Vistas in Astronomy, Vol. 34, pp. 69–105, 1991      R. K. Kochhar Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore 560034, India   CONTENTS 1. Ancient and medieval times 2. Use of telescope in the 17th century 3. Advent of modern astronomy in the 18th century 4. Madras Observatory (1786-1899) 5. ( continue reading… )