Thomas Robie facts for kids

Thomas Robie (born March 20, 1689 – died August 28, 1729) was a clever scientist and doctor. He lived in the British colonies that later became the United States. He was very interested in weather, space, and medicine.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Robie was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were William and Elizabeth Robie. He went to Harvard College and earned his first degree in 1708. After that, he taught at a school for a short time.

In 1709, Thomas started publishing yearly books called almanacs. These books shared his observations about the weather. They also included his studies of the Solar System. He continued his studies at Harvard and earned a Master's degree in 1711. For a while, he also worked as a "Library-Keeper" at Harvard.

Teaching and Science at Harvard

Thomas Robie thought about becoming a minister. But in 1713, he chose to teach math and natural philosophy at Harvard. Natural philosophy was an old name for science, especially physics. He helped change how science and math were taught at Harvard. He brought in the new ideas of Isaac Newton, who was a famous scientist.

From 1715 to 1722, Robie kept detailed records of the weather in Cambridge. He tried to understand why things like summer heat, lightning, and hail happened. But he was even more excited about astronomy.

Looking at the Stars

Harvard College gave Robie special tools for his space observations. He had an eight-foot-long telescope and other instruments. In 1719, he wrote about an aurora (northern lights) he saw. This was probably the first science paper by an American published in America!

He also watched the moons of Jupiter. By studying them, he could figure out the exact longitude (east-west position) of Harvard. In 1722, he got an even bigger telescope, 24 feet long! He planned to watch an annular solar eclipse (where the Moon blocks most of the Sun). He even wrote an article about it for newspapers. Sadly, clouds covered the sky, so he couldn't see the main part of the eclipse. But he still gathered notes from others who saw it.

Becoming a Doctor

In 1723, Thomas Robie left his teaching job at Harvard. He moved to Salem and became a doctor. He likely moved because he married Mehitable Sewall, who was from Salem. Thomas learned medicine on his own while at Harvard. At that time, there were no medical schools in the colonies. He couldn't afford to study abroad.

He had already practiced medicine a bit in Cambridge. But after moving, being a doctor became his main job.

Fighting Smallpox

In 1722, there was a serious smallpox outbreak in Boston. Thomas Robie helped Dr. Zabdiel Boylston with a new treatment called inoculation. This was a way to give people a mild form of the disease to protect them. Many people were against this new idea. So, the treatments had to be done on Spectacle Island, away from the city.

Thomas Robie helped treat eleven patients. The treatment was a big success! Only a small number of people who got the inoculation died. This was much lower than the number of people who died from smallpox in the general population.

Later Observations and Legacy

In 1723, Robie used a nine-foot telescope to watch the planet Mercury pass in front of the Sun. He wanted to see if Mercury had an atmosphere. He thought it did, but he was incorrect. After this, he didn't record many more astronomical observations.

In 1725, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This was a very important science group in England that he had often communicated with.

Thomas Robie died young, in 1729. He didn't make any huge discoveries, and some of his ideas were later proven wrong. But he was very important for helping science grow in New England. A historian named Frederick Kilgour called him "the most famous New Englander in science in his day."

Thomas Robie's son, also named Thomas Robie, became a merchant. During the American Revolution, the younger Thomas was loyal to the British government. He moved to Halifax with his family. After the war, they returned to Salem, but people were not happy to see them at first.