Lord Crawford's Astronomy Library

The Crawford collection is arguably the world's greatest collection of astronomical books. Gifted to the nation in 1888 by the 26th Earl of Crawford, it is housed at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. The collection is comprised of some 15,000 items, including most of the great books of the 15th and 16th centruries. Several of these are annotated by other leading scientists of the time, revealing unique insights to the development of modern astronomy.

Owen Gingerich is Emeritus Professor of Astronomy and History of Science at Harvard University. He is the world's leading authority on 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler and on Nicholas Copernicus, the 16th-century cosmologist who proposed the heliocentric system. He is author of over 600 scientific papers and some 20 books.

This public lecture will give the history of the Collection and discuss some of the special treasures to be found there.