MacTutor
ARTHUR MATTHEW WELD DOWNING was born at Carlow on 1850 April 13. He was the younger son of Arthur Matthew Downing of Co. Carlow, and received his early education under Mr. Philip Jones at Nutgrove, then a well-known school near Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin. From Nutgrove he passed to Trinity College, Dublin, where he had a distinguished career, specialising in mathematics, and obtaining the scholarship in science in 1871, in the winter of which year he graduated as B.A., taking his M.A. degree ten years later. In 1893 the University granted him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.
In 1872 an open competition was held under the Civil Service Commission for the appointment of an assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in which Downing was successful, entering on his official duties on 1873 January 17. The character of the position which he thus won was entirely congenial to him, his somewhat reserved nature and methodical habits finding satis-faction in the retired life and orderly routine of the Observatory. His mathematical tastes led him to find pleasure in computations, and during the greater part of his nineteen years at Greenwich the reductions of the Circle observations, and, later, those of the Altazimuth and Equatorial observations, were carried out by him or under his superintendence. For over ten years the care of the library and manuscripts was also in his hands, and for nearly the whole of his time at the Observatory he was one of the four regular observers with the Transit-Circle and Altazimuth.
Downing had not been long at Greenwich before he made himself known by the papers on the astronomy of precision which he communicated to this Society, the first of these being a short note on "A Determination of the Semi-diameter of Venus at the mean distance of the Sun from the Earth," appearing in the Monthly Notices for 1877 May. A series of more than thirty papers followed, dealing with the comparison of star places in different catalogues, their correction for systematic errors, the computation of proper motions, and other inquiries important in fundamental astronomy. These won him a reputation as an able and conscientious worker in this essential but less popular side of the science, and when, in 1891, Dr. J. Russell Hind, Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, resigned his post, Downing was clearly marked out as his proper successor, and entered upon his new appointment on 1892 January 1.
Here began his real life-work, for which his natural bent, his education at Dublin, and his experience at Greenwich had admirably fitted him. The quiet, withdrawn, old-world corner of Gray's Inn, the responsible routine of the computations for the "Seaman's Bible," varying so little from one year to another, were exactly fitted to his temperament. Of undoubted ability, shrewd, determined, and far-seeing, and possessed of a great amount of energy, the Nautical Almanac was in safe keeping in his hands, and during the years he held the post his mental alertness suggésted a number of alterations and improvements which he carried out most successfully. In particular he greatly increased the number of "Nautical Almanac Stars," earning thereby the gratitude alike of astronomers, seamen, and surveyors. Under his hand also additions were made to the section of planetary satellites, and
physical ephemerides of the planets were introduced. On the other hand, he witnessed the demise of "lunar distances," that hoary method that had well served its day and generation.
Methodical himself in all his work, punctilious and careful, cautious and straightforward in all official matters, he set the highest value on the work of his staff, and as a trained, practical observer knew how to insist on the need for extreme accuracy throughout the various calculations. To his knowledge of mathe-matics he added decided skill in computation, but although he was less liable than most men to make mistakes, he in no case allowed himself to dispense with the most scrupulous revision of any work that he had in hand. His extensive command of dates and figures did not, however, always save him from an occasional blunder, and it was a joke against him that on one occasion he dated a cheque two years ahead, the cheque coming back with a notification that it was post-dated. After all, it was a natural mistake for one to make whose main work was wholly devoted to events due to occur some years ahead.
In addition to his strictly official work, the queries that were showered upon him were many and varied, relating to chronology, the calendar, eclipses, astronomical constants, the construction of the Nautical Almanac, and kindred matters. One inquirer perhaps wanted to know the exact time of some full moon of a century ago; another, its age on the night of the Gunpowder Plot. Or such inquiries might be made of him as, "What was the time of high water at Dover when Julius Cæsar landed in August 55 B.C.?" Every inquiry of a sensible character received prompt attention, and even faddists and cranks were kindly dealt with when their peculiarities were confined within certain pre-scribed limits.
An extensive piece of work which occupied seven years of his official life was his revision of Taylor's General Catalogue of 11,000 Stars for the Equinox, 1835'0, from Observations made at Madras Observatory, 1831 to 1842. This work was a natural sequel to the numerous and important contributions he had made in previous years to this branch of sidereal astronomy. In his preface he says "That his (Taylor's) work may now be rendered more useful to astronomy is the reward for which I hope in the publication of this revised edition," and that aim and hope illustrate the keynote of his character. He found the question of the expected reappearance of the Leonids an interesting and profitable study for several years, during which he collaborated with the late Dr. Johnstone Stoney in an attempt to construct an ephemeris of the densest portion of the swarm. The calculations appertaining to this were made at H.M. Nautical Almanac Office under his superintendence, and went to show that the failure of the shower to reappear at the end of last century was probably due to the perturbations of the meteors by the action of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, while the meteors were travelling at a great distance from the Sun. The main body of the swarm was thus made to pass at a distance of nearly millions of miles from the Earth's orbit.
Downing's term of office at Gray's Inn was marked by special efforts at co-operation between similar departments in other countries with the view of avoiding duplication of work, and led to the holding in Paris, in 1896 May, of an International Conference on Fundamental Stars, and the results of the Conference, the inauguration of which was due to him, were far-reaching.
In later years illness troubled Dr. Downing considerably and appeared to intensify his natural reserve. He retired from the Nautical Almanac in 1910 on completing the sixtieth year of his age. It is the testimony of a member of his staff who was with him throughout the years of his Superintendency, that "he was at all times fair, courteous, and considerate; he always consulted the interests of his staff, and was in every worthy movement a sympathetic helper."
