Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy | Page 3

Observatory, 1866-1876
CHAPTER IX.
At Greenwich Observatory, from January 1st, 1876, to his resignation
of office on August 15th, 1881
CHAPTER X.
At the White House, Greenwich, from his resignation of office on
August 15th, 1881, to his death on January 2nd, 1892
APPENDIX.
List of Printed Papers by G.B. Airy, and List of Books written by G.B.
Airy
INDEX.
CHAPTER I.
PERSONAL SKETCH OF GEORGE BIDDELL AIRY.
The history of Airy's life, and especially the history of his life's work, is
given in the chapters that follow. But it is felt that the present Memoir
would be incomplete without a reference to those personal
characteristics upon which the work of his life hinged and which can
only be very faintly gathered from his Autobiography.
He was of medium stature and not powerfully built: as he advanced in

years he stooped a good deal. His hands were large-boned and
well-formed. His constitution was remarkably sound. At no period in
his life does he seem to have taken the least interest in athletic sports or
competitions, but he was a very active pedestrian and could endure a
great deal of fatigue. He was by no means wanting in physical courage,
and on various occasions, especially in boating expeditions, he ran
considerable risks. In debate and controversy he had great self-reliance,
and was absolutely fearless. His eye-sight was peculiar, and required
correction by spectacles the lenses of which were ground to peculiar
curves according to formulae which he himself investigated: with these
spectacles he saw extremely well, and he commonly carried three pairs,
adapted to different distances: he took great interest in the changes that
took place in his eye-sight, and wrote several Papers on the subject. In
his later years he became somewhat deaf, but not to the extent of
serious personal inconvenience.
The ruling feature of his character was undoubtedly Order. From the
time that he went up to Cambridge to the end of his life his system of
order was strictly maintained. He wrote his autobiography up to date
soon after he had taken his degree, and made his first will as soon as he
had any money to leave. His accounts were perfectly kept by double
entry throughout his life, and he valued extremely the order of
book-keeping: this facility of keeping accounts was very useful to him.
He seems not to have destroyed a document of any kind whatever:
counterfoils of old cheque-books, notes for tradesmen, circulars, bills,
and correspondence of all sorts were carefully preserved in the most
complete order from the time that he went to Cambridge; and a huge
mass they formed. To a high appreciation of order he attributed in a
great degree his command of mathematics, and sometimes spoke of
mathematics as nothing more than a system of order carried to a
considerable extent. In everything he was methodical and orderly, and
he had the greatest dread of disorder creeping into the routine work of
the Observatory, even in the smallest matters. As an example, he spent
a whole afternoon in writing the word "Empty" on large cards, to be
nailed upon a great number of empty packing boxes, because he
noticed a little confusion arising from their getting mixed with other
boxes containing different articles; and an assistant could not be spared

for this work without withdrawing him from his appointed duties. His
arrangement of the Observatory correspondence was excellent and
elaborate: probably no papers are more easy of reference than those
arranged on his system. His strict habits of order made him insist very
much upon detail in his business with others, and the rigid discipline
arising out of his system of order made his rule irksome to such of his
subordinates as did not conform readily to it: but the efficiency of the
Observatory unquestionably depended mainly upon it. As his powers
failed with age the ruling passion for order assumed a greater
prominence; and in his last days he seemed to be more anxious to put
letters which he received into their proper place for reference than even
to master their contents.
His nature was eminently practical, and any subject which had a
distinctly practical object, and could be advanced by mathematical
investigation, possessed interest for him. And his dislike of mere
theoretical problems and investigations was proportionately great. He
was continually at war with some of the resident Cambridge
mathematicians on this subject. Year after year he criticised the Senate
House Papers and the Smith's Prize Papers question by question very
severely: and conducted an interesting and acrimonious private
correspondence with Professor Cayley on the same subject. His great
mathematical powers and his command of mathematics are sufficiently
evidenced by the numerous mathematical treatises of the highest order
which he published, a list of which is appended to this