Sydney Samuel Hough facts for kids

Sydney Samuel Houghpronounced [{{{1}}}] FRS (born June 11, 1870, in Stoke Newington – died July 8, 1923, in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire) was a smart British scientist. He was an expert in both mathematics and astronomy.

Early Life and Education

Sydney Hough went to school at Christ's Hospital. He was a very good student and won a scholarship to Cambridge University. He earned his first degree (B.A.) in 1892. Later, he got his master's degree (M.A.) in 1896 from St John's College, Cambridge. He was also a Fellow at St John's College from 1895 to 1901. For a short time in 1894, he worked as a teacher at Winchester College.

Work at the Royal Observatory

In 1898, Sydney Hough moved to South Africa. He started working at the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope. He was the main assistant to the famous astronomer David Gill. When he first arrived, Hough was brilliant at math. However, he didn't have much experience with looking at stars through telescopes. But he learned very quickly from David Gill. He became a great help to the observatory.

When David Gill retired in 1906, Sydney Hough took over. He became the director of the Royal Observatory in 1907. He stayed in this important role until he passed away in 1923. Hough focused on finishing the big projects David Gill had started. One of his main tasks was working on the "Carte du Ciel" project. This was a huge effort to map the entire sky. Hough helped create five of the twelve books for the Southern African part of this map. He also very carefully measured the exact positions of more than 20,000 stars!

Important Achievements

Sydney Hough was recognized for his amazing work. In 1899, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa. Then, in 1902, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very important science group in Britain. In 1908, he became the very first President of the Royal Society of South Africa. His mathematical studies mostly focused on the theory of tides. This is about understanding how the moon and sun affect ocean levels.

See also

• Hough function