LONG, ROGER, an astronomer, was born in Norfolk about 1680. He was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, was created a master of arts in 1704, and a doctor of divinity in 1728. He was chosen a fellow of the Royal Society, and vice-chancellor of the university in 1729, and master of Pembroke Hall in 1733. In 1749 he was elected Lowndes professor of astronomy, and in 1751 was appointed to the rector of Bradwell, in Essex. He was also the rector of Cherryhinton, in Huntingdonshire. At his death in 1770, he bequeathed L.600 to his college. Long is best known as the inventor of a curious contrivance, at Pembroke Hall, for facilitating the study of astronomy. It is a hollow sphere 18 feet in diameter, and capable of containing thirty persons. The inner surface is covered by a map of the heavenly bodies, and represents that portion of the celestial sphere visible in Britain. The entire structure is moved by machinery. Long's chief work is a
Treatise on Astronomy, Cambridge, 1742-64, 1784, 2 vols. 4to. He also wrote a Commencement Sermon, 1728; a pamphlet entitled The Rights of Churches and Colleges Defended, 1731, 8vo; an Answer to Dr Gally's Pamphlet on Greek Accents, 1755; and a Life of Mahomet, prefixed to Oakley's History of the Saracens.