Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy

by George Biddell Airy

I cannot learn that the fault in the mirror had been noticed before, but I fancy that the observations had been very much confined to the Zenith and its neighbourhood.

1849

"In July the new constant-service water-pipes to the Observatory were laid from Blackheath. Before this time the supply of water to the Observatory had been made by a pipe leading up from the lower part of the Park, and was not constant.—In May the new staircase from my dwelling-house to the Octagon Room was commenced.—In the Report to the Visitors there is a curious account of Mr Breen's (one of the Assistants) personal equation, which was found to be different in quantity for observations of the Moon and observations of the Stars.—The most important set of observations (of planets) was a series of measures of Saturn in four directions, at the time when his ring had disappeared. They appear completely to negative the idea that Saturn's form differs sensibly from an ellipsoid.—Among the General Remarks of the Report the following appears: 'Another change (in prospect) will depend on the use of galvanism; and as a probable instance of the application of this agent, I may mention that, although no positive step has hitherto been taken, I fully expect in no long time to make the going of all the clocks in the Observatory depend on one original regulator. The same means will probably be employed to increase the general utility of the Observatory, by the extensive dissemination throughout the kingdom of accurate time-signals, moved by an original clock at the Royal Observatory; and I have already entered into correspondence with the authorities of the South Eastern Railway (whose line of galvanic communication will shortly pass within nine furlongs of the Observatory) in reference to this subject.'—I agreed with Schumacher in giving no medal to Mr G. P. Bond; his comet was found to be Petersen's. Five medals were awarded for comets in 1847 (Hind, Colla, Mauvais, Brorsen, Schweizer).—The Liverpool Observatory was finished this year: and the thanks of the Town Council were presented to me.—Respecting Fallows's Observations at the Cape of Good Hope: I had received the Admiralty sanction for proceeding with calculations in 1846, and I employed computers as was convenient. On July 20th of this year I was ready with final results, and began to make enquiries about Fallows's personal history, and the early history of the Cape Observatory. On Oct. 23rd I applied for sanction for printing, which was given, and the work was soon finished off, in the Astronomical Society's Memoirs.—In the month of March I had commenced correspondence with various persons on the imperfect state of publication of the British Survey. Sheets of the Map were issued by scores, but not one of them had an indication of latitude or longitude engraved. I knew that great pains had been taken in giving to the principal triangulation a degree of accuracy never before reached, and in fixing the astronomical latitudes of many stations with unequalled precision. Finally I prepared for the Council of the Royal Society a very strong representation on these subjects, which was adopted and presented to the Government. It was entirely successful, and the Maps were in future furnished with latitude and longitude lines.—I was elected President of the Royal Astronomical Society on Feb. 9th.—In June I went with Sheepshanks to see some of the operation of measuring a Base on Salisbury Plain. The following extract from a letter to his wife dated 1849, June 27th, relates to this expedition: 'In the morning we started before eight in an open carriage to the Plain: looking into Old Sarum on our way. The Base is measured on what I should think a most unfavourable line, its north end (from which they have begun now, in verification of the old measure) being the very highest point in the whole plain, called Beacon Hill. The soldiers measure only 252 feet in a day, so it will take them a good while to measure the whole seven miles. While we were there Col. Hall (Colby's successor) and Yolland and Cosset came.'"

Of private history: "I made short visits to Playford in January, April and July. From July 28th to Sept. 12th I made an expedition with my wife to Orkney and Shetland.—From Dec. 24th to 26th I was at Hawkhurst, on a visit to Sir John Herschel."

