Autobiography of Sir George Biddell AiryAiry, George Biddell
Science
Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy
Airy, George Biddell
Airy, George Biddell, 1801-1892; Astronomers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Autobiographies; Royal Greenwich Observatory
"There was in this spring a furious discussion about the admission of
Dissenters into the University: I took the Liberal side. On Apr. 30th
there was a letter of mine in the Cambridge newspaper.--On Apr. 14th I
began lectures, and finished on May 20th: there were 87 names.--My
'Gravitation' was either finished or so nearly finished that on Jan.
24th I had some conversation with Knight the publisher about printing
it. It was printed in the spring, and on Apr. 27th Sheepshanks sent a
copy of it to Lord Brougham. I received from Knight _£83. 17s. 1d._
for this Paper.--On May 10th I went to London, I believe to attend one
of the Soirées which the Duke of Sussex gave as President of the Royal
Society. The Duke invited me to breakfast privately with him the next
morning. He then spoke to me, on the part of the Government, about my
taking the office of Astronomer Royal. On May 19th I wrote him a
semi-official letter, to which reference was made in subsequent
correspondence on that subject.
"On May 12th my son Arthur was born.--In June the Observatory
Syndicate made a satisfied Report.--On June 7th I went to the
Greenwich Visitation, and again on June 14th I went to London, I
believe for the purpose of trying the mounting of South's telescope,
as it had been strengthened by Mr Simms by Sheepshanks's
suggestions. I was subsequently in correspondence with Sheepshanks on
the subject of the Arbitration on South's telescope, and my giving
evidence on it. On July 29th, as I was shortly going away, I wrote him
a Report on the Telescope, to be used in case of my absence. The
award, which was given in December, was entirely in favour of
Simms.--On July 23rd I went out, I think to my brother's marriage at
Ixworth in Suffolk.--On Aug. 1st I started for Edensor and Cumberland,
with my wife, sister, and three children: Georgiana Smith joined us at
Edensor. We went by Otley, Harrogate, Ripon, and Stanmoor to Keswick,
from whence we made many excursions. On Aug. 11th I went with Whewell
to the clouds on Skiddaw, to try hygrometers. Mr Baily called on his
way to the British Association at Edinburgh. On Sept. 10th we
transferred our quarters to Ambleside, and after various excursions we
returned to Edensor by Skipton and Bolton. On Sept. 19th I went to
Doncaster and Finningley Park to see Mr Beaumont's Observatory. On
Sept. 25th we posted in one day from Edensor to Cambridge.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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