tails of comets. In the early 1770s, West formulated theorems for the extraction of the roots of odd powers. His theorems were published in the first volume of the transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1781. West exchanged letters with other learned men about questions of science such as gravity, magnetism, matter, and the physical nature and properties of air. He wrote about his observations of Jupiter's satellites and constructed a new table of them from 1760 to 1810. He also calculated eclipses and other astronomical tables. He reviewed texts on mathematics and astronomy for other authors and sometimes edited them for accuracy. In addition to his tracts on astronomy and his almanacs, Benjamin West wrote about subjects such as algebra, geometry, fluxions, maxima and minima, and navigation. His papers included tables in which he had calculated the transits of Mercury and Venus, the places of the sun and moon, and eclipses for years beyond his lifetime. Almanacs West published a series of almanacs between 1763 and 1793 for New England. His first, titled An Almanack, for the year of our Lord Christ, 1763 was printed by William Goddard on the first printing press in Providence. This almanac was enlarged in 1764 and published annually until 1781. He published an almanac for Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1766 to 1812, except for a few years during the American Revolution. Honors In 1770, West was granted honorary Master of Arts from Cambridge College and Rhode Island College (known since 1804 as Brown University). The honorary Master of Arts degree from Cambridge College coincided with his observations of the transits of Venus and Mercury and Lexell's Comet. In 1772 he received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College. In 1781 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. While teaching at Rhode Island College in 1792, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws for his distinguished services in the cause of science. Personal life Benjamin West was the son of John West, a farmer. His grandfather had emigrated to Massachusetts from Great Britain. When Benjamin was a boy, his family moved to Bristol, Massachusetts, where he received a few months of education from Rev. Mr. Burt. Other than these few months of formal education he was autodidactic. In 1753 he married Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of Benjamin Smith of Bristol. His parents