Ralph Allen Sampson (1866-1939), British astronomer. Sampson did pioneering work in astrophysics, including theories on the interiors of stars, and the colour temperatures of stars. His major work was in dynamical astronomy, explaining the motions of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Sampson was educated at Cambridge University. He was Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at the University of Durham (1908-1910), and Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh (1910-1937). He served as the President of the Royal Astronomical Society (1915-1917), receiving the society's Gold Medal in 1928. A crater on the Moon is named after him.