1773-1838

American mathematician and astronomer best known for his 1802 work, The New American Practical Navigator, a theoretical and practical guide to navigation at sea that is still in use today. Bowditch is also remembered for his translation of Pierre Laplace's Celestial Mechanics. The four volumes of this translation, appearing between 1829 and 1839, included extensive commentary making the very difficult text more accessible to English-speaking scientists.