Born Corfe, Somerset, England, 4 October 1869
Died Wallisdown, Dorset, England, 19 January 1951
Maurice Ainslie, an archetypical English amateur astronomer, was particularly involved with telescope design and with observing planets (mainly Jupiter and Saturn). As a contributor to journals and as a radio broadcaster, he was active in promoting astronomy to the general public. A Royal Navy officer by profession, he was a leading member of the British Astronomical Association for many years.
Ainslie was the youngest son of Reverend Alexander Colvin Ainslie and Catherine Susan Sadler. His father was an Archdeacon (senior priest) in the Church of England. He grew up mainly in the rural county of Somerset in the west of England.
From 1884 to 1888 Ainslie attended Marlborough College, a school specializing in the education of sons of clergymen. He became interested in astronomy at Marlborough College, joining the Astronomical Section of the school's Natural History Society. Ainslie gave...
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Selected References
Anon. (1951). ”Obituary“. Journal of the British Astronomical Association 62, no. 12: 44–46.
Ainslie, M. A. (1917). “Occultation of B.D. +21° 1714, by Saturn's Ring, 1917 Feb. 9.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 77: 456–459.
——— (1919). “Observations of a Complete Rotation of Jupiter.” Journal of the British Astronomical Association 29, no. 4: 103–105.
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Hurn, M. (2007). Ainslie, Maurice Anderson. In: Hockey, T., et al. The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30400-7_23
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