation of the stars, with descriptions, computations and formulae referred to apparent time. There are also sections on finding the Moon's longitude from the nautical ephemeris [RGO 4/196: 1r], the motion of the Sun's image in a Hadley quadrant [RGO 4/196: 2r], and the testing of other people's hypotheses.
It is not known if the papers are foliated in their original order.

Scope and Contents Tabulated observations for the voyage, including records of the time by the watch or timekeeper, the apparent time, observed altitudes and lunar distances, estimates of latitude and longitude, magnetic variation, barometer and thermometer readings, and additional remarks. Reference is often made to the instruments used (including instruments by John Dollond, Jesse Ramsden, John Bird and Gowan Knight, and timekeepers by Larcum Kendall), and who made the observations (including Cook,...

Scope and Contents Astronomical observations, rough calculations and notes; many pages are inverted. The volume also includes a number of rough sketches [RGO 14/63: 232v; RGO 14/63: 244v; and RGO 14/63: 377r]; a draft letter [to Lieutenant Hergest] written in English but partly using Greek script concerning a dispute about going on shore near Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii, and Hergest’s accusations that Gooch ‘stole out of the ship’ without speaking to him first [RGO 14/63: 311r-312r]; translations of Polynesian...