1850

"The Report to the Board of Visitors opens with the following paragraph: 'In recording the proceedings at the Royal Observatory during the last year, I have less of novelty to communicate to the Visitors than in the Reports of several years past. Still I trust that the present Report will not be uninteresting; as exhibiting, I hope, a steady and vigorous adherence to a general plan long since matured, accompanied with a reasonable watchfulness for the introduction of new instruments and new methods when they may seem desirable.'—Since the introduction of the self-registering instruments a good many experiments had been made to obtain the most suitable light, and the Report states that 'No change whatever has been made in these instruments, except by the introduction of the light of coal-gas charged with the vapour of coal-naptha, for photographic self-registration both of the magnetic and of the meteorological instruments…. The chemical treatment of the paper is now so well understood by the Assistants that a failure is almost unknown. And, generally speaking, the photographs are most beautiful, and give conceptions of the continual disturbances in terrestrial magnetism which it would be impossible to acquire from eye-observation.' —Amongst the General Remarks of the Report it is stated that 'There are two points which have distinctly engaged my attention. The first of these is, the introduction of the American method of observing transits, by completing a galvanic circuit by means of a touch of the finger at the instant of appulse of the transiting body to the wire of the instrument, which circuit will then animate a magnet that will make an impression upon a moving paper. After careful consideration of this method, I am inclined to believe that, in Prof. Mitchell's form, it does possess the advantages which have been ascribed to it, and that it may possess peculiar advantages in this Observatory, where the time-connection of transits made with two different instruments (the Transit and the Altazimuth) is of the highest importance…. The second point is, the connection of the Observatory with the galvanic telegraph of the South Eastern Railway, and with other lines of galvanic wire with which that telegraph communicates. I had formerly in mind only the connection of this Observatory with different parts of the great British island: but I now think it possible that our communications may be extended far beyond its shores. The promoters of the submarine telegraph are very confident of the practicability of completing a galvanic connection between England and France: and I now begin to think it more than possible that, within a few years, observations at Paris and Brussels may be registered on the recording surfaces at Greenwich, and vice versa.'—Prof. Hansen was engaged in forming Lunar Tables from his Lunar Theory, but was stopped for want of money. On Mar. 7th I represented this privately to Mr Baring, First Lord of the Admiralty; and on Mar. 30th I wrote officially to the Admiralty, soliciting £150 with the prospect, if necessary, of making it £200. On Apr. 10th the Admiralty gave their assent. The existence of Hansen's Lunar Tables is due to this grant.—The King of Denmark's Medal for Comets was discontinued, owing to the difficulties produced by the hostility of Prussia.—On Aug. 1st I gave to the Treasury my opinion on the first proposal for a large reflector in Australia: it was not strongly favourable.—In August, being (with my wife and Otto Struve) on a visit to Lady Breadalbane at Taymouth Castle, I examined the mountain Schehallien.—As in other years, I reported on several Papers for the Royal Society, and took part in various business for them.—In the Royal Astronomical Society I had much official business, as President.—In March I communicated to the Athenaeum my views on the Exodus of the Israelites: this brought me into correspondence with Miss Corbaux, Robert Stephenson, Capt. Vetch, and Prof. J.D. Forbes.—In December I went to the London Custom House, to see Sir T. Freemantle (Chairman of Customs), and to see how far decimal subdivisions were used in the Custom House."

Of private history: "From Mar. 19th to 22nd I was on an expedition to Folkestone, Dover, Dungeness, &c.—From Apr. 3rd to 8th at Playford, and again for short periods in June and July.—From Aug. 1st to Sept. 5th I was travelling in Scotland with my wife and Otto Struve (for part of the time). At Edinburgh I attended the Meeting of the British Association, and spoke a little in Section A. I was nominated President for 1851 at Ipswich. We travelled to Cape Wrath and returned by Inverness and the Caledonian Canal.—I was at Playford for a short time in October and December."

