biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1714–79)
|
| biography:
| Astronomer and mathematician, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. A descendant of the colonial governor John Winthrop, he became the first thorough American scientist. A professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard (1738–79), he kept a detailed journal of the weather in Cambridge during 1742–79, and predicted the return of Halley's comet in 1759. He performed advanced studies in astronomy, and introduced algebra and calculus to the Harvard curriculum. During the American Revolution he was an ardent patriot. |
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