16 September

1662: On 16 September 1662 there was a solar eclipse, witnessed in Derby, England, by a sixteen-year-old boy called John Flamsteed.

Flamsteed's interest in astronomy was stirred by this eclipse, and after reading all he could find on the subject, he attempted to make his own measuring instruments and started to correspond with other astronomers.

Flamsteed became Britain's first 'Astronomer Royal'.