Thomas John Hussey facts for kids

Thomas John Hussey (born April 4, 1792 – died around 1866) was an English clergyman and a keen astronomer. He is known for suggesting the existence of the planet Neptune before it was officially discovered.

Early Life and Education

Thomas John Hussey was born in Lamberhurst, Kent. He was the only son of Rev. John Hussey and Catherine Jennings. His family was old and well-known in the area.

Sadly, Thomas's father died in 1799. His mother, Catherine, sent him to Eton, a famous school. During this time, his mother faced financial problems. Despite these difficulties, Thomas went on to study at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland. He worked hard and earned a special degree called Doctor of Divinity in 1835. This degree showed his deep knowledge in religious studies.

Life as a Clergyman

After his studies, Dr. Hussey became a rector (a type of church leader) in Hayes, Kent. In 1831, he married Anna Maria Reed. She later became famous for studying fungi and for her beautiful drawings.

As a clergyman, he wrote several sermons. His biggest work was a new version of the Bible with his own notes and explanations. This was published in two large books between 1843 and 1845.

Contributions to Astronomy

Thomas Hussey was also an amateur astronomer. This means he studied stars and planets as a hobby, not as his main job. He built his own special observatory at his home in Hayes. Here, he had several powerful telescopes. These included a 6.5-inch-diameter (170 mm) telescope made by Joseph von Fraunhofer and another by William Herschel.

He knew many important scientists and thinkers of his time. These included Charles Darwin, who lived nearby, and other famous people like Sir John Frederick William Herschel and Charles Babbage. They often wrote letters to each other, discussing their ideas.

Hussey made many observations of the sky. He wrote papers and notes about things like the rotation of Venus. He also drew sun spots and shared his findings with the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1831, he even won a prize from the Berlin Academy for one of his star maps.

Halley's Comet

Thomas Hussey became well-known for being one of the first people in Britain to see Halley's Comet when it returned on August 22, 1835. He was very excited and shared his observations with others. At that time, he was also writing a list of comets for a science magazine.

Predicting Neptune's Existence

One of Hussey's most remarkable ideas was suggesting the existence of the planet Neptune. This happened before anyone had officially discovered it.

Astronomers had noticed that the planet Uranus was not moving exactly as expected. Hussey, using his own observations, thought these unusual movements might be caused by another, unknown planet beyond Uranus.

He visited a French astronomer named Alexis Bouvard in Paris to discuss his idea. Bouvard had also thought about this possibility. Hussey then wrote to a leading British astronomer, George Biddell Airy, in 1834. He explained the "unexplained differences" in Uranus's orbit and asked for help to calculate where this new planet might be. Hussey believed his observatory was good enough to find it if he knew where to look.

However, Airy replied that he didn't think it was possible to find such a planet. He suggested the problems with Uranus's orbit were likely due to errors in observation. This response made Hussey less enthusiastic about his project. Twelve years later, the planet Neptune was finally discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle and Heinrich Luis d'Arrest. Their discovery was based on calculations made by another astronomer, Urbain Le Verrier.

In 1838, a serious injury forced Hussey to stop his astronomical observations. Many of his telescopes were bought by the University of Durham. This helped start the university's long history of studying astronomy.

Later Life and Disappearance

Thomas Hussey's wife, Anna, died in 1854. After this, Hussey left his church job and moved from England to Algiers. The last time anyone heard from him was in 1866. He wrote to his children, saying he planned to move to Paris.

Despite efforts to find him, he was never heard from again. In 1893, his son asked a court to declare his father officially dead, which was granted. The mystery of Thomas Hussey's disappearance was never solved.

See also

• List of people who disappeared