John Flamsteed was born in 1646 in Derbyshire, England. He was imbued with a deep interest in astronomy from his early boyhood, but in his early teenage years he became plagued with poor health and was not able to attend university. Undaunted, Flamsteed pursued astronomy on his own, despite the objections of his father, a businessman who seemingly wanted his 16-year-old son to either join the family business or look after the home.

Flamsteed knew what it took to be successful as a scientist: he established connections. Although he was not a flamboyant man, he was aggressive enough to send some of his observations of eclipses to the Royal Society, London. His subsequent numerous correspondences, combined with the obvious quality of his work, won him important friends. In 1674, at the urging of his patron Jonas Moore, he was awarded a degree from Jesus College, Cambridge, by King Charles II...