Alexander MacFarlane (astronomer)

<p>Alexander MacFarlane, <a href="/facts/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society/cWs8TdC5">FRS</a> (c. 1702 – 23 August 1755) was a Scottish merchant, planter and astronomer. After graduating from the <a href="/facts/University_of_Glasgow/D0XAYMtq">University of Glasgow</a> in 1728, he emigrated to the British <a href="/facts/Colony_of_Jamaica/cMxtvyD8">colony of Jamaica</a> and became a prominent landowner and political figure. MacFarlane was appointed the colony's first <a href="/facts/Postmaster_General/ppYVIBr8">Postmaster General</a> in 1735 and elected to the <a href="/facts/House_of_Assembly_of_Jamaica/RVo5pCXB">House of Assembly of Jamaica</a> for <a href="/facts/Saint_Elizabeth_Parish/I1vvs37y">Saint Elizabeth Parish</a> in 1754. At the time of his death, he owned multiple <a href="/facts/Sugar_plantations_in_the_Caribbean/YvKbX9sA">sugar plantations</a> and nearly 800 <a href="/facts/Slavery_in_the_British_and_French_Caribbean/aaF0JsSu">slaves</a>.
</p><p>MacFarlane was also an amateur astronomer who constructed observatories in <a href="/facts/Port_Royal/0VXY5ux2">Port Royal</a> and <a href="/facts/Kingston%2c_Jamaica/qMfpXEdL">Kingston</a>, equipped with a variety of instruments purchased from fellow astronomer <a href="/facts/Colin_Campbell_(astronomer)/WDpoP71a">Colin Campbell</a>. His astronomical observations, though limited in scope, resulted in MacFarlane being elected as a <a href="/facts/Fellow_of_the_Royal_Society/cWs8TdC5">fellow of the Royal Society</a> in 1746. Upon his death, he bequeathed his scientific instruments to the University of Glasgow, where they formed the basis of the <a href="/facts/Macfarlane_Observatory/Km3eCryg">Macfarlane Observatory</a>, the first of its kind in Britain. In the 21st century, his legacy has come under scrutiny due to MacFarlane's ownership of slaves.
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Alexander MacFarlane (astronomer) open-in-new

Alexander MacFarlane (astronomer)