Thomas William Webb (14 December 1807 – 19 May 1885) was a British astronomer. Some sources give his year of birth as 1806. The only son of a clergyman, the Reverend John Webb, he was raised and educated by his father, his mother having died while Thomas was a small child. He went to Oxford where he attended Magdalen Hall. In 1829 was ordained a minister in the Anglican Church. He was married to Henrietta Montague Wyatt (1820–1884) in 1843, daughter of Mr. Arthur Wyatt, Monmouth. Mrs. Webb died on 7 September 1884, and after a year of declining health Thomas died on 19 May 1885.
Through his career T. W. Webb served as a clergyman at various places including Gloucester, and finally in 1852 was assigned to the parish of Hardwicke in Herefordshire near the border with Wales. In addition to serving faithfully the members of his parish, T. W. Webb pursued astronomical observation in his spare time. On the grounds of the vicarage or parsonage he built a small canvas and wood observatory that was home to instruments including a small 3.7 in (94 mm) refracting telescope. Webb acquired progressively larger refractors and reflectors, the largest was a 9+1⁄3 inches (240 mm) aperture silver on glass reflector used from 1866 until his last observation in March 1885. It was at Hardwick that he wrote his classic astronomical observing guide Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes in 1859 for which he is best known today. This work was written as a guide for the amateur astronomer, containing instructions on the use of a telescope as well as detailed descriptions of what could be observed with it. This work became the standard observing guide of amateur astronomers worldwide, and remained so until well into the 20th century, gradually supplanted by more modern guides such as Burnham's Celestial Handbook.
