Origins John Radcliffe (1650–1714) was an English
physician and
Member of Parliament; his
alma mater was the
University of Oxford. He never married and had no heirs, so when he died he
bequeathed much of his large fortune to a
charitable trust. In 1924
Harold Knox-Shaw became Radcliffe Observer. By this time the observatory was struggling to remain at the forefront of astronomical research, for a number of reasons. The largest telescope in Oxford was a
refractor, but this was no longer a state-of-the-art instrument and had long been eclipsed by large new
reflecting telescopes. In particular, astronomers in America now had access to much larger instruments—such as the
Hale Telescope (completed 1908) and the
Hooker Telescope (1917). Several factors made Oxford no longer a suitable site for a research observatory. The city had expanded considerably since the eighteenth century; there was now substantial
light pollution and the hot air rising from chimneys caused poor
seeing. The British weather was also an impediment, with many nights lost to cloud. The neighbouring
Radcliffe Infirmary was keen to expand its buildings, and there was no room for the large enclosure that would be required for any new telescope. Although the case for building a new large telescope in the Southern hemisphere was compelling, initially no funds were available to Knox-Shaw. In 1929, the millionaire philanthropist
Sir William Morris, owner of
Morris Motor Company and a patron of the Radcliffe Infirmary, offered to buy the grounds and buildings of the Observatory so the Infirmary could expand into them. It reads: IN MEMORIUM HAROLD KNOX-SHAW 1885-1970 RADCLIFFE OBSERVER, 1924-1950. THROUGH WHOSE LABOURS THE RADCLIFFE OBSERVATORY AND THIS TELESCOPE WERE SET UP UNDER THE SOUTHERN SKIES TO THE LASTING BENEFIT OF ASTRONOMY. HE HAS LOVED THE STARS TOO TRULY TO BE FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT ==Notes==