I was not a little surprised to find myself suddenly surrounded with a light equal to that of the full moon, Hornsey 1754

After completing his masters degree at Cambridge in 1754, William Hirst became a navy chaplain. In April 1754, whilst living in Hornsey, Middlesex, he wrote to the Royal Society an ‘account of a fire-ball’ seen there. This led to his election as fellow on 20 Feb. 1755. His interest i astronomy contiues through his life and he published several further accounts. 

His letter to Samuel Mead in 1754, excerpted above is what seems to have given him a place in the history books. I like it for its historical charm, but if you have a deeper interest in eighteenth century astronomy, I have attached below a pdf of the full letter as published in the Royal Society's journal.*

The second and third paragraphs of the exceprt above read as follows:

I was going down the hill adjoining to south side of Hornsey-church, and was not a little surprised to find myself suddenly surrounded with a light equal to that of the full moon, though the moon (which was then four days old) had been set for about fifty minutes.

I should perhaps have seen this appearance sooner than I did, if I had not had a Ianthorn with me. The disadvantage however, which this might be, was more than balanced by the opportunity it gave of looking upon my watch, which a day or two before was adjusted by a meridian line and an equation table.**

You can read the Dictionary of National Biography potted bio of Hirst here.  

*An Account of a Fire-Ball, Seen at Hornsey, by William Hirst, F. R. S. Communicated in a Letter to Samuel Mead, Esq; F. R. S Hirst, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Vol. 48 Pg 773–776; 1755; Royal Society of London, London

**Full original letter on the Royal Society website at makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/l-and-p_2_509/letter-account-o...