His work at Greenwich Observatory and the Nautical Almanac represented his professional work in astronomy. But his interests were not limited to this, and he took a keen interest in what may be called amateur astronomy. Thus he had an important part in the founding of the British Astronomical Association, an Associa-tion especially intended for the help and organisation of amateur observers. He became its second President, 1892-1894, and for many years was a Member of its Council. He was the Secretary and organiser of its first Eclipse Expedition-viz. that to Vadsö to observe the total eclipse of 1896 August 9, and the failure of the expedition from an astronomical point of view, owing to cloudy weather, was a great disappointment to him; its social success and the strength which it gave to the young Association were some compensation for his trouble. It should be noted, as showing his interest in eclipse problems, that during his term of office at Gray's Inn he was wont to issue circulars for the convenience of eclipse observers, giving local particulars of the times of occurrence and other helpful data in the case of notable eclipses. He communicated in all seventy-five notes and papers to the Monthly Notices. He served nineteen years on the Council, during three of which he was Secretary and two Vice-President.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1896.
Reviewing Dr. Downing's career as a whole, it might be summed up by saying that the talents he displayed were sober and solid rather than brilliant, but the useful work which he accomplished entitles him to an honourable place among professional astronomers.
During his last years he suffered much at times from a painful affection of the heart, and the end came very suddenly on 1917 December 8. He leaves a widow and one daughter.
He was elected a Fellow of the Society on 1875 March 12.
W. F. D. and E. W. M.
In 1872 an open competition was held under the Civil Service Commission for the appointment of an assistant at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in which Downing was successful, entering on his official duties on 1873 January 17. The character of the position which he thus won was entirely congenial to him, his somewhat reserved nature and methodical habits finding satis-faction in the retired life and orderly routine of the Observatory. His mathematical tastes led him to find pleasure in computations, and during the greater part of his nineteen years at Greenwich the reductions of the Circle observations, and, later, those of the Altazimuth and Equatorial observations, were carried out by him or under his superintendence. For over ten years the care of the library and manuscripts was also in his hands, and for nearly the whole of his time at the Observatory he was one of the four regular observers with the Transit-Circle and Altazimuth.
Downing had not been long at Greenwich before he made himself known by the papers on the astronomy of precision which he communicated to this Society, the first of these being a short note on "A Determination of the Semi-diameter of Venus at the mean distance of the Sun from the Earth," appearing in the Monthly Notices for 1877 May. A series of more than thirty papers followed, dealing with the comparison of star places in different catalogues, their correction for systematic errors, the computation of proper motions, and other inquiries important in fundamental astronomy. These won him a reputation as an able and conscientious worker in this essential but less popular side of the science, and when, in 1891, Dr. J. Russell Hind, Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, resigned his post, Downing was clearly marked out as his proper successor, and entered upon his new appointment on 1892 January 1.
Here began his real life-work, for which his natural bent, his education at Dublin, and his experience at Greenwich had admirably fitted him. The quiet, withdrawn, old-world corner of Gray's Inn, the responsible routine of the computations for the "Seaman's Bible," varying so little from one year to another, were exactly fitted to his temperament. Of undoubted ability, shrewd, determined, and far-seeing, and possessed of a great amount of energy, the Nautical Almanac was in safe keeping in his hands, and during the years he held the post his mental alertness suggésted a number of alterations and improvements which he carried out most successfully. In particular he greatly increased the number of "Nautical Almanac Stars," earning thereby the gratitude alike of astronomers, seamen, and surveyors. Under his hand also additions were made to the section of planetary satellites, and
physical ephemerides of the planets were introduced. On the other hand, he witnessed the demise of "lunar distances," that hoary method that had well served its day and generation.
Methodical himself in all his work, punctilious and careful, cautious and straightforward in all official matters, he set the highest value on the work of his staff, and as a trained, practical observer knew how to insist on the need for extreme accuracy throughout the various calculations. To his knowledge of mathe-matics he added decided skill in computation, but although he was less liable than most men to make mistakes, he in no case allowed himself to dispense with the most scrupulous revision of any work that he had in hand. His extensive command of dates and figures did not, however, always save him from an occasional blunder, and it was a joke against him that on one occasion he dated a cheque two years ahead, the cheque coming back with a notification that it was post-dated. After all, it was a natural mistake for one to make whose main work was wholly devoted to events due to occur some years ahead.
In addition to his strictly official work, the queries that were showered upon him were many and varied, relating to chronology, the calendar, eclipses, astronomical constants, the construction of the Nautical Almanac, and kindred matters. One inquirer perhaps wanted to know the exact time of some full moon of a century ago; another, its age on the night of the Gunpowder Plot. Or such inquiries might be made of him as, "What was the time of high water at Dover when Julius Cæsar landed in August 55 B.C.?" Every inquiry of a sensible character received prompt attention, and even faddists and cranks were kindly dealt with when their peculiarities were confined within certain pre-scribed limits.
An extensive piece of work which occupied seven years of his official life was his revision of Taylor's General Catalogue of 11,000 Stars for the Equinox, 1835'0, from Observations made at Madras Observatory, 1831 to 1842. This work was a natural sequel to the numerous and important contributions he had made in previous years to this branch of sidereal astronomy. In his preface he says "That his (Taylor's) work may now be rendered more useful to astronomy is the reward for which I hope in the publication of this revised edition," and that aim and hope illustrate the keynote of his character. He found the question of the expected reappearance of the Leonids an interesting and profitable study for several years, during which he collaborated with the late Dr. Johnstone Stoney in an attempt to construct an ephemeris of the densest portion of the swarm. The