.The International Year of Astronomy (IYA) was held in 2009. One of the themes was the use of telescopes in astronomy. Galileo is the name most people know. He quickly published the results of his discoveries and was generally credited with being first. But there is documented evidence that Thomas Harriot at Syon House viewed the Moon with a telescope three months earlier than Galileo's first telescopic observation.
Harriot didn't need the money or publicity, and didn't publish the results of his observations. He may also have preferred to keep a low profile. His patron was locked up in the Tower of London after after the Gunpowder Plot in 1605, even though he was not involved. However a cousin who
was involved stopped at Syon on his way to London.
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in London held Telescope400 in the grounds of Syon House. Part of it was a plaque honoring Harriot's work. His papers had found their way to Petworth House in Sussex. (They're now in the British Library.)
Lord Egremont of Petworth House came to unveil the plaque. (I'm in the crowd!)
There's still a plaque there. The original had got somewhat ragged over the years, so the RAS provided a new one a few years ago.
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