President of the Royal Astronomical Society
President of the Royal Astronomical Society | |
---|---|
Royal Astronomical Society | |
Member of | RAS Council |
Appointer | Elected by the Fellows of the RAS |
Term length | Two years |
Precursor | President of the Astronomical Society of London |
Formation | 1821 |
First holder | Sir William Herschel |
Website |
www |
The President of the Royal Astronomical Society (prior to 1831 known as President of the Astronomical Society of London) chairs the Council of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and its formal meetings. They also liaise with government organisations (including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the UK Research Councils), similar societies in other countries, and the International Astronomical Union on behalf of the UK astronomy and geophysics communities. Future presidents serve one year as President Elect before succeeding the previous president.[2]
There have been 89 RAS presidents as of 2015. The first president was William Herschel in 1821,[3] though he never chaired a meeting, and since then the post has been held by many distinguished astronomers. The post has generally had a term of office of two years, but some holders resigned after one year e.g. due to poor health. Francis Baily and George Airy were elected a record of four times each. Baily's eight years in the role are a record (Airy served for seven). Since 1876 no-one has served for more than two years in total.
Presidents
Further reading
- Dreyer, John L. E.; Turner, Herbert H., eds. (1923). History of the Royal Astronomical Society: Volume 1, 1820-1920. London: Royal Astronomical Society.
- Tayler, Roger, ed. (1987). History of the Royal Astronomical Society: Volume 2, 1920-1980. London: Royal Astronomical Society.
References
- 1 2 "Election results 2015: new President and Council". Royal Astronomical Society. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- 1 2 "University of Leicester Professor elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society". University of Leicester. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 "List of presidents and dates of office". A brief history of the RAS. Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ Wilkins, G. A. (1991). "Obituary - 1908-1987 Donald Sadler". Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society. 32: 59. Bibcode:1991QJRAS..32...59W.
- ↑ Mestel, L. (1997). "A tribute to Roger J. Tayler (25 October 1929 - 23 January 1997)". Bulletin of the Astronomical Society of India. 25: 143. Bibcode:1997BASI...25..143M.
- ↑ "Profile: David Southwood". Astronomy & Geophysics. 53 (4): 10. 2012. Bibcode:2012A&G....53d..10.. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2012.53410.x.
- ↑ Smith, Keith. "Election results: new President and Council". Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ Massey, Robert (9 May 2014). "Elections 2014". Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
- ↑ Smith, Keith (8 May 2015). "Election results 2015: new President and Council". Royal Astronomical Society. Retrieved 13 May 2015.