James Short (mathematician) facts for kids

Brass telescope made by Short, now in the collection of Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.

James Short's reflecting telescope

James Short (born June 21, 1710 – died June 14, 1768) was a clever Scottish mathematician. He was also a skilled maker of optical instruments, especially telescopes. Over 35 years, he built around 1,360 scientific tools.

Growing Up and Learning

James Short was born in Edinburgh in 1710. His parents were Margaret Grierson and William Short, a carpenter. When he was about 10 years old, he became an orphan. He was then accepted into Heriot's Hospital, which was an orphanage.

At age 12, he moved to the Royal High School. There, he was very good at studying classic subjects. In 1726, he started at the University of Edinburgh. He planned to study divinity, which is about religious studies.

However, he was inspired by lectures from Colin Maclaurin. Maclaurin was a professor of mathematics. James then decided to change his studies to astronomy and mathematics.

Making Amazing Telescopes

In 1732, Professor Maclaurin let James Short use his university rooms. This was so James could work on building telescopes. James's instruments were so good that he became very well known.

Because of his great skill, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This happened on March 24, 1737. At first, James made his telescopes with glass mirrors. This idea came from James Gregory.

Later, James Short only used metal mirrors. He was able to shape these metal mirrors perfectly. He made them into true parabolic and elliptic shapes.

James then decided to make telescope building his full-time job. He worked in Edinburgh until 1738. After that, he moved his work to London.

Almost all of James Short's telescopes were of the Gregorian design. Even today, some of his telescopes still have their original shine. They also show very clear images.

In 1736, Queen Caroline asked James to teach her son, William, about mathematics. In March 1737, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1758, he also became a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He helped start the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in 1754.

James Short passed away in London in 1768. He had earned a lot of money from his work.

See also

In Spanish: James Short para niños

• List of astronomical instrument makers
• List of largest optical telescopes historically
• List of largest optical telescopes in the 18th century