John Tebbutt

John Tebbutt (25 May 1834 – 29 November 1916) was an Australian astronomer and meteorologist, famous for discovering the Great Comets of 1861 and 1881.

In 1845 Tebbutt's father purchased a tract of land at the eastern end of the town of Windsor known as the peninsula, and built a residence there.

In 1853 John Tebutt purchased a sextant and using this along with an ordinary marine telescope and a watch began his observations of the heavens.

Tebbutt received a Paris Exposition Silver Medal in 1867 in recognition of his paper On the Progress and Present State of Astronomical Science in New South Wales.

In 1886 a new telescope of 8-inch (20 cm) aperture and 115-inch (2.9 m) focal length was purchased, which enabled him to considerably extend his operations.

In 1904, in his seventieth year, he discontinued systematic work, though he retained his interest in astronomy and continued to do some observing.

He was commemorated on the reverse side of the Australian one hundred-dollar note, in circulation 1984 until 1996 when it was replaced by a portrait of Sir John Monash.