“Why, Mr. Langley, I do believe you have read every book that ever was written!” said an admiring young lady on one occasion.
“Oh, no,” he replied dryly, with the hint of a twinkle in his eyes, “there are six that I have not read—as yet.”
In 1886, when he was offered the position of assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, he accepted without hesitation, because he felt that he would have a chance for association with his brother scientists.