Whiston, William
William Whiston (December 9, 1667 - August 22, 1752) was an English theologian, mathematician, and writer, notable as a vocal proponent of Isaac Newton and his theories (the two had become friends). He earned his degrees as a Mathematician at Clare College in Cambridge; he would rise to become the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge in 1702(succeeding Newton in the position). In 1710, his religious views earned him censure and expulsion as a heretic; he himself believed that his reputation as such had prevented his becoming a fellow of the Royal Society, despite his having been a lecturer to that group. Whiston offered classes in London thereafter, at coffee houses such as Button's, and in private meetings. His chart of the Solar System was initially produced to support those lectures. His activities extended to the efforts to not only to pass the Longitude Act, but also to various attempts to win the prize himself, inviting ridicule.
First Modern Chart of the Solar System.
A scheme of the Solar System with the orbits of the planets and comets belonging thereto.
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This rare broadsheet engraving is a c.1763 Bowles edition of William Whiston's influential 1713 chart of the Solar System, including the orbits of known comets. It is the first modern chart of the Solar System, incorporating the observations of Newton, Halley, and Flamsteed. (more details)