Charles Messier

Charles Messier, (June 26, 1730 - April 12, 1817) was a French astronomer who created the catalogue of 110 deep sky objects (nebulae and star clusters) (the 'Messier objects') that bears his name. This catalogue was first published in 1774. The Messier objects were numbered M1 to M110, and often are still known under those designations.

His purpose in creating the catalog was to help comet hunters (like Messier himself) and other naked-eye observers to distinguish between permanent and transient objects.