Bowditch

Bowditch, Nathaniel, American astronomer (1773-1838). Born at Salem, in Massachusetts, and practising first the trade of a cooper and then that of ship's chandler, he showed great aptitude for mathematics. He studied hard at the science, and made several voyages with a view to checking his theories by practical knowledge. He declined the offers of different professorships, and became the actuary of an insurance company. He was afterwards president of the Boston Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a member of the corporation of Harvard College. His best known works are the American Practical Navigator, and a translation of Laplace's Mecanique Celeste.