Tuesday August 7, 1894

Saw Assis^t. Director of Works & M^r Crisp at Adm^y about plans for new Altaz. Building.

M^r G.F. Millin of the Daily news came to enquire about progress of new Altazimuth & other works.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

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RH says..... Plans and designs for the new building works still rumble on, and clearly were of interest to the press. This journalist was George F. Millin and, according to one of his books, Life in Our Villages (1891), he was the Special Commissioner of the Daily News. He is also described in the catalogue of the National Archives as "a Liberal propagandist for social causes".

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This visit resulted in an article in the Daily News on 23 August 1894 which is very supportive of Christie's attempts to modernise the ROG. It begins "Greenwich Observatory, which at one time was rather discreditably behind several other similar establishments in different parts of the world, is rapidly moving to the front. Mr Christie seems determined that Greenwich shall take its proper place in the front rank, if not in the actual load, in the astronomical world...". Millin approved of the (eventual) willingness of the Admiralty and Treasury to fund the new buildings and instruments and believed that the ROG"little by little is really becoming a splendidly equipped institution" and that they would "make Greenwich Observatory somewhat worthier of its fame, not only in point of efficiency, but in appearance and as a great public institution".

Wednesday February 28, 1894

Inspector Summer called about the above letter, which he did not consider serious. M^r Crosley of the Kentish Mercury called & I gave him information about new instruments & buildings for an article on the Obsy.M^r Turner resigned his post as Chief Assistant handing over his keys to M^r Dyson, his successor.

William Christie, Astronomer Royal

M^r Turner resigned his Office of Chief Assistant

H.H. Turner, Chief Assistant

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RH says..... Despite having been Oxford's Savilian Professor of Astronomy since the new year, Turner only now formally resigned his post. Likewise, Dyson had been learning the job at Greenwich for time, but only gets his keys to Greenwich Park and the Observatory now. Meanwhile, the police decide they are not concerned about the bomb threat communicated in the letter received on 27 February, and Christie has an opportunity to show off his innovations to the press. It seems that the newspapers were important to the Observatory at this time, when a lot of public money was being spent on new kinds of research at the ROG rather than just the utilitarian work it had traditionally undertaken.

Saturday February 17, 1894

RH says.....
The explosion of 15 February continued to excite the media, and the Observatory's interest is suggested by the fact that the RGO archives contain many newspaper clippings and letters referring to the incident. The catalogue lists the following newspaper reports, and it's interesting to see that at least two suggested that the Observatory was indeed the intended target:

The Globe, 16 February 1894: 'Bomb explosion in Greenwich Park'.
Kentish Mercury, 16 February 1894: 'Fatal explosion in Greenwich Park'.
Daily Graphic, 16 February 1894: 'Explosion in Greenwich Park'.
Daily Telegraph, 16 February 1894: 'Mysterious occurrence in Greenwich Park'.
St James's Gazette, 16 February 1894: 'The Greenwich explosion - the victim identified'.
Pall Mall Gazette, 16 February 1894: 'Anarchism at home and abroad'.
Central News, 16 February 1894: 'French Anarchists in London'.
Evening News, 16 February 1894: 'Bombs and Anarchy'.
The Echo, 16 February 1894: 'Startling explosion at Greenwich - plot to blow up the Observatory'.
Evening News and Post, 16 February 1894: 'Bombs and Anarchy - a French anarchist is blown to pieces in Greenwich Park, extraordinary career'.
The Star, February 1894: 'An Anarchist Accident, Frenchman the victim of his own explosive in Greenwich Park'.
The Morning, 16 February 1894: 'Anarchist attempt to blow up Greenwich Observatory'.
The Standard, 17 February 1894: 'Anarchists in London - the Greenwich explosion'.
Daily Graphic, 17 February 1894: 'The Greenwich explosion - raid on anarchist club'.
Daily Graphic, 17 February 1894: 'The Greenwich explosion - illustrated'.
Larks, vol. 2, 19 February 1894: 'The Ball's Pond Banditti at Greenwich Observatory'.
Kentish Mercury, 23 February 1894: 'The bomb explosion in Greenwich Park - opening of the inquest on Bourdin'


The incident focused attention once again on the Observatory's unique position in the middle of a Royal Park - somewhat isolated yet accessible to any member of the public. Access and management of the park were also in the hands of the Parks authorities rather than the Observatory, which meant that observers had to have keys to the park gates for use after dark and that issues ranging from overgrown trees to stray sheep had to be dealt with by correspondence. Apart from the sheep, many of these issues remain today, meaning that access to after-hours public events, such as Evenings with the Stars, still has to be carefully organised.