William Wales (ca. 1734–1798): playing the astronomer

William Wales, unlike many of his contemporaries, successfully managed to carve out a career for himself as a civilian astronomer working on a Royal Navy ship. A study of his career reveals the potential tensions and conflicts that could arise between the naval and scientific communities at the end of the eighteenth century. This article shows how on board HMS Resolution Wales skilfully negotiated and defined the new role of the civilian astronomical expert. By comparing Wales’s private journal with his public logbook, this study will examine how Wales used literary techniques to consolidate his position on shore. Wales’s unusual success will be stressed by outlining how he managed to enhance his personal reputation and remain on good terms with the Resolution’s naval officers while the other men of science on Cook’s voyages frequently fell foul of Cook and the other naval officers.