James Stephen Rigaud (1726 – 16 April 1814), also known as Stephen Rigaud, was an astronomer of the 18th century.
His parents were Pierre Rigaud and Anne Unice Mestre. [1]
Stephen Rigaud became Assistant Observer to Dr Stephen Demainbray at the King's Observatory, built near Richmond Lodge for the 1769 Transit of Venus. In 1771 he married Deminbray's daughter Mary at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Richmond. going on to live at 5 Old Palace Terrace in the town. They had two children, Mary Anne and Stephen Peter Rigaud, later an astronomer and mathematical historian. Mary Anne and Stephen Peter were painted by John Francis Rigaud in 1778 – they are posed in a park landscape with Kew Observatory in the background and although the painting is sometimes described as showing Richmond Park the topography makes it more likely that it shows the Old Deer Park, which surrounds the Observatory. [2] Rigaud died in 1814 and is buried in the Vineyard Passage Burial Ground near the church where he had married. [3]
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is an observatory situated on a hill in Greenwich Park in south east London, overlooking the River Thames to the north. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and because the Prime Meridian passed through it, it gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, the precursor to today's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The ROG has the IAU observatory code of 000, the first in the list. ROG, the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House and the clipper ship Cutty Sark are collectively designated Royal Museums Greenwich.
Kew is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book, which is held at The National Archives.
Robert Livingston the Elder was a Scottish-born merchant and government official in the Province of New York. He was granted a patent to 160,000 acres of land along the Hudson River, becoming the first lord of Livingston Manor.
East Sheen, also known as Sheen, is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Diocese of Rochester that was served by a suffragan bishop of Southwark (1891–1905). Before 1877 most of the area was part of the Diocese of Winchester, some being part of the Diocese of London.
St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren.
The position of Savilian Professor of Astronomy was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded by Sir Henry Savile, a mathematician and classical scholar who was Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and Provost of Eton College. He appointed John Bainbridge as the first professor, who took up his duties in 1620 or 1621.
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London. The church was designed by John James; its site was donated by General William Steuart, who laid the first stone in 1721. The building is one small block south of Hanover Square, near Oxford Circus. Because of its location, it has frequently been the venue for society weddings.
Stephen Peter Rigaud FRAS was an English mathematical historian and astronomer. Rigaud was born into a French Protestant family. His father, Stephen Rigaud, was Observer at the Kew Observatory. The painter John Francis Rigaud, who painted a portrait of Rigaud, aged four, and his sister Mary Anne was not his uncle but other possible connections are unknown.
Stephen Charles Triboudet Demainbray was an English natural scientist and astronomer, who was Superintendent at the King's Observatory in Richmond, Surrey from 1768 to 1782.
The King's Observatory is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatory founded by King George III. The architect was Sir William Chambers; his design of the King's Observatory influenced the architecture of two Irish observatories – Armagh Observatory and Dunsink Observatory near Dublin.
Peter Folger or Foulger was a poet and an interpreter of the American Indian language for the first settlers of Nantucket. He was instrumental in the colonization of Nantucket Island in the Massachusetts colony. He was the maternal grandfather of Benjamin Franklin.
Putney Old Burial Ground is a public urban park and former cemetery in the London Borough of Wandsworth near Putney town centre.
Stephen Francis Dutilh Rigaud was an English painter.
Vineyard Passage Burial Ground is a cemetery on Vineyard Passage in Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Established in 1790 and consecrated in 1791, it was enlarged in 1823. The last burials were in 1874. Managed by Richmond upon Thames Council and maintained by volunteers from the Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames, it is now a garden of rest.
Elizabeth Martha Beckley was a pioneering British astronomical photographer.
St Peter's Anglican Church is a heritage-listed Anglican church and associated Sunday school, rectory, and cemetery at 384 Windsor Street, Richmond, City of Hawkesbury, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Francis Clarke and Edmund Blacket and built from 1836 to 1841 by James Atkinson (church). It is also known as St Peter's Anglican Church Group, St Peter's Church Group, Church, Rectory, Church Yard, Cemetery and Stables. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 16 August 2019; and on the City of Hawkesbury local government heritage register, and listed on the New South Wales Heritage Database on 12 September 2012.
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Richmond, is the Anglican parish church in the town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. Previously, there was another church, the Church of the Holy Trinity, which served as a chapel, and in the early part of the twentieth century, it was officiated over by the incumbent of St Mary's. In the 1960s, Holy Trinity was deconsecrated and now serves as the Green Howards' museum in the town.