British astronomer noted for his contribution to the science of navigation.

Although ordained as a minister Maskelyne's passion, inspired by the solar eclipse of 1748, was astronomy. In 1758 he was admitted to the Royal Society of London which sent him to the island of St Helena to observe a transit of Venus. Despite setbacks, Maskelyne accurately determined the longitude of St. Helena. The measurement of longitude was a controversial topic at the time. Maskelyne himself was an ardent supporter of the lunar method.

Maskelyne served as Astronomer Royal from 1765 to 1811. On his appointment he established the publication of the Nautical Almanac, a compendium of astronomical tables and navigational aids. During the 1770s he attempted to prove that Newton's Law of Gravity holds for matter on Earth as well as in the heavens. He collected reams of data relating to a Scottish mountain, Schiehallion, which was roughly symmetrical in shape and therefore ideal for the task. Unfortunately it was not possible to calculate the density of the mountain with accuracy and his results were deemed unsatisfactory.