John Birmingham

John Birmingham (1816–1884) was an Irish astronomer, amateur geologist, polymath and poet. He spent several years (from about 1844 to 1854) travelling widely in Europe where he became proficient in several languages. In 1866, he discovered the recurrent nova T Coronae Borealis. He studied and wrote articles on planets, meteor showers and sunspots.

Early years He was born to Edward Birmingham and Elly Bell

He inherited part of the Millbrook estate, which was scattered across Galway and Mayo, in 1865, and settled at Millbrook House with two elderly aunts and a maternal uncle, Arthur Bell, who assisted him in his research. He became known as a kindly landlord but also as a scholar and intellectual. From 1858, he started contributing notes on astronomy to local newspapers. At Millbrook he built what The Tuam Herald called a large wooden house with a sliding roof, which formed his first observatory. On 12 May 1866, he discovered the variable star T Coronae Borealis in the constellation Corona Borealis. The success of this find led him to acquire a powerful new telescope from Thomas Cooke of York (which cost £120), fitted with a lens made by Thomas Grubb of Dublin. In 1881 he discovered a deep red star in the constellation Cygnus. This star is named after him. Other subjects on which he published articles included meteor showers, the transit of Venus and sunspots. He had correspondence with other leading astronomers.

Personal life John Birmingham was an only child. He never married but he was reputed to have fathered a daughter. All that remains of his possessions is his telescope, which is on display at the Milltown community museum.

In his lifetime however he was well known and well respected, Robert Ball made reference to Birmingham's Observatory in one of his books and John, like William E. Wilson had numerous contacts at Dunsink Observatory.