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Airy

Sir George Biddell Airy

Achievements: Astronomer Royal (1835-1881)

Born: July 27, 1801; Alnwick, Northumberland, UK

Died: January 2 , 1892; Greenwich, London (Aged 90)

Field & Discipline: Mathematics, Astronomy, Geology, Optics, Mechanical Engineering

Language: English

Father: William Airy

Mother: Ann Biddell

Siblings: Eldest of four children

Spouse: Richarda Smith

Children: Wilfred; Osmund; Hilda; three others

Education: Trinity College, Cambridge

Life & Times:

George Airy was the son of a self-educated farmer turned civil servant. At the age of 12, young George requested that he be raised instead by his wealthy, well-educated and well-connected uncle Arthur Biddell, and his financially burdened parents did not object. Through his uncle’s connections, he got into Trinity College and began an impressive student career which concluded with his graduation as the best of his class in 1823. He was elected to a fellowship in October 1824, and in 1826 won the Lucasian professorship in 1826.

Up until 1828, Airy had been primarily a mathematician, but when a professorship became vacant that included the management of the Cambridge Observatory, he obtained it and began his career as an astronomer.

In 1835 he was appointed Astronomer Royal and moved to Greenwich. As an astronomer, Airy was primarily concerned with the improvement of observational instruments and the accuracy of recorded measurements. Astronomy was still the key to the accurate measurement of time, and time was the key to the calculation of longitude for ships at sea. Airy, therefore, regarded his primary duty to be the precise measurement and communication of the right time.  To this end, he worked with, among others, [collaborated with] Edwin and Latimer Clark* to produce an elaborate time signal system, using “time balls”. On an electrical signal from the main station in Greenwich, these spheres descended from their position at the top of rods placed on the roofs of selected buildings to provide an instant and dramatic signal of the passage of time. The precision and easy availability of Greenwich time led to its establishment as the international standard as well as the base measurement for longitude.

Airy’s achievements didn’t stop there. His work in optics led to the discovery of the Airy disk and a special lens for the correction of astigmatism (from which he suffered). With his friend [a pal of] William Whewell* he made experiments that led to an estimate for the density of the earth using a pendulum. Airy prepared a model of Earth’s interior to account for the variation in density of the crust. Airy and [collaborated with] S. H. Christie* followed up on the work of [work related to] Alexander Humboldt* and [work related to] Gauss* on terrestrial magnetism, proposing to the Royal Society the establishment of magnetic observation stations throughout the world.

Due to his position and reputation, Airy became a scientific consultant on many different projects. He oversaw the building of parliament’s Big Ben, drafting the initial specifications and working closely with [collaborated with] Sir Edmund Beckett* and Dent on the final design. He worked out a method for correcting compasses against the influence of iron within the structure of ships and was consulted about the launching of the [consulted about] Great Eastern* ,  [consulted by] I. K. Brunel’s* huge steamship. He wrote an enormous amount of material on a large variety of topics, his collected works including 11 books, 377 articles, and 141 official reports.

Airy is also known for what he did not do, or for what he didn’t do quickly enough. When James Couch Adams submitted the work which predicted and modeled the behavior of the yet-undiscovered planet Neptune, Airy was skeptical and failed to follow through on it. While this was in some respects due to poor communication between Airy and Adams, Airy compounded the problem by showing Adams’ work to only a few people. One of these people was astronomer [worked with] James Challis*, who failed to recognize the planet when it showed up in his group’s observations. As a result, credit for the mathematical prediction of Neptune’s existence and behavior was given to the French mathematician Leverrier working under the direction of [work related to] Arago*.  Arago and Leverrier publicized the findings widely and the planet was finally observed and identified by Johann Gottfried Galle.

Airy was asked to provide his opinion on [opposed work of] Babbage’s* proposed Difference Engine, and pronounced it “humbug.”   Airy and Babbage also differed on the matter of railway gauges and on government funding for technological research.  Babbage, Brunel, and astronomer [disagreed with] JWF Herschel* supported more aggressive sponsorship by the government and lamented what they saw as a decline in Britain’s scientific supremacy. Airy, a traditionalist with a timekeeper’s love of order, took a conservative view in the belief that progress should be carried out within the current system.

George Airy had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. As a young man, he had spent some time with the Romantic poets [a pal of] Southey* and [a pal of] Wordsworth*, well into the period of their late-life conservatism. In Paris, he met Arago and [influenced by] Laplace*.  Laplace especially was to have a profound influence on Airy’s work in celestial mechanics.  He met [met] Davy* and became close friends with [a pal of] Mary Somerville* and [a pal of] Adam Sedgwick*.

He kept every document, note, bill, cheque stub, letter, etc and thus provided a vital insight into a Victorian scientist’s daily life.

Extra Connections: Airy was involved in the architectural movement known as the [involved in] Gothic Revival*

Assessment: Airy’s love of order drove him to improve the Greenwich Observatory’s instruments and systems, but it also caused him to regard larger-scale scientific and technological innovations too cautiously.

Oneliner: Sir George Airy, major Victorian scientist

Bibliography: