APPENDIX.
LIST OF PRINTED PAPERS BY G.B. AIRY.
LIST OF BOOKS WRITTEN BY G.B. AIRY.
PRINTED PAPERS BY G.B. AIRY.
With the instinct of order which formed one of his chief characteristics Airy carefully preserved a copy of every printed Paper of his own composition. These were regularly bound in large quarto volumes, and they are in themselves a striking proof of his wonderful diligence. The bound volumes are 14 in number, and they occupy a space of 2 ft. 6 in. on a shelf. They contain 518 Papers, a list of which is appended, and they form such an important part of his life's work, that his biography would be very incomplete without a reference to them.
He was very careful in selecting the channels for the publication of his Papers. Most of the early Papers were published in the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, but several of the most important, such as his Paper "On an inequality of long period in the motions of the Earth and Venus," were published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and others, such as the articles on "The Figure of the Earth," "Gravitation," "Tides and Waves," &c., were published in Encyclopaedias. After his removal to Greenwich nearly all his Papers on scientific subjects (except astronomy), such as Tides, Magnetism, Correction of the Compass, &c., &c., were communicated to the Royal Society, and were published in the Philosophical Transactions. But everything astronomical was reserved for the Royal Astronomical Society. His connection with that Society was very close: he had joined it in its earliest days (the date of his election was May 9th, 1828), and regarded it as the proper medium for the discussion of current astronomical questions, and for recording astronomical progress. He was unremitting in his attendance at the Monthly Meetings of the Society, and was several times President. In the Memoirs of the Society 35 of his Papers are printed, and in addition 129 Papers in the Monthly Notices. In fact a meeting of the Society rarely passed without some communication from him, and such was his wealth of matter that sometimes he would communicate as many as 3 Papers on a single evening. For the publication of several short mathematical Papers, and especially for correspondence on disputed points of mathematical investigation, he chose as his vehicle the Philosophical Magazine, to which he contributed 32 Papers. Investigations of a more popular character he published in the Athenaeum, which he also used as a vehicle for his replies to attacks on his work, or on the Establishment which he conducted: in all he made 55 communications to that Newspaper. To various Societies, such as the Institution of Civil Engineers, the British Association, the Royal Institution, &c., he presented Papers or made communications on subjects specially suited to each; and in like manner to various Newspapers: there were 58 Papers in this category. In so long an official life there would naturally be a great number of Official Reports, Parliamentary Returns, &c., and these, with other miscellaneous Papers printed for particular objects and for a limited circulation, amounted in all to 141. Under this head come his Annual Reports to the Board of Visitors, which in themselves contain an extremely full and accurate history of the Observatory during his tenure of office. There are 46 of these Reports, and they would of themselves form a large volume of about 740 pages.
The following summary of his Printed Papers shews the manner in which they were distributed:
SUMMARY OF PRINTED PAPERS BY G.B. AIRY.
Number of
Papers.
In the Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 30
In the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 29
In the Proceedings of the Royal Society 9
In the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society 35
In the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 129
In the Philosophical Magazine and Journal 32
In the Athenaeum 55
In Encyclopedias, and in various Newspapers
and Transactions 58
In Official Reports, Addresses, Parliamentary Returns,
Evidence before Committees, Lectures, Letters,
Sundry Treatises, and Papers 141
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Total 518