Janet Taylor

Janet Taylor (born Jane Ann Ionn, 13 May 1804 – 25 January 1870) was an English astronomer, navigation expert, mathematician, meteorologist, and founder of the George Taylor Nautical Academy. She was the author of various astronomy and navigation works, and owner of a navigational instrument production and repair warehouse. The George Taylor Nautical Academy was highly regarded by the East India Company, Trinity House, and the Admiralty. She received medals from both the King of Prussia and King of the Netherlands, and her rule for calculating latitude from altitude was described as "ingenious". Taylor was among the few women working as a scientific instrument designer in 19th century London. Her 1834 patented "Mariner's Calculator" was dismissed by the Admiralty, and was later reassessed as "genius but impractical in the 'clumsy' hands of its potential users." Early life Taylor was born Jane Ann Ionn in Wolsingham, England, on 13 May 1804. Her parents were the Reverend Peter Ionn and Jane Deighton, and was their sixth child out of eight. Her father was the headmaster of a free grammar school, which was one of the few Northern English schools to teach navigation, which Taylor would attend. At nine years old, she received a scholarship to attend Queen Charlotte’s Royal School for Embroidering Females in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, which had an entry age of fourteen.