James Short (mathematician)

When he was orphaned at about the age of 10, he was accepted into the Heriot's Hospital, an orphanage, and at 12 transferred to the Royal High School where he excelled in the study of the classics.

[2] In 1732 Maclaurin gave Short access to use his rooms in the university to work on for experiments in the construction of telescopes.

Such was the quality of Short's instruments that in recognition of his skill he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society on 24 March 1737.

Almost all of Short's telescopes were of the Gregorian form, and some of them even today retain their original high polish and sharp definition.

Short died in Newington Butts, London in 1768, having made a considerable fortune from his profession.