William de Wiveleslie Abney

British astronomer, chemist and photographer (1843–1920)
Person human Q727555
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William de Wiveleslie Abney

Summary

William de Wiveleslie Abney is a human[1]. He was born in Derby[2]. He was born on July 24, 1843[3]. He died in Folkestone[4]. He died on December 3, 1920[5]. He worked as a photographer[6], chemist[7], astronomer[8], and army officer[9]. He ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (41 views/month, #7,291 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • William de Wiveleslie Abney was born in Derby[2].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney passed away in Folkestone[4].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney was born on July 24, 1843[3].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney died on December 3, 1920[5].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney's father was Edward Henry Abney[11].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney's mother was Catherine Strutt[12].
  • Among William de Wiveleslie Abney's spouses was Agnes Matilda Smith[13].
  • Among William de Wiveleslie Abney's spouses was Mary Louisa Mead[14].
  • A child of William de Wiveleslie Abney was Lancelot Edward Guy Abney[15].
  • A child of William de Wiveleslie Abney was Ethel Wootton Abney[16].
  • A child of William de Wiveleslie Abney was Helen Lillian Abney[17].
  • A child of William de Wiveleslie Abney was Janet Marie de Wiveleslie Abney[18].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney held citizenship in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland[19].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney's professions included photographer[6].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney worked as a chemist[7].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney worked as an astronomer[8].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney worked as an army officer[9].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney's field of work was astronomy[20].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney held the position of president[21].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney was educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich[22].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney was educated at Rossall School[23].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney received the Fellow of the Royal Society[24].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney received the Rumford Medal[25].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney received the Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath[26].
  • William de Wiveleslie Abney received the Royal Society Bakerian Medal[27].

Body

Origins and Family

William de Wiveleslie Abney's place of birth was Derby[2]. He was born on July 24, 1843[3]. His father was Edward Henry Abney[11]. His mother was Catherine Strutt[12].

Education

Educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich[22], a military academy[28], in United Kingdom[29], founded in 1741[30] and Rossall School[23], an independent school[31], in United Kingdom[32], founded in 1844[33], headquartered in Fleetwood[34].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include photographer[6], chemist[7], astronomer[8], and army officer[9]. William de Wiveleslie Abney's field of work was astronomy[20]. He held the position of president[21].

Recognition

Awards received include Fellow of the Royal Society[24], a fellowship award[35], in United Kingdom[36]; Rumford Medal[25], a science award[37], in United Kingdom[38]; Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath[26], a grade of an order[39], in United Kingdom[40], founded in 1815[41]; Royal Society Bakerian Medal[27], a science award[42], in United Kingdom[43], founded in 1775[44]; and Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[45], a fellowship award[46], in United Kingdom[47].

Personal Life

Spouses include Agnes Matilda Smith[13] and Mary Louisa Mead[14]. Children include Lancelot Edward Guy Abney[15], 1868–1939[48]; Ethel Wootton Abney[16]; Helen Lillian Abney[17]; and Janet Marie de Wiveleslie Abney[18].

Death and Burial

William de Wiveleslie Abney died on December 3, 1920[5]. He passed away in Folkestone[4]. The cause of death was disease[49].

Works and Contributions

Things named for William de Wiveleslie Abney include Abney effect[50].

Why It Matters

William de Wiveleslie Abney ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (41 views/month, #7,291 of 1,000,298).[10] He has Wikipedia articles in 12 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[51] He is known by 18 alternative names across languages and contexts.[52]

Entities named for him include Abney effect[50].

FAQs

Where was William de Wiveleslie Abney born?

William de Wiveleslie Abney was born in Derby[2].

Where did William de Wiveleslie Abney die?

William de Wiveleslie Abney died in Folkestone[4].

Who were William de Wiveleslie Abney's parents?

William de Wiveleslie Abney's father was Edward Henry Abney[11]. William de Wiveleslie Abney's mother was Catherine Strutt[12].

Who was William de Wiveleslie Abney married to?

William de Wiveleslie Abney's spouses include Agnes Matilda Smith[13] and Mary Louisa Mead[14].

What did William de Wiveleslie Abney do for work?

William de Wiveleslie Abney worked as photographer[6], chemist[7], astronomer[8], and army officer[9].

Where did William de Wiveleslie Abney go to school?

William de Wiveleslie Abney was educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich[22] and Rossall School[23].

What awards did William de Wiveleslie Abney receive?

Honors received include Fellow of the Royal Society[24], Rumford Medal[25], Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath[26], and Royal Society Bakerian Medal[27].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [11] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  4. [12] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  5. [13] . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  6. [14] . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  7. [19] . wikidata.org.
  8. [21] . wikidata.org.
  9. [15] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  10. [16] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  11. [17] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  12. [18] . The Peerage. wikidata.org.
  13. [22] . wikidata.org.
  14. [23] . wikidata.org.
  15. [20] . wikidata.org.
  16. [6] . fotoCH. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  17. [7] . wikidata.org.
  18. [8] . wikidata.org.
  19. [9] . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] . royalsociety.org. royalsociety.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  21. [25] . docs.google.com. Retrieved . docs.google.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [26] . pictures.royalsociety.org. Retrieved . pictures.royalsociety.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  23. [27] . wikidata.org.
  24. [45] . rse.org.uk. Retrieved . rse.org.uk. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  25. [49] . wikidata.org.
  26. [3] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [5] . BnF authorities. Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [50] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [48] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [32] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [34] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [35] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [36] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [37] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  12. [38] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  13. [39] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  14. [40] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  15. [41] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  16. [42] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  17. [43] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  18. [44] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  19. [46] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  20. [47] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [51] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [52] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William de Wiveleslie Abney. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-de-wiveleslie-abney
MLA “William de Wiveleslie Abney.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-de-wiveleslie-abney.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-de-wiveleslie-abney_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William de Wiveleslie Abney}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-de-wiveleslie-abney}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William de Wiveleslie Abney — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-de-wiveleslie-abney (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 18d ago · Pigsonthewing · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14397 13
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P14397]]: 13, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/290067836|William de Wiveleslie Abney (#290067836)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7918|‎Darwin "
  2. 29d ago · Shuaib-bot bot · 2026-05-08 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Has works in the collection Photography Collection, J. Paul Getty Museum
    Start of work period +1870-01-01T00:00:00Z
    Country of citizenship United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
    Manner of death natural causes
    + 37 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbeditentity-update-languages-and-other-short:0||ur */"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.