Achievements
- His star cataloguing system was accepted at an international astronomical conference in Paris in 1909.
- He developed a method of plotting the transit of tropical cyclones, and issuing weather warnings for shipping and pearling industries
- He invented a type of heliochronometer which could be used to determine local time and true north accurately. The device was known as a sunclock (picture). In 1924 the device won a gold medal at the British Empire Exhibition.
- He recognised that by using radio signals form other parts of the world would enable the accurate measurement of longitude. He worked with his son Basil, a pioneer amateur radio operator, who received time signals from Lyons, France. This technique was used in 1921 by the WA Government Astronomer, Curlewis and the SA Government Astronomer, Dodwell, at Deakin, Western Australia to fix a position for the 129th meridian east longitude (129° east). The same group also travelled to Wyndham, Western Australia to determine the WA/NT border on the ground.
- Cooke is said to have patented over one hundred inventions
Satellite 3894 Williamcooke and Mount Cooke in the Darling Scarp near Jarrahdale are named in his honour.
Read more about this topic: William Ernest Cooke
Famous quotes containing the word achievements:
“Our achievements speak for themselves. What we have to keep track of are our failures, discouragements, and doubts. We tend to forget the past difficulties, the many false starts, and the painful groping. We see our past achievements as the end result of a clean forward thrust, and our present difficulties as signs of decline and decay.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
“When science, art, literature, and philosophy are simply the manifestation of personality, they are on a level where glorious and dazzling achievements are possible, which can make a man’s name live for thousands of years. But above this level, far above, separated by an abyss, is the level where the highest things are achieved. These things are essentially anonymous.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Freedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)