‘Moses Holden 1717-1864: A Self-educated Genius’ – Steve Halliwell
A good crowd of members defied the weather to welcome the return visit of Steve Halliwell, this time to tell of the extraordinary life and achievements of Moses Holden, who lived in Preston from the age of two years. He was the son of a hand loom weaver and strict Wesleyan Methodist, following in this line himself as a travelling preacher, though never ordained.
Remarkably, given his later achievements, Moses never went to other than Sunday School but was very much influenced by the stories his father told, particularly of the great astronomer Jeremiah Horrox, who at the age of just 19 years was the first to record the Transit of Venus. Moses was to fulfil his own vow to become an astronomer, teaching himself mathematics and Greek to this end, and furthering his skills in the making of his own telescopes, microscopes, and lenses.
After an eighteen-month evangelical tour, travelling mostly by canal ways, preaching, and furthering his aim of funding various institutions for the advancement of learning for the working classes, Moses turned his attention to his astronomical interests.
He gained the support of various industrialists, particularly the Horrocks’ mills for his lectures, taking place over four consecutive nights in venues around the Northwest, and the attention of William Rogeson of the Royal Observatory for his publications such as his 1818 Celestial Atlas. He achieved his aim of erecting a memorial in 1826 to his hero Jeremiah Horrocks in St Michael’s church Toxteth. But his outstanding legacy is of much more recent times. In 2014 The Moses Holden Telescope was set up in the Jeremiah Horrocks Department in UCLAN, with Steve an honoured guest at the opening, with a permanent bursary for PhD students established by Moses’ descendant.
Steve’s talk was delivered with wit and warmth and evident admiration for his subject. Members were lucky to have had the opportunity to share his deep understanding and knowledge about this wonderful character.