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Francis Graham-Smith
Sir Francis Graham-Smith FRS (25 April 1923 – 20 June 2025) was a British astronomer. He was the 13th Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990 and was knighted in 1986.
Graham-Smith was born on 25 April 1923. He was educated at Rossall School, and Downing College, Cambridge from 1941.
In the late 1940s, Graham-Smith worked at the University of Cambridge on the Long Michelson Interferometer.
In 1964, he was appointed Professor of Radio Astronomy the University of Manchester and in 1981 director of the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, part of the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank. He was also Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory from 1975 to 1981.
He appeared in Episode 13 of Series 4 of Treasure Hunt when the show visited Jodrell Bank, giving presenter Anneka Rice a piggyback to allow her to reach a clue. His doctoral students included Andrew Lyne. His published work includes
Graham-Smith was an avid bee-keeper and kept up this hobby well into his 90s, looking after the hives at Jodrell Bank. He also inspired the creation of the St Andrews Amateur Beekeeping Society.
He lived with his wife Elizabeth in the Old School House in Henbury, Cheshire, from 1981 until her death in 2021. They had met when they were both working with Martin Ryle in 1945–6 in Cambridge in the early days of radio astronomy.
Graham-Smith was a Patron of Humanists UK was the President of Macclesfield Astronomical Society and was a patron of Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society.
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Francis Graham-Smith
Sir Francis Graham-Smith FRS (25 April 1923 – 20 June 2025) was a British astronomer. He was the 13th Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990 and was knighted in 1986.
Graham-Smith was born on 25 April 1923. He was educated at Rossall School, and Downing College, Cambridge from 1941.
In the late 1940s, Graham-Smith worked at the University of Cambridge on the Long Michelson Interferometer.
In 1964, he was appointed Professor of Radio Astronomy the University of Manchester and in 1981 director of the Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, part of the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank. He was also Director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory from 1975 to 1981.
He appeared in Episode 13 of Series 4 of Treasure Hunt when the show visited Jodrell Bank, giving presenter Anneka Rice a piggyback to allow her to reach a clue. His doctoral students included Andrew Lyne. His published work includes
Graham-Smith was an avid bee-keeper and kept up this hobby well into his 90s, looking after the hives at Jodrell Bank. He also inspired the creation of the St Andrews Amateur Beekeeping Society.
He lived with his wife Elizabeth in the Old School House in Henbury, Cheshire, from 1981 until her death in 2021. They had met when they were both working with Martin Ryle in 1945–6 in Cambridge in the early days of radio astronomy.
Graham-Smith was a Patron of Humanists UK was the President of Macclesfield Astronomical Society and was a patron of Mansfield and Sutton Astronomical Society.