* Astronomy

Conference marks tercentenary of Thomas Wright, eighteenth-century polymath

A range of scholars from across the UK come together for a conference at the University of Bristol today to celebrate and reflect on the work of Thomas Wright, a fascinating eighteenth-century astronomer, mathematician and garden architect.
Thomas Wright (1711-1786) had a lifelong interest in theology, astronomy, natural history, philosophy and literature, and considerable skills in surveying, draughtsmanship and mathematical calculations.  A polymathic perspective permeates his entire body of work, which includes his largest surviving landscape at Stoke Park near Bristol.
At the conference, a series of fresh, informed academic papers illuminating Wright's work from a number of different disciplinary perspectives will be presented.
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