King's Observatory

The King's Observatory, called for many years the Kew Observatory, is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London, now a private dwelling, that formerly housed an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatory founded by King George III. The original design by the architect Sir William Chambers influenced the architecture of two Irish observatories, Armagh Observatory and Dunsink Observatory. It was completed in 1769 in time for the King's observation of the transit of Venus on 3 June of that year. In 1842 Sir Francis Ronalds was made its first Honorary Director and he founded its lasting reputation, so that it grew into one of the most important meteorological and geomagnetic observatories in the world. In this atlas it appears as the observatory where Ronalds, creator of an early electric telegraph, built his continuously recording camera and meteorological instruments.