William Henry Smyth (1788-1865), British astronomer, using a telescope with an equatorial mount. Smyth served as a captain in the Napoleonic Wars, reaching the rank of Admiral after he retired. He established a private observatory at Bedford, England, and published many of his observations. He was President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1845-1847), after being awarded its Gold Medal in 1845. A lunar mare, Mare Smythii, is named in his honour. Published in Aedes Hartwellianae, a book on the astronomical history of Hartwell House, Buckinghamshire, England, used as an observatory by the British astronomer John Lee (1783-1866).