by Richard Widdington, Artnet News.
“Williams was arguably the most famous Black intellectual of the 18th century and alongside studies at Cambridge University had joined discussions of Newtonian physics. Most crucial was Halley’s theory that the trajectory of comets could be predicted based on Newton’s laws of motion and gravity. When in 1759 the comet did indeed drag its tail across the sky, it was momentous, clarifying a rational, enlightened outlook on the world. Newton and Halley were long dead, but Williams was present to measure and record the moment.”