Thomas Godfrey (inventor) facts for kids

Thomas Godfrey (born January 10, 1704 – died December 1749) was a clever inventor from the Pennsylvania Colony. He was a self-taught mathematician and astronomer. He worked as a glazier, which means he installed glass. Thomas Godfrey is famous for inventing a special tool called the octant in 1730.

Another person, John Hadley in London, also invented a similar octant around the same time. Hadley often gets more credit for developing it.

Godfrey also wrote and published almanacs, which are like yearly calendars with facts and predictions. He wrote articles about math, space, and other topics for newspapers like the Pennsylvania Gazette and Pennsylvania Journal. He helped a surveyor named Lewis Evans to figure out the correct location of Philadelphia on maps.

Thomas Godfrey was good friends with Benjamin Franklin. He was even a founding member of the Junto club. This club was an early version of the important American Philosophical Society. He also helped lead the Library Company of Philadelphia.

Early Life and Work

Thomas Godfrey was born on January 10, 1704. His family lived on a farm in Bristol Township, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. His father passed away when Thomas was only one year old. When he turned 21, he inherited the family farm.

Later, he moved to Philadelphia. There, he worked as a plumber and a glazier. He even installed the glass in Philadelphia's State House, which is now known as Independence Hall. He also worked for a very smart man named James Logan. Logan encouraged Thomas to study math and science.

Inventing the Octant

While working at James Logan's home, called Stenton, Thomas Godfrey saw something interesting. He noticed a reflection in a piece of broken glass. This gave him an idea for a new kind of measuring tool.

Godfrey found a copy of Isaac Newton's famous book, Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, in Logan's library. The book was written in Latin, which Thomas didn't know. But with Logan's help, he learned Latin. This allowed him to understand Newton's ideas and use them for his invention.

Thomas Godfrey started working on a better version of a tool called a quadrant. This tool was used to find a ship's latitude (how far north or south it was). He did a lot of his work in a house he rented from Benjamin Franklin.

Godfrey finished his new octant in 1730. To test how well it worked, the captain and first mate of a ship called the Trueman used it. They took it on trips to the West Indies and Newfoundland. The tests showed his device was very accurate!

The Octant Dispute

James Logan sent a description of Godfrey's invention to Edmond Halley. Halley was a famous astronomer in Britain. Logan was surprised when he later saw a very similar device described by John Hadley. Hadley's invention was written about in a science journal.

Hadley received a special patent for the octant in 1734. Thomas Godfrey and James Logan wrote to the Royal Society, a famous science group, to say that Godfrey had invented it first. They included sworn statements from the Mayor of Philadelphia. These statements said Godfrey's octant was made in November 1730. They also mentioned that Hadley's nephew had seen Godfrey's invention early on.

Even though his claim was not fully accepted, Thomas Godfrey did receive a cash reward for his important work.

Other Contributions

From 1729 to 1736, Thomas Godfrey published almanacs. He also wrote many articles about math, astronomy, and other topics. These articles appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette and Pennsylvania Journal newspapers. He helped Lewis Evans make maps more accurate by doing special observations of the stars.

Thomas Godfrey was a founding member of the Junto club with Benjamin Franklin. This club was a very important group that later became the American Philosophical Society. Godfrey was also a director of the Library Company of Philadelphia. He was known as a "mathematician" in the American Philosophical Society.

Benjamin Franklin wrote about Thomas Godfrey in his book, Autobiography:

"He was a self-taught mathematician, very good at what he did, and later invented what is now called Hadley's Quadrant. But he didn't know much outside of his special area. He wasn't the most fun person to be around, because like many great mathematicians I've met, he always wanted things to be super precise. He would often argue about small details, which made conversations difficult. He soon left our club."

Later Life

Thomas Godfrey passed away in 1749 when he was 45 years old. He was first buried on his farm near Germantown. Over time, his grave became neglected.

In 1838, a man named John Fanning Watson moved Godfrey's remains. He also moved the remains of Godfrey's wife, father, and mother. They were all reburied at Laurel Hill Cemetery. In 1843, a special memorial was placed on their graves by the Mercantile Library Company of Philadelphia.

Family

Thomas Godfrey was married and had five children. His second son, also named Thomas Godfrey, became a poet. He wrote several popular works, including a play called The Prince of Parthia.

Images for kids

• 

  Thomas Godfrey's tombstone at Laurel Hill Cemetery