 John Grigg was a music teacher and businessman, but it was his hobby in his spare time for which he is best remembered. John discovered comets.
Born in London, England on June 4, 1838 to James and Ruth, he received an excellent classical education with a particular interest in music, math and science. He sang, played numerous instruments and was qualified as a music teacher early in his life. He married Emma Mitchell in 1858 and they came to New Zealand in 1863. But Emma died in 1867 leaving John with four young children. The next year he moved his family to Thames and set up a furnishings business. Later he added a music shop. He established the Thames Choral Society and composed music for it. In 1871 he married Sarah Ann Allaway but the marriage was tragically short-lived - Sarah dying during a miscarriage in 1874. He married a third time - to Mary Jane Henderson in 1887 and had four children. John had developed a fascination with astronomy as a teenager and in 1874 and 1882 he became captivated by the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. He retired at the age of 56 to devote himself to it full time. He owned his own refracting telescope and constructed an observatory for it in Pollen Street. And began comet hunting. In 1902 he made his first discovery, a comet now known as Comet 1902 IIP/Grigg-Skjellerup. A year later he found his second and his third in 1907. He was beaten to a fourth by an Australian amatuer astronomer. John received rewards for his discoveries and is also known in the field of astrophotography for taking pictures of comets. He died in Thames on June 20, 1920. He is buried in the Shortland Cemetery in Thames.
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