Roderick Oliver Redman (1905 - 1975)

Born 17 Jul 1905 in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Annie Kathleen (Bancroft) Redman — married 15 Jun 1935 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Died 6 Mar 1975 at age 69 in Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Roderick Redman is Notable.

Roderick Oliver Redman was born on 17 July 1905 at Rodborough, Stroud, Gloucestershire,^[1] the son of Roderick Redman and Elizabeth Stone. He was the only boy in the family, having three younger sisters. His father owned and ran a small outfitter’s shop, normally employing two assistants, in George Street, Stroud. The shop had belonged to his father before him, and its specialty was made-to-measure tailoring and especially shirt-making. ... Roderick excelled at science and math in various schools and it was determined that he was gifted, while at Marling School, Stroud. He later attended St. John's (1923) at the age of 18, graduating in the Mathematical Tripos in 1926. After graduation, he remained at St John's at the University Observatory. In 1928, he obtained a Travelling Fellowship to the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia; later working as Assistant Astronomer there. He received his PhD from Cambridge, via proxy, on 17 October 1930.^[2]

Field of Study

While a large part of Redman's life work was concerned with observatory organization and administration, in addition to academic duties, he had numerous personal scientific interests; one such interest, pursued continuously over more than two decades, was a study of absorption line profiles in solar and stellar spectra and their significance in the investigation of stellar atmospheres. Another interest during the Thirties was a detailed photographic study of the integrated magnitudes and surface brightness distribution of elliptical galaxies. ...

His major field of research, solar eclipses, brought Redman to Magog, Quebec, in 1932 where he assisted Stratton in a new miss - the sun was clouded over at the crucial moment. ... He later led studies at Calvinia and Khartoum in 1952, assembling advanced high -disperistion equipment to observe the flash spectrum. ^[3]

He was director of the University of Cambridge Observatories 1947–72. He had started his career at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) in Victoria, British Columbia 1928–31. He moved to Cambridge University, UK and was Assistant Director at the Solar Physics Observatory 1931–37. he was then Chief Assistant at the Oxford University Radcliffe Observatory outside Pretoria, South Africa from 1939–1947. ... From 1947 to 1972 he was Director of Combined Observatories. He served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1959 to 1961.^[4]

Family Life

Redman married Annie Kathleen Bancroft, the daughter of Joseph Bancroft and Margaret Bancroft ( nee Litch), of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia; the wedding was in Victoria, British Columbia, on 15 June 1935.^[5][6] The couple were introduced to one another by C. S. Beals (later Dominion Astronomer) in Ottawa in 1932, when Redman was on the eclipse expedition there; the future Mrs Redman was the sister of Beals’s wife.

The Redmans had four children—three sons and a daughter. Indeed it was a point of pride with Redman to have four: if his parents (who were a good deal worse off in many respects than he was) could bring up four children, then so could he! All four have Cambridge degrees. ...

From 1947 until 1964 the Redmans lived in the Director’s House at the east end of the main building of the University Observatory; they then moved to a house in Gough Way, Cambridge, and the Director’s House was converted for observatory purposes. Both before and after the move, they entertained frequently and generously. It was always a pleasure to visit the Redman household, where one would feel immediately drawn into the warmth and companionship of a large and united family. The fact that the Redmans were great trenchermen was probably connected with the excellence of Mrs Redman’s cooking; and students invited for a meal could therefore really indulge themselves without feeling in the least conspicuous! While they lived in the Observatories grounds, the Redman family would have a Christmas party, for everyone connected with the Observatories; and with four children at their most inventive and mischievous age helping to host the party, it was always a memorable occasion.^[2]

Roderick died in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, on March 6, 1975.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2FFQ-XJ6 : 1 October 2014), Roderick Oliver Redman, 1905; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Griffin R. F. and Woolley Richard Van Der Riet 1976 Roderick Oliver Redman, 17 July 1905 - 6 March 1975Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc.22334–357 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1976.0015 Accessed 16 June 2023.
3. ↑ Beals, C.S. "Roderick Oliver Redman, F.R.S., 1905-1975." Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 70, p.34. https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1976JRASC..70...34B pages 36-37. Accessed 16 Jun 2023.
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Roderick Oliver Redman
5. ↑ 1935. British Columbia Archives. https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Image/Genealogy/42470120-723b-4091-a5b9-3ba603c8d78f Marriage Registration. Accessed 16 June 2023.
6. ↑ "Canada, British Columbia, Victoria Times Birth, Marriage and Death Notices, 1901-1939," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLBL-WZ57 : 23 February 2021), Roderick O Redman and Kathleen Bancroft, Marriage , Oak Bay, British Columbia, Canada; from Victoria Daily Times news clippings, City of Victoria Archives, British Columbia, Canada; citing Victoria Daily Times, 15 Jun 1935; FHL microfilm 2,223,253.
7. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCB-LXTR : 2 November 2021), Roderick Oliver Redman, 1975.

See Also

• Wikidata: Item Q4392208

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X711-7B8 : 12 July 2019), Roderick Oliver Redman in household of Roderick George Redman, Rodborough, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24JM-5KH : 2 March 2021), Roderick O Redman, 1934; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• 1935 Electoral Register: "Cambridgeshire, England, Electoral Registers, Burgess Rolls and Poll Books, 1722-1966"
  Cambridgeshire Archives; Cambridge, England; Cabridgeshire Electoral Registers; Reference: Camb/1935
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 61429 #323848 (accessed 16 June 2023)
  Name: Roderick Oliver Redman; Event Type: Register of Electors; Residence Year: 1935; Street Address: St. Johns College Rooms in College; Residence Place: Cambridgeshire, England.

• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24V6-2ZG : 2 March 2021), Roderick Oliver Redman, 1935; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• "United Kingdom, Outgoing Passenger Lists, 1890-1960", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68P4-73YJ : 28 October 2021), Roderick O Redman, 1936.

• Burial: "Web: UK, Burial and Cremation Index, 1576-2014"
  Deceased Online; United Kingdom; Deceased Online Burial Indexes; URL: https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSearch?DetsView=Summary&src=ext&fileid=614014
  Ancestry ca Record 70845 #4550948 (accessed 16 June 2023)
  Roderick Oliver Redman burial (died in about 1975) on 12 Mar 1975 in Cambridgeshire, England.

• Probate: "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995"
  Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 1904 #24992057 (accessed 16 June 2023)
  Roderick Oliver Redman probate on 25 Apr 1975 in Ipswich. Died 6 Mar 1975 in Cambridge.

• "Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)"
  Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 3812727
  Ancestry ca Record 4394 #9251403 (accessed 16 June 2023)
  Name: Roderick Oliver Redman; Birth Year: 1905; Death Year: 1975; Has Photo: No; Source: The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists. Third edition. Two volumes. Edited by Roy Porter and Marilyn Ogilvie. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. (BiDSci) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 1: January, 1946-July, 1949. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1949. (BioIn 1) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 11: September, 1976-August, 1979. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1980. (BioIn 11) Biography Index. A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines. Volume 14: September, 1984-August, 1986. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1986. (BioIn 14) Random House Webster's Dictionary of Scientists. New York: Random House, 1997. (RanHWDS).

• Astrophysics at Cambridge : Dr. R. O. Redman, F.R.S.. Nature 159, 463 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/159463c0