McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Parkes, S. H. (Samuel Hickling), 1817-1896
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1817-1896
History
Samuel Hickling Parkes was born on April 8, 1817, in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.
He was a businessman and amateur astronomer. His father, James Parker ((1786-), began manufacturing optical and mathematical instruments and supplies in 1815. His only son Samuel became a partner in about 1823, forming J. Parkes and Son. Recognizing the burgeoning market of students and middle-class amateurs, they focused on inexpensive instruments, e. g., microscopes, slides, measuring tapes, land chains, mathematical instruments, compasses, watch keys, seals, etc. With a wide interest in science, Parkes built an observatory at his home at Kings Norton (1865-1885), housing a 5-inch refractor telescope. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1882. He published "Unfinished Worlds. A study in Astronomy" (1888).
In 1845, he married Emma Lloyd Kershaw (1818–). He died on August 12, 1896, in King's Norton, Worcestershire, England.