Background
He was born in Barbados, West Indies to Doctor E. C. Greaves, a medical doctor trained at the University of Edinburgh.
He was born in Barbados, West Indies to Doctor E. C. Greaves, a medical doctor trained at the University of Edinburgh.
He was born in Barbados, West Indies to Doctor East. C. Greaves, a medical doctor trained at the University of Edinburgh. William Greaves was educated first at Lodge School and Codrington College in Barbados then travelled to England to study at Saint John"s College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow in 1922.
He is most noted for his work on stellar spectro-photometry. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1921, and from 1924 until 1938 he was the chief assistant at the RAS. In 1938 he became Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and in 1939 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He remained Astronomer Royal until 1955, and was Regius Professor of Astronomy at Edinburgh University for the same period.
In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
From 1947 until 1949 he was president of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Royal Society.