Ralph Copeland (1837-1905), British astronomer. Born in England, Copeland spent time in Australia and Germany before settling in Scotland. He was trained as an engineer but gave this up to pursue astronomy. He worked at the Earl of Crawford's private observatory, Dun Echt, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, regularly participating in expeditions to make astronomical observations. In 1889 he was appointed the 3rd Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and established a new observatory in Edinburgh. He discovered numerous nebulae and several galaxies.