1851

"In this year the great shed was built (first erected on the Magnetic Ground, and about the year 1868 transferred to the South Ground).—The chronometers were taken from the old Chronometer Room (a room on the upper story fronting the south, now, 1872, called Library 2) and were put in the room above the Computing Room (where they remained for 10 or 12 years, I think): it had a chronometer-oven with gas-heat, erected in 1850.—The following passage is quoted from the Report to the Visitors:—'As regards Meridional Astronomy our equipment may now be considered complete. As I have stated above, an improvement might yet be made in our Transit Circle; nevertheless I do not hesitate to express my belief that no other existing meridional instrument can be compared with it. This presumed excellence has not been obtained without much thought on my part and much anxiety on the part of the constructors of the instrument (Messrs Ransomes and May, and Mr Simms). But it would be very unjust to omit the further statement that the expense of the construction has considerably exceeded the original estimate, and that this excess has been most liberally defrayed by the Government.'—In December Sir John Herschel gave his opinion (to the Admiralty, I believe) in favour of procuring for the Cape Observatory a Transit Circle similar to that at Greenwich.—I had much correspondence about sending Pierce Morton (formerly a pupil of mine at Cambridge, a clever gentlemanly man, and a high wrangler, but somewhat flighty) as Magnetic Assistant to the Cape Observatory: he was with me from May to October, and arrived at the Cape on Nov. 27th.—I was much engaged with the clock with conical motion of pendulum, for uniform movement of the Chronographic Barrel.—Regarding galvanic communications: On Sept. 19th I had prepared a Draft of Agreement with the South Eastern Railway Company, to which they agreed. In November I wrote to Sir T. Baring (First Lord of the Admiralty) and to the Admiralty for sanction, which was given on Dec. 18th. In December I had various communications about laying wires through the Park, &c., &c., and correspondence about the possibility of using sympathetic clocks: in June, apparently, I had seen Shepherd's sympathetic clock at the Great Exhibition, and had seen the system of sympathetic clocks at Pawson's, St Paul's Churchyard.—In the last quarter of this year I was engaged in a series of calculations of chronological eclipses. On Sept. 30th Mr Bosanquet wrote to me about the Eclipse of Thales, and I urged on the computations related to it, through Mr Breen. In October the eclipse of Agathocles (the critical eclipse for the motion of the Moon's node) was going on. In October Hansteen referred me to the darkness at Stiklastad.—I went to Sweden to observe the total eclipse of July 28th, having received assistance from the Admiralty for the journeys of myself, Mr Dunkin, Mr Humphreys and his friend, and Capt. Blackwood. I had prepared a map of its track, in which an important error of the Berliner Jahrbuch (arising from neglect of the earth's oblateness) was corrected. I gave a lecture at the Royal Institution, in preparation for the eclipse, and drew up suggestions for observations, and I prepared a scheme of observations for Greenwich, but the weather was bad. The official account of the Observations of the Eclipse, with diagrams and conclusions, is given in full in a paper published in the Royal Astr. Society's Memoirs.—This year I was President of the British Association, at the Ipswich Meeting: it necessarily produced a great deal of business. I lectured one evening on the coming eclipse. Prince Albert was present, as guest of Sir William Middleton: I was engaged to meet him at dinner, but when I found that the dinner day was one of the principal soirée days, I broke off the engagement.—On May 26th I had the first letter from E. Hamilton (whom I had known at Cambridge) regarding the selection of professors for the University of Sydney. Herschel, Maldon, and H. Denison were named as my coadjutors. Plenty of work was done, but it was not finished till 1852.—In connection with the clock for Westminster Palace, in February there were considerations about providing other clocks for the various buildings; and this probably was one reason for my examining Shepherd's Clocks at the Great Exhibition and at Pawson's. In November I first proposed that Mr E.B. Denison should be associated with me. About the end of the year, the plan of the tower was supplied to me, with reference to the suspension of the weights and other particulars.—In 1850 Admiral Dundas (M.P. for Greenwich and one of the Board of Admiralty) had requested me to aid the Trustees of the Dee Navigation against an attack; and on Mar. 19th 1851 I went to Chester to see the state of the river. On Jan. 1st 1852 I went to give evidence at the Official Enquiry.—At a discussion on the construction of the Great Exhibition building in the Institution of Civil Engineers, I expressed myself strongly on the faulty principles of its construction.—In this year I wrote my first Paper on the landing of Julius Caesar in Britain, and was engaged in investigations of the geography, tides, sands, &c., relating to the subject."

Of private history: "I was several times at Playford during January, and went there again on Dec. 23rd.—In this year a very heavy misfortune fell on us. My daughter, Elizabeth, had been on a visit to Lady Herschel at Hawkhurst, and on Apr. 2nd Sir J. Herschel wrote to me, saying that she was so well in health. She returned a few days later, and from her appearance I was sure that she was suffering under deadly disease. After some time, an able physician was consulted, who at once pronounced it to be pulmonary. A sea voyage was thought desirable, and my wife took her to Shetland, where there was again a kind welcome from Mr Edmonston. But this, and the care taken on her return, availed nothing: and it was determined to take her to Madeira. My wife and daughter sailed in the brig 'Eclipse' from Southampton on Dec. 11th. The termination came in 1852.—On Nov. 23rd I went to Bradfield, near Bury: my uncle, George Biddell, died, and I attended the funeral on Nov. 29th.—From July 18th to Aug. 24th I was in Sweden for the Observation of the Eclipse, and returned through Holland.—In October I was about a week at Ventnor and Torquay, and from Dec. 7th to 11th at Southampton, on matters connected with my daughter's illness."