Sir George Biddell Airy KCB PRS (/ˈɛəri/; 27 July 1801 – 2 January 1892) was an English mathematician and astronomer, Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include work on planetary orbits, measuring the mean density of the Earth, a method of solution of two-dimensional problems in solid mechanics and, in his role as Astronomer Royal, establishing Greenwich as the location of the prime meridian. His reputation has been tarnished by allegations that, through his inaction, Britain lost the opportunity of priority in the discovery of Neptune.
Read more about George Biddell Airy: Biography, Legacy and Honours
Famous quotes containing the word airy:
“But this rough magic
I here abjure, and when I have required
Some heavenly musicwhich even now I do
To work mine end upon their senses that
This airy charm is for, Ill break my staff,
Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound
Ill drown my book.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)