John Bird (astronomer)

John Bird (* 1709 in County Durham, † March 31, 1776 in London ) was an English astronomer and manufacturer of scientific instruments.

Bird made ​​important progress in the development of astronomical instruments. Some instruments were used by Jeremiah Dixon. Further, he developed astronomical quadrant of James Cook was used in Tahiti to the transit of Venus in June 1769 watch. A mural quadrant by Bird received in 1750 the Royal Greenwich Observatory, 1756 Observatory Göttingen, 1768 the Berlin Observatory, 1772 Radcliffe Observatory at Oxford, and in 1776 the Mannheim Observatory.