Assessment
Challis published 225 papers in mathematics, physics and astronomy. He was re-elected fellow of Trinity in 1870. He died in Cambridge and was buried beside his wife in Mill Road cemetery. His wealth at death was £781.
Despite the embarrassment over Neptune, Challis did make genuine contributions to astronomy. His blend of theology and science was in the spirit of Stokes, and his search for a unified theory akin to the endeavours of Thomson and Maxwell. However, despite his tenacity in advocating his physical and theological theories, they had little impact. Olin J. Eggen claimed that "At a later time, or under less amiable circumstances, he would have been branded a charlatan. He would now be as forgotten as his peculiar ideas had not the events surrounding the discovery of Neptune in 1845 given him a genuine opportunity for scientific immortality. But he fumbled it."
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