Dunn, Samuel
Letters, charts, newspapers, probate of will, sale catalogue of furniture etc. relating to Samuel Dunn's affairs circa 1760s to 1810s. Related Material NVT/37.
Administrative / biographical background
Dunn was a teacher of mathematics and navigation; nothing is known of his early education but at age nineteen he kept his own school and taught, amongst other things, navigation and other mathematical sciences. He was inventor of the ‘universal planispheres, or terrestrial and celestial globes in plano, an economical method of teaching spherical geometry without the expense of purchasing actual globes’. His book entitled 'The Description and Use of the Universal Planispheres' (1759) provided his students with all aspects of mathematics and navigation, both theoretical and practical. In 1758 Dunn became master of an academy at Ormond House, Paradise Row, Chelsea. From here he was able to make use of an observatory and observed a comet in January 1760 and the transit of Venus in 1761. He communicated the news of the transit and other astronomical information in his nine letters to the Royal Society and although a frequent visitor, was never to become a fellow. After the Nautical Almanac was introduced, in 1767, the board of longitude ruled that all ships' masters appointed had to have a certificate of competence, and until 1771 Dunn was among the teachers authorized to sign these certificates. He was appointed a teacher within the East India Company, and from the 1770s he prepared charts for far eastern waters. In 1780 he succeeded William Herbert as editor of the New Directory for the East Indies and in 1787 the East India Company's hydrographer, Alexander Dalrymple, made plates of his charts available so that Dunn could group and print them for the sixth edition of the Directory. Dunn invented the Pantograph which instrument maker Jesse Ramsden constructed, with the recommendation that the instrument should be tested by an expedition going to the Arctic regions to observe the 1679 transit of Venus. Dunn was invited by the astronomer royal to observe the transit from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in June of that year.
Administrative / biographical background
Dunn was a teacher of mathematics and navigation; nothing is known of his early education but at age nineteen he kept his own school and taught, amongst other things, navigation and other mathematical sciences. He was inventor of the ‘universal planispheres, or terrestrial and celestial globes in plano, an economical method of teaching spherical geometry without the expense of purchasing actual globes’. His book entitled 'The Description and Use of the Universal Planispheres' (1759) provided his students with all aspects of mathematics and navigation, both theoretical and practical. In 1758 Dunn became master of an academy at Ormond House, Paradise Row, Chelsea. From here he was able to make use of an observatory and observed a comet in January 1760 and the transit of Venus in 1761. He communicated the news of the transit and other astronomical information in his nine letters to the Royal Society and although a frequent visitor, was never to become a fellow. After the Nautical Almanac was introduced, in 1767, the board of longitude ruled that all ships' masters appointed had to have a certificate of competence, and until 1771 Dunn was among the teachers authorized to sign these certificates. He was appointed a teacher within the East India Company, and from the 1770s he prepared charts for far eastern waters. In 1780 he succeeded William Herbert as editor of the New Directory for the East Indies and in 1787 the East India Company's hydrographer, Alexander Dalrymple, made plates of his charts available so that Dunn could group and print them for the sixth edition of the Directory. Dunn invented the Pantograph which instrument maker Jesse Ramsden constructed, with the recommendation that the instrument should be tested by an expedition going to the Arctic regions to observe the 1679 transit of Venus. Dunn was invited by the astronomer royal to observe the transit from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in June of that year.
Record Details
| Item reference: | BGY/D/4; MSS/81/053 BDY/D/4 |
|---|---|
| Catalogue Section: | Manuscript documents acquired singly by the Museum |
| Level: | COLLECTION |
| Extent: | 2 boxes, 1 oversize folder |
| Date made: | circa 1760-1810 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |