Father Richard who discovered the binary nature of alpha Centauri from Pondicherry is probably the first person to use a telescope on Indian soil. A brief sketch of his life and astronomical contributions from India are presented.

We present evidence to show that the Madras Observatory-to which Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) traces its origin-was formed, and observations started, in the year 1786. We also discuss how the erroneous date of ...