John Stanistreet
A
native of Liverpool he was the son of an eminent solicitor. He had
great interest in science and mechanics but sadly his health was
never strong. He decided to follow his father’s profession as
a solicitor. The family
firm became one of the
top solicitors in Liverpool. They
were involved in
negotiating some of the largest land sales in the commercial city of
Liverpool.
Due
to a problem with his lungs he spent the winter 1840 and 1841 on the
island of Madeira where the air was cleaner. While travelling by ship
he gained a great interest in navigation and the positions of the
stars. He spent some time travelling to the Greek island and
impressed the captains of ships with his navigational skills due to
knowing the positions of the stars.
In
1851 he travelled to Sweden with his friends William Lassell and
George Williams (see North Western Astronomy News 07.04.20), to
watch an eclipse of the Sun, he travelled to Spain in 1860 to see
another but the weather was cloudy.
His
health continued to decline and he was forced to withdraw from the
family business. He decided to converted a dressing room at his house
as a laboratory.
It
was hear that he made the Stanistreet A1 clock which was described
and figured in the English Mechanic of March 1872. The smallness and
the regularity of rate of the A1 in very unequal temperatures was
really a marvel. The clock was as good as any that were used at the
Royal Observatory. I
don’t know if the Stanistreet A1 clock still exists and if it does
its location.
Sadly
John Stanistreet’s health continued to decline and sadly he died on
April 17th
1873
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