Donald Sadler

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Donald Harry Sadler

Born

22 August 1908

, England

Died

24 October 1987

(aged 79)

England

Occupation

Spouse

Donald Harry Sadler

(22 August 1908 – 24 October 1987) was an English

astronomer and mathematician who developed an international reputation for his

work in preparing astronomical and navigational almanacs. He worked as the

from 1937 to

1971.

Early life

[

]

Donald Sadler was born in

, on 22 August 1908. He attended

the local grammar school where he excelled in mathematics. He studied

mathematics at the

and received a first-class degree

in 1929.

Sadler developed an interest in celestial mechanics during his studies at Cambridge. He contributed to the work of the

Computing Section of the

The Nautical Almanac Office

[

]

Sadler began work as an assistant at

in 1930, working under the direction of the

, when it was based at the

, London. Sadler was promoted

to Deputy Superintendent of the Office

in 1933.

Comrie left the Nautical Almanac Office in 1936. A decision was taken to move the Office to the

, placing it under

the direction of the

, and Sadler was appointed a

Chief Assistant at the

observatory. Sadler was appointed Comrie's successor as Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac Office in 1937. Sadler

was the eighth

person to occupy this post since it was created in 1818.

Sadler took on the task of consolidating projects begun by Comrie, publishing new tables for use in navigation. The

Second World War soon intervened and the Nautical Almanac Office was moved temporarily out of London to the safer

environment of

. The Office expanded in size temporarily to prepare data for military use. Sadler was awarded the

in 1948 in recognition of this work.

Sadler supervised the relocation of the Nautical Almanac Office in 1949 from

to the new home of the

in Sussex. He expanded the use of calculating machines in astronomical

calculations. He increased international cooperation in preparing astronomical tables, particularly with the

In 1954 Sadler married his colleague,

(

McBain), in what was described as 'the astronomical romance of

the decade'.

Donald Sadler oversaw the transfer of the Nautical Almanac Office within the Royal Greenwich Observatory from the

control of the

to the new

Scientific societies

[

]

Donald Sadler became a fellow of the

in 1931, and served on the society's council. He

acted as a secretary between 1939 and 1947, contributing to sustaining the society's work during the war. He served as

the society's

from 1967

to 1969.

Sadler contributed to other scientific societies, including the

, of which he was

president from 1953 to 1955.

He served as general secretary of the

(1958–1964),

then as vice-president, and president (1968–1970) of the Council of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical

Services.

In 1981, Sadler became a founding member of the

Later life

[

]

Donald Sadler retired as Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac Office in 1971. He continued working at the office for

a further year, retiring in February 1972. Sadler continued with his activities in the

Donald Sadler died at

, on 24 October 1987.

References

[

]

Wilkins, George A. (1991). "Donald Harry Sadler, O.B.E. (1908-1987)".

(1).

59–

65.

Sadler, Donald Harry (2008). Wilkins, George A. (ed.).

. United Kingdom Hydrographic Office

. Retrieved

1 June

2015

Wilkins, George A. (2004). "Sadler, Donald Harry (1908-1987)".

(online ed.). Oxford

University Press.

(Subscription,

access or

required.)

The biographical dictionary of Scottish women : from the earliest times to 2004

. Ewan, Elizabeth., Innes, Sue., Reynolds,

Sian. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 2006.

. Royal Institute of Navigation

. Retrieved

22 November

2021

. Retrieved

8 November

2016

Founding members of the

M. Balasegaram

William J. Darby

Guy Blaudin de Thé

Jean-François Denisse

Venancio Deulofeu

Francisco J. Dy

Mohammed El Fasi

José Rafael Estrada

Carl G. Gahmberg

Osmo H. Järvi

Leo A. Kaprio

Peter E.

Kent

Prem N. Kirpal

Georges B. Koelle

Walther Manshard

Henry McIlwain

Jens J. Pindborg

Jean Rösch

Abraham J. A.

Roux

Nobufusa Saito

Stuart J. Saunders

Leonard T. Skeggs

George J. Smets

Leonard Sosnowky

Heikki Suomalainen

Ioan Ursu

Constantin Vago

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This page was last edited on 20 July 2025, at 16:43

(UTC)

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