Aloysius Laurence Cortie (1859 – 1925) was an English

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

astronomer. He served as director of the Stonyhurst College Observatory and contributed to the study of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, including through observing solar eclipses.

Life

Aloysius Cortie was born in London into a Catholic family. He was sent to study at the Catholic

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...

in Lancashire. He later taught mathematics and science at Stonyhurst, before training for the priesthood at St. Beuno's College in North Wales, leading to his ordination in 1892. Cortie returned to Stonyhurst to teach, and spent the rest of his life serving the college. He had an interest in music and served as the college's director of music. Cortie developed influenza in 1925, and his health deteriorated leading to his death some weeks later.

Scientific work

Aloysius Cortie specialised in observing the Sun. He studied sunspots, making daily observations over many years from Stonyhurst whenever weather permitted. He studied the correlation between magnetic storms on the Earth and sunspots, eventually arguing that effects produced by the Sun, and associated with sunspots, extended outwards from the Sun in various directions and sometimes caused terrestrial magnetic storms. Cortie also specialised in observing solar eclipses and took part in a number of eclipse expeditions. He travelled to Spain in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, to Tonga in

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

, and to Sweden in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

. His main objective was to photograph the spectrum of the outer part of the Sun's atmosphere. Cortie observed

nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

e from the Stonyhurst College Observatory. He examined their spectra and measured the spectral lines that were visible. Aloysius Cortie became a prominent member of the British astronomical community. He often gave popular lectures about science. Cortie acted as director of the Stonyhurst College Observatory from the death of Walter Sidgreaves in 1919 until his own death in 1925. He became director of the Solar Section of the

British Astronomical Association The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890 as a national body to support the UK's amateur astronomers. Throughout its history, the BAA has encouraged observers to make scientifically valuable observations, often in collaborat ...

following the death of Elizabeth Brown in 1899, and served until 1910. He was president of the

Manchester Astronomical Society The Manchester Astronomical Society is an organisation that promotes popular and amateur astronomy in North West England. It is one of the oldest provincial astronomical societies in England. The Society is based in the Blackett Lecture Theatr ...

from 1911 to 1925. He was elected to the membership of

Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit. & Phil., is one of the oldest learned societies in the United Kingdom and second oldest provincial learned society (after the Spalding Gentlemen's Society). Promi ...

on 8 February 1921 and President in 1925. He was elected 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 ...

in 1891, and a fellow of the

Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vari ...

in 1924. He was appointed an associate of the Astronomical Society of Wales, a form of honorary membership.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortie, Aloysius 1859 births 1925 deaths 19th-century English astronomers 20th-century English astronomers Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Jesuit scientists People educated at Stonyhurst College Scientists from London Jesuits from London 20th-century English Jesuits 19th-century English Jesuits Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society