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The
Rev. Mr John Craig
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In
1852 a telescope stood on Wandsworth Common in London. It
was the brain child of one man, the Reverend Mr. John Craig,
and it represented the biggest refracting telescope in the
World at the time.
Whilst
some would consider it "an expensive failure" we
will never be sure, as nothing of this engineering feat
remains.
Rev.
Mr Craig belonged to no recognised astronomical or scientific
body but decided on his own volition to design and construct
a telescope with the specific intention of answering two great
questions - did the planet Venus possess a moon, and to confirm
the existence of Saturn's Crepe Ring.
Although
the telescope took years to plan and build, the tower was
completed with tremendous speed in only four months. Once
finished, the telescope's fame was short lived after the object-lens
was found to be poorly figured.
 Only
a few years later it was completely removed from its two acre
site, the land was returned to the common.
Summary
of John
Craig's life
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