John Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal, appointed by Charles II in 1675. For his work, the king commissioned the building of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich where Flamsteed was able to study the night sky to establish the longitudes. Based on his observations there, he compiled this catalogue of fixed stars. He was reluctant to publish it without other scientists checking his results but Isaac Newton, who was then the president of the Royal Society, overruled him. Flamsteed made his displeasure known by obtaining and burning 300 copies of his own work.

Cat. 199