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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Halley's Comet
Message-ID: <6416@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 17:49:44 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.6416
Posted: Fri Feb 21 17:49:44 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Feb-86 17:49:44 EST
References: <860205154812.158427@HI-MULTICS.ARPA>, <405@3comvax.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 16

> *Science 85* last year mentioned that in Edmund Halley's time
> people frequently spelled things phonetically and that Halley
> himself usually spelled his name "Hawley."  Thus we know that
> the descendant of Halley you heard is quite correct, and that
> Edmund Halley did, in fact, pronounce his name as "Hawley."  

The JBIS special issue on Halley's Comet, which has been reviewed as
"a better overview than most of the Halley's Comet books", observes that
Halley's name was spelled in several different ways even at the time,
and that there is no longer any way to be absolutely sure just how it
was pronounced.  Reports from his descendants carry no special weight,
because the pronunciation of ordinary names changes too.  I believe JBIS
did say that "Hawley" is rather more likely to be correct, though.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry