George Biddell Airy (1801-1892), British astronomer. During his career, Airy was elected president to the Royal Astronomical Society, Royal Society and British Association for the Advancement of Science, and held the post of Astronomer Royal as well as various professorships at Cambridge University. He made extensive planetary observations, discovering inequalities in the motions of Venus and Earth which had been overlooked in the astronomical tables used at the time. As Astronomer Royal, he established the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, London, UK. He also determined the mean density of the Earth through experiments with pendulums at the top and bottom of deep mines. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY)
Our website uses cookies. By using and navigating through the website and its offers, you accept these cookies. Detailed information about the use of cookies and how to delete them can be found in our data privacy statement.
