# Henry Brinton

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{{Short description|British political activist and astronomer}}
{{for|the American author|Henry G. Brinton}}
{{morefootnotes|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Henry Brinton''' (27 July 1901 – 1 June 1977) was a [British](/source/British_people) political activist and [astronomer](/source/astronomer).

Born in [Wolverhampton](/source/Wolverhampton), Brinton joined the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) and the [League of Nations Union](/source/League_of_Nations_Union).<ref name="obituary">{{cite journal |last1=Moore |first1=Patrick |title=Obituary: Henry Brinton: 1901-1977 |journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association |date=June 1977 |volume=88 |page=85 |bibcode=1977JBAA...88...85M |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1977JBAA...88...85M |accessdate=11 April 2019}}</ref>  He travelled to [Republican Spain](/source/Republican_Spain) as part of an Anglican delegation during the [Spanish Civil War](/source/Spanish_Civil_War),<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Ben |title=With God on Our Side: British Christian Responses to the Spanish Civil War |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1443851084 |pages=56–96}}</ref> and then with [Wilfred Roberts](/source/Wilfred_Roberts) organised a reception camp for Basque child refugees.<ref name="obituary" /><ref>{{cite book|author1=Joyce M. Bellamy|author2=John Saville|title=Dictionary of Labour Biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-iLrgEACAAJ&pg=PA169|date=February 1984|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-33181-1|page=169}}</ref>

Brinton stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party in [Great Grimsby](/source/Great_Grimsby_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1935 United Kingdom general election](/source/1935_United_Kingdom_general_election), [St Ives](/source/St_Ives_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1945 United Kingdom general election](/source/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election), [Truro](/source/Truro_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1950 United Kingdom general election](/source/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election), [Scarborough and Whitby](/source/Scarborough_and_Whitby_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1951 United Kingdom general election](/source/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election), and also in the [1954 Bournemouth West by-election](/source/1954_Bournemouth_West_by-election).  Unable to get selected for a winnable seat, he then decided to focus on his interests in writing and astronomy.<ref name="obituary" />

Brinton moved to [Selsey](/source/Selsey) in 1957, joining the [British Astronomical Association](/source/British_Astronomical_Association), and writing books on astronomy which became known for their photography.  These included ''Astronomy for Beginners'', and ''Measuring the Universe''. He wrote a series of "Discovering..." science books for schools. He also wrote thrillers, both under his own name and as "Alex Fraser", his work including the 1962 novel ''Purple-6''.<ref name="obituary" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L25ycEzuXxIC&dq=Henry+Brinton%2Bwolverhampton&pg=PA831|title=Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2|author1=R. Reginald |author2=Douglas Menville |author3=Mary A. Burgess |publisher=Wildside Press LLC.|accessdate=8 March 2013|isbn=978-0-941028-77-6|date=September 2010}}</ref>

In 1975, Briton suffered a [stroke](/source/stroke), and had to give up astronomy, though he continued work as a member of the West Sussex County Council.  He presented his telescope to [Hatfield Polytechnic](/source/Hatfield_Polytechnic).  He died two years later.<ref name="obituary" /> "The Brinton Telescope" was mounted in Bayfordbury Observatory, then moved to Slindon College, finally being restored at Chichester Planetarium by Dr John Mason.

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinton, Henry}}
Category:1901 births
Category:1977 deaths
Category:20th-century British astronomers
Category:British writers
Category:Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society
Category:Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates
Category:People from Wolverhampton
Category:People from Selsey

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