Arthur Matthew Weld Downing (13 April 1850 – 8 December 1917) was an Anglo-Irish mathematician and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

. Downing's major contribution to astronomy is in the calculation of the positions and movements of astronomical bodies, as well as being a founder of the British Astronomical Association.

Early life and education

Downing was born in

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

on 13 April 1850, the younger son of Arthur Matthew Downing and Mary Weld. He attended Nutgrove School, near Rathfarnham, Dublin under the tuition Philip Jones. He then went on to study in

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, from 1866, receiving a scholarship in science graduating with a BA in 1871 with a gold medal in mathematics. Downing went on to receive a Masters in 1881, and an honorary Doctor of Science in 1893.

Career

He became an assistant at the

Royal Greenwich Observatory The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in G ...

on 17 January 1873. He was first in charge of the manuscripts and library, followed by the time department, and then the circle computations. One of his areas of study was that of the altazimuth or

horizontal coordinate system The horizontal coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the observer's local horizon as the fundamental plane to define two angles of a spherical coordinate system: altitude and ''azimuth''. Therefore, the horizontal coord ...

, as well as bring one of the four observers of the transit circle and altazimuth. In 1875, Downing was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

, contributing 75 papers dealing primarily with correcting errors in the star catalogues and the computation of the motions of astronomical bodies. In one paper, he worked with

George Johnstone Stoney George Johnstone Stoney (15 February 1826 – 5 July 1911) was an Irish physicist known for introducing the term ''electron'' as the "fundamental unit quantity of electricity". He initially named it ''electrolion'' in 1881, and later named it ...

on the perturbations of the Leonid meteors, predicting and explaining the sparseness of the 1899 shower. He became superintendent of HM Nautical Almanac Office from 1891 until his retirement in 1910. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in June 1896. He collaborated with his American counterpart

Simon Newcomb Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835 – July 11, 1909) was a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American astronomer, applied mathematician, and autodidactic polymath. He served as Professor of Mathematics in the United States Navy and at Johns Hopkins ...

in establishing an international standard for astronomical constants. Downing was one of the founders of the British Astronomical Association, and was an ardent supporter during its early years. Through this work he gave significant support to amateur astronomy, serving as vice president (1890–1891) and later president (1892–1894) of the Association. He served as secretary (1889–1892) and vice president (1893–1895) of the Royal Astronomical Society. Downing was married to Ellen Jane Downing, with whom he had one daughter. Downing died suddenly from heart disease on 8 December 1917, in his home at 30 New Oxford Street,

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...

on 13 December 1917.

References

External links

The Royal Observatory Greenwich biography of Downing

Obituaries

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Arthur Matthew Weld 1850 births 1917 deaths Scientists from County Carlow 19th-century Irish astronomers Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of the Royal Society