Sacrifice to Truth: John Flamsteed, Isaac Newton & the destruction of the 1712 "Historia Coelestis"

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library welcomed Jason Dean, Vice President for Collections and Public Services at the Linda Hall Library, for a live presentation over Zoom on Thursday, January 30, 2025. In the spring of 1716, the Astronomer Royal, John Flamsteed, built a pyre on Greenwich Hill near the Royal Observatory. From a safe vantage point, he watched with satisfaction as pages from a book he wrote went up in flames, calling them a good “sacrifice to TRUTH.” The series of events that led to Flamsteed's furious burning of the copies of that edition involved some of the most powerful members of the early Royal Society, including Isaac Newton and Edmond Halley, all embroiled in professional jealousy, intellectual theft, and clandestine printing.