Redman, Roderick Oliver, 1905-1975.

Born in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Redman was educated locally and at St. John's College, Cambridge, graduating in mathematics in 1926. Perhaps influenced by Arthur Eddington and F.J.M. Stratton in the same way as his close contemporary at Cambridge, R v d r Woolley (see classmark RGO 10), he decided to make his career in practical astronomy. After graduating he became a research student at the Cambridge Observatories, then took up a Travelling Fellowship to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia where, from 1928 to 1931 he held the post of Assistant Astronomer. In 1931 he returned to Cambridge, to become Asssitnat Director of the Solar Physics Observatory in the Observatories, and he was elected a Fellow of St. John's Collge in 1932 and a year later became University Lecturer in Astrophysics. From 1937 to 1947 he was Chief Assistant at the Radcliffe Observatory, recently moved to Pretoria in South Africa from Oxford, England. For the first two years of his appointment he remained in Cambridge to enable him to oversee the completion of the 74-inch telescope and its instrumentation, which was being constructed in Newcastle by the firm of Sir Howard Grubb Parsons. Wartime conditions led to a long delay in the telescope becoming operational and frustrated by this, Redman returned to Cambridge to become Professor of Astrophysics in the University and Director of the Observatories in 1947. He had b.

Een elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1946. In the late 1960s the University, reviewing its facilities for the study of astronomy, decided to create an Institute of Theoretical Astronomy, to be housed in a building adjacent to the Observatories. This plan was later modified, and an Institute of Astronomy was founded, embracing the Observatories themselves. Redman became the first Director of the Institute, though only for the two months preceding his retirement in 1972. Redman was closely involved with the Isaac Newton Telescope project at Herstmonceux (other associated papers [all subject to the 30-year rule] may be found in classes RGO 9 and RGO 10), with the Anglo-Australian Telescope project (see also classes RGO 10 and RGO 47) and with the earlier stages of the Northern Hemisphere Observatory project (see also classes RGO 10, RGO 11, and RGO 12, RGO 13, and RGO 176). It is this close involvement in telescope projects which has resulted in the deposit of Redman's papers in RGO Archives.

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