William Frederick Denning (25 November 1848 – 9 June 1931) was a British amateur astronomer who achieved considerable success without formal scientific training. Denning was elected to the Royal Astronomical Society on 8 June 1877. He was first elected to the British Astronomical Association on 24 June 1891 and rejoined in 1898, being elected as a member on 16 October of that year. He directed its Comet Section (1891–1893) and Meteor Section (1899–1900). He won the Prix Valz of the French Academy of Sciences for 1895.

During his life, Denning published 1179 articles in prominent scientific journals including Nature, The Observatory, Astronomische Nachrichten, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Journal des Observateurs, and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Awards and honors

  • In 1898, Denning won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.
  • Crater Denning on the Moon as well as the Martian crater Denning were named after him in 1970 and 1973, respectively.
  • Asteroid 71885 Denning, discovered by the Spacewatch program in 2000, was named in his memory.

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  • Phil Williams (July 2015) "William Frederick Denning F.R.A.S." Liverpool Astronomical Society Newsletter (July 2015, pp,4–6)
  • Telescopic work for starlight evenings Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.
  • W. F. Denning &ndash; The Doyen of Amateur Astronomers Short biography by Martin Beech, Campion College, The University of Regina, Canada