FLA 



large, in the mouths of the chimneys of 

 furnaces, where the luminous part is 

 merely superficial, or of the thickness of 

 about an inch or two, according to cir- 

 cumstances, and the internal part, though 

 hot, will not set fire to paper passed into 

 it through an iron tube, the same defect 

 of air preventing the combustion of the 

 paper, as prevented the interior fluid it- 

 self from burning. And in the temp of 

 Argand, we see the advantage of an in- 

 ternal current of air, which renders the 

 'combustion perfect by the application of 

 air on both sides of a thin flame So like- 

 wise a small flame is whiter and more lu- 

 minous than a larger ; and a short snuff 

 of a candle, giving out less combustible 

 matter in proportion to the circumambi- 

 ent air, the quantity of light becomes, in- 

 ereased to eight or ten times what a long 

 snufF would have afforded. 



FLAMINGO, a bird, otherwise called 

 phoenicopterus. See PHCENICOPTERUS. 



FLAMSTEED (JOHN), in biography, 

 an eminent English astronomer, being in- 

 deed the first astronomer royal, for 

 whose use the Royal Observatory was 

 built at Greenwich, thence called Flam- 

 steed House. He was born at Denby, in 

 Derbyshire, the 19th of August, 1646. 

 He was educated at the free school of 

 Derby, where his father lived, and at 

 fourteen years of age was afflicted with 

 a severe illness, which rendered his con- 

 stitution tender ever after, and prevent- 

 ed him then from going to the universi- 

 ty,, for which he was intended. He ne- 

 vertheless prosecuted his school educa- 

 tion with the best effect ; and then, in 

 1662, on quitting the grammar-school, he 

 pursued the natural bent of his genius, 

 which led him to the study of astronomy, 

 and closely perused Sacrobosco's book 

 " De Sphzra," which fell in his way, and 

 which laid the ground-work of all that 

 mathematical and astronominal know- 

 ledge, for which he became afterwards 

 so justly famous. He next proctued 

 other more modern books of the same 

 kind, and, among them, Street's " Astro- 

 nomia Carolina," then lately published, 

 from which he learned to calculate 

 eclipses and the planets' places. Some 

 of these being shewn to a Mr. Halton, a 

 considerable mathematician, he lent him 

 Riccioli's " Almagestum Novum," and 

 Kepler's " Tabula: Rudolphinje," which 

 he profited much by. In 1669, having 

 calculated some remarkable eclipses of 

 the moon, he sent them to Lord Brounc- 



FLA 



ker, president of the Royal Society, 

 which were greatly approved by that 

 learned body, and procured him a letter 

 of thanks from Mr. Oldenburgh, their 

 Secretary, and another from Mr. John 

 Collins, with whom, and other learned 

 men, Mr. Flamsteed for a long time after- 

 wards kept up a correspondence by let- 

 ters, on literary subjects. 



In 1670, his father observing he held 

 correspondence with these ingenious 

 gentlemen, advised him to take a jour- 

 ney to London, to make himself perfect- 

 ly acquainted with them ; an offer which 

 he gladly embraced, and visited Mr. Ol- 

 denburgh and Mr. Collins, who intro- 

 duced him to Sir Jonas Moore, which 

 proved the means of his greatest honour 

 and preferment : he here got the know- 

 ledge and practice of astronomical in- 

 struments, as telescopes, micrometers, 

 &c. On his return, he called at Cam- 

 bridge, and visited Dr. Barrow, Mr. 

 Isaac Newton, and other learned men 

 there, and entered himself a student of 

 Jesus College. In 1672, he extracted 

 several observations from Mr. Gas- 

 coigne's and Mr. Crabtree's letters, 

 which improved him greatly in diop- 

 trics. In this year he made many celes- 

 tial observations, which, with calcula- 

 tions of the appulses of the moon and 

 planets to fixed stars for the year follow- 

 ing, he sent to Mr. Oldenburgh, who 

 published them in the " Philosophical 

 Transactions." 



1673, Mr. Flamsteed wrote a small 

 tract concerning the true diameters of 

 all the planets, when at their greatest 

 and least distances from the earth, 

 which he lent to Mr. Newton in 1685, 

 who made some use of it in the fourth 

 book of his " Principia." In 1674, he 

 wrote an ephemeris to show the falsity 

 of astrology, and the ignorance of those 

 who pretended to it; with calculations 

 of the moon's rising and setting; also 

 occultations and appulses of the moon 

 and planets to the fixed stars. To 

 which, at Sir Jonas Moore's request, he 

 added a table of the moon's southings 

 for that year ; from which, and from 

 PhiFips's "Theory of the Tides," the 

 high-waters being computed, he found 

 the times come very near. In 1674, too, 

 he drew up an account of the tides for 

 the use of the king. Sir Jonas also 

 shewed the King, and the Duke of York, 

 some barometers and thermometers that 

 Mr. Flamsteed had given him, with the 



