An interesting book with all the historical details is
Title June 8, 2004 : Venus in transit
Author Maor, Eli
Call Number 523.92 Mao
Publisher Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 2000.
Paging xiii, 186 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Prof. Eric T. Lane 318 Grote Hall 423-755-4523 eric-lane@utc.edu
Physics Dept.2352, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, TN 37403