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Flamsteed
Astronomy Society |
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I am a bit of a nut about Airy. Joining the Royal Observatory from school
in 1952, I worked with Airy instruments, wrote in books designed by Airy, and
followed calculation steps worked-out by Airy. You get that way. Gilbert’s own words (-ish) speak for themselves. He is passionate about Sir George. And it’s infectious. The professional
George Biddell Airy (1801-1892) is well documented: seventh Astronomer Royal 1835-1881,
mathematician, astronomer, engineer, and administrator. He was a brilliant scholar and
academic—Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at 25 (a post once held by Isaac
Newton and now by Stephen Hawking), Plumian Professor of Astronomy at 27, and
Astronomer Royal at 34. He reorganised
the Royal Observatory and established instrumentation and structures for staffing
and procedure that put it in good stead for 150 years. Gilbert set-out to tell us about Airy, the man — what
made him what he was. In documented memory Airy has a dark side. Allegedly arrogant, scornful, obsessive, petty and a perfectionist
slave-driver. Gilbert explained how
Airy has suffered from the biased views mainly of just two men—assistants at
the Observatory, James Glaisher and Walter Maunder. Glaisher had felt restricted by Airy who
took a too narrow view of his functions for him. Maunder wrote the early history of the
Observatory but was writing in some cases about events long before he joined
(or was even born!). |
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Airy is a historian’s
dream. For years he kept daily
‘scribbling notes’ about his activities, each carefully dated. His son Wilfrid edited them and published
them as an Autobiography in 1896 (re-published this year). Order ruled Airy’s life. He kept everything including domestic bills
etc. He issued a General Order at the
Observatory forbidding the destruction of any paper records —the Airy
Archives at Cambridge occupy 125 yards of shelving! Airy had a fierce sense of duty
and morality—the archetypical set of Victorian Values. He was effectively Chief Scientific Advisor
to the Government and served on committees about the magnetic compass on
steel ships, the gauge of the railway tracks, and how to make Big Ben run
accurately. These duties occupied 50%
of his time. He made sure the salary
was commensurate and negotiated £1100 pa (including a £300 pension for Mrs
Airy). His predecessor John Pond had
got £600. Airy was offered a
knighthood four times, and only accepted in 1872. He was energetic, focused, and a risk
taker outside the office. He was a
keen walker and once hiked from Cambridge to Bury St Edmonds, 29 miles. He visited the Lake District (Cumberland)
frequently and took it upon himself to be a one-man conservation board for
the countryside. He established Airy’s
Bridge near Styhead. He had poor eye-sight (probably
why he was thought scornful of observing tasks) and measured and analysed his
own optics. He diagnosed and described
astigmatism (maybe the first such description) and had spectacles especially
made to his own prescription to correct it. |
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Gilbert Satterthwaite photo Mike Dryland |
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Gilbert with James Airy Great Great Nephew of Sir George Airy photo Mike Dryland |
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NMM |
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Airy’s staff, in general, seem
to have been very loyal. Dunkin
described him as strict and demanding but fair. When he retired Airy handed over a
structured, qualified, and well-paid team.
In 1870 the longest serving assistant had 37 years service and the
shortest serving 13 years. Airy could
show great consideration for others.
Before becoming Astronomer Royal, he defended his predecessor John
Pond against criticism he felt was unwarranted. Gilbert feels Airy himself
was unfairly judged over the ‘Neptune Affair’. In 1845 Airy was alerted by John Couch
Adams who had calculated an orbit for an undiscovered 8th planet, based on
deviations in the orbit of Uranus discovered in 1781 by William Herschel. Airy asked Challis at Cambridge to search
for the planet because Greenwich lacked a suitable telescope. Challis dragged his feet, and the result
was that Neptune was discovered by Galle and d’Arrest on September 23, 1846
at the Berlin Observatory, based on Leverrier’s calculations. The British public felt that discovering
new planets was a British preserve, and Airy was castigated. But says Gilbert, Greenwich had neither the
remit nor the instrumentation for the job. |
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Finally, Airy the family
man. He proposed to his wife-to-be 2
days after their first meeting but they didn’t marry for 6 years. They had 9 children and tragically lost 3. Airy’s second son and eldest daughter both
died on June 24, Arthur in 1839 and Elizabeth in 1852. But their family life at Greenwich and
Playford near Ipswich was clearly a source of great joy to George. After he retired in 1881 he continued to
live in Greenwich, in the White House on Crooms Hill overlooking the
Park. He served on the Board of Visitors
and was active to the end. On his 90th
birthday he was to be found conducting the turning-on ceremony for the clock
illumination at St Alphege’s Church.
He died in 1892 and is buried at Playford. It is very appropriate that among the
monuments to Airy (notably the Transit Circle itself) is a crater on the Moon
named for him back in 1837. Mike Dryland |
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Reading List — The
Astronomers Royal by Emily Winterburn (NMM) Greenwich
Observatory 1675-1975 Vol 2 by
A J Meadows
The Royal Observatory Greenwich by E. Walter Maunder (1900) |
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George Airy by Anna Airy after Collier Royal Astronomical Society |
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A04 |
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A Fresh Look at Sir George Airy —Gilbert Satterthwaite October
4, 2004 |
