Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy | Page 2

it
has been thought advisable to omit a large number of short notes
relating to the routine work of the Observatory, to technical and
scientific correspondence, to Papers communicated to various Societies
and official business connected with them, and to miscellaneous
matters of minor importance. These in the aggregate occupied a great
deal of time and attention. But, from their detached nature, they would
have but little general interest. At various places will be found short
Memoirs and other matter by the Editor.
(2) All of his Annual Reports to the Board of Visitors are attached to
his Autobiography and were evidently intended to be read with it and to
form part of it. These Reports are so carefully compiled and are so
copious that they form a very complete history of the Greenwich
Observatory and of the work carried on there during the time that he
was Astronomer Royal. The first Report contained only four pages, but
with the constantly increasing amount and range of work the Reports
constantly increased in volume till the later Reports contained 21 pages.
Extracts from these Reports relating to matters of novelty and
importance, and illustrating the principles which guided him in his
conduct of the Observatory, have been incorporated with the
Autobiography.
(3) The printed "Papers by G.B. Airy" are bound in 14 large quarto
volumes. There are 518 of these Papers, on a great variety of subjects: a
list of them is appended to this history, as also is a list of the books that
he wrote, and one or two of the Papers which were separately printed.
They form a very important part of his life's work, and are frequently
referred to in the present history. They are almost all to be found in the
Transactions of Societies or in newspapers, and extend over a period of

63 years (1822 to 1885). The progress made in certain branches of
science during this long period can very fairly be traced by these
Papers.
(4) His private correspondence was large, and like his other papers it
was carefully arranged. No business letters of any kind are included
under this head. In this correspondence letters are occasionally found
either dealing with matters of importance or in some way characteristic,
and these have been inserted in this biography. As already stated the
Autobiography left by Airy is confined almost entirely to science and
business, and touches very lightly on private matters or
correspondence.
(5) The letters to his wife are very numerous. They were written during
his occasional absences from home on business or for relaxation. On
these occasions he rarely let a day pass without writing to his wife, and
sometimes he wrote twice on the same day. They are full of energy and
interest and many extracts from them are inserted in this history. A
great deal of the personal history is taken from them.
(6) All correspondence in any way connected with business during the
time that he was Astronomer Royal is to be found at the Royal
Observatory. It is all bound and arranged in the most perfect order, and
any letter throughout this time can be found with the greatest ease. It is
very bulky, and much of it is, in a historical sense, very interesting. It
was no doubt mainly from this correspondence that the Autobiography,
which so far as related to the Greenwich part of it was almost entirely a
business history, was compiled.
The history of the early part of his life was written in great detail and
contained a large quantity of family matter which was evidently not
intended for publication. This part of the Autobiography has been
compressed. The history of the latter part of his life was not written by
himself at all, and has been compiled from his Journal and other
sources. In both these cases, and occasionally in short paragraphs
throughout the narrative, it has been found convenient to write the
history in the third person.

2, THE CIRCUS, GREENWICH.
NOTE.
The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press desire to express their
thanks to Messrs Macmillan & Co. for their courteous permission to
use in this work the steel engraving of Sir George Biddell Airy
published in Nature on October 31, 1878.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Personal Sketch of George Biddell Airy
CHAPTER II.
From his birth to his taking his B.A. Degree at Cambridge
CHAPTER III.
At Trinity College, Cambridge, from his taking his B.A. Degree to his
taking charge of the Cambridge Observatory as Plumian Professor
CHAPTER IV.
At Cambridge Observatory, from his taking charge of the Cambridge
Observatory to his residence at Greenwich Observatory as Astronomer
Royal
CHAPTER V.
At Greenwich Observatory, 1836-1846
CHAPTER VI.

At Greenwich Observatory, 1846-1856
CHAPTER VII.
At Greenwich Observatory, 1856-1866
CHAPTER VIII.
At Greenwich