Recently, a portrait of a Black mathematical genius, Francis Williams, was painted to celebrate his achievements. Born into slavery and later freed, Williams turned out to be an unnoticed intellect for 260 years.
As shared by The Guardian, an X-ray and high-resolution scans were applied to Williams' portrait and revealed hidden clues. The painting, initially known for its fine mahogany furniture and was misunderstood as a satirical work that mocks him for aspiring to be a scholar, now carries much deeper historical contribution.
Screenshot from Victoria and Albert Museum's Official Website
Black Astronomer Accurately Predicted Halley's Comet First
Turns out, Williams himself commissioned the painting around 1760 to show off his achievements as an astronomer. Clues found in the portrait indicate that he successfully observed and calculated the trajectory of Halley's comet that passed in Jamaica in 1759. This supported Edmond Halley's 1705 predictions about the comet's return, which also confirmed the Theory of Motion and Gravity by Isaac Newton.
To be specific, the X-ray revealed a scene showing a bright comet streaking across the sky, which accurately aligned with star constellations visible in Jamaice when Halley's comet appeared in 1759. The new findings were studied by historian Prof Fara Dabhoiwala, who also found that the page Williams is reading in the portrait is from the third edition of Isaac Newton's 'Principia,' detailing how to calculate a comet's path using surrounding constellations.
Dabhoiwala confirms that these details were intentionally included.
Francis Williams as an Astronomer
However, credit for the accurate observation of Halley's comet was given to white astronomers in white locations.
With this new evidence, Francis Williams will be allowed to be recognized as one of the many pioneering Black intellects in science. Wiley shared that although he was initially proposed as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1716, but a committee rejected him because of his race.
For Dabhoiwala, however, this further cemented Williams' status as a Black scholar. Not only did he accuraly predicted the incident, but is also likely the only few people outside Europe who had personally interacted with both Halley and Newton.
Williams died in 1762 without leaving any written records of his achievements, likely due to society's sneer towards his race.
The portrait ended up at the hands of a plantation owner who publicly mocked Williams.
