Edmond 1] (or Edmund 2]) Halley, FRS (/ˈh li/; 3] 4] 8 November O.S. 29 October] 1656 - 25 January 1742 O.S. 14 January 1741]) was an English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720