Sir Richard van der Riet Woolley (April 24 1906 – December 24 1986) was a British astronomer. His mother's maiden name was Van der Riet.

He moved to South Africa when his parents retired there and got a degree from the University of Cape Town. He returned to the United Kingdom and studied at Cambridge University. After two years at Mount Wilson Observatory he again returned to the United Kingdom in 1931.

He specialized in solar astronomy and in 1939 he was appointed director of the Commonwealth Solar Observatory in Canberra, Australia. He later returned to the United Kingdom to take up his appointment as Astronomer Royal from 1956–1971. He moved the Royal Greenwich Observatory from Greenwich to Herstmonceux.

He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1971. From 1972 to 1976 he was director of the new South African Astronomical Observatory. He retired in the late 1970s and spent most of his retirement in South Africa.

Further reading

• Australian Academy of Science

1906 births | 1986 deaths | 20th century astronomers | British astronomers

Richard van der Riet Woolley | リチャード・ウーリー | Richard van der Riet Woolley