David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society and the first director of the United States Mint .

David Rittenhouse was an American astronomer and inventor who was an early observer of the atmosphere of Venus. A clockmaker by trade, Rittenhouse built mathematical instruments and, it is believed, the first telescope in the United States.

2018年5月18日 · Astronomy was Rittenhouse’s primary scientific study, a pursuit to which he moved easily from his orreries, telescopes, and surveying. He began to study mathematics and science at an early age, first attaining recognition in the observation of the transit of Venus of 1769, which was important because of worldwide efforts to establish the sun ...

The preeminent American scientist of his age, David Rittenhouse was at once an internationally famed astronomer, master craftsman of scientific instruments, and surveyor. His mechanical models of the solar system, precision clocks, surveyor's theodolites, compasses, and optical lenses were of the highest order available in the world.

David Rittenhouse was born on April 8, 1732 in Paper Mill Run, near Germantown, Pennsylvania. During his early years, Rittenhouse made instruments and clocks, which was eventually replaced by a love for astronomy that lasted his whole life.

Rittenhouse was Penn’s professor of astronomy from 1779 to 1782 and vice provost in 1780 and 1782. He also served Penn as a trustee of the University of the State of Pennsylvania (1779-1780 and 1782-1791) and then, after its 1791 union with the College of Philadelphia, as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania (1791-1796).

Rittenhouse described the astronomical mathematics in Banneker's almanac as "extraordinary." Learn more about this remarkable scientist, surveyor, and clockmaker who was possibly the first African American to publicly challenge Jefferson on the topics of slavery, race, and equality.

2019年4月8日 · David Rittenhouse, a colonial American astronomer and instrument maker, was born Apr. 8, 1732. Rittenhouse is not so well known as his scientific contemporaries Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, but he was certainly their equal, especially in matters mechanical, and together they made a formidable American trio.

2019年5月31日 · Rittenhouse was increasingly known for his astronomical abilities, and William Smith, the first provost of the College of Philadelphia (now Penn), selected him to lead the effort coordinated by the American Philosophical Society to observe the 1769 transit of Venus.

On April 8, 1732, American astronomer David Rittenhouse was born. He was an early observer of the atmosphere of Venus. For observations for the transit of Venus on 3 June 1769, he constructed a high precision pendulum clock, an astronomical quadrant, an equal altitude instrument, and an astronomical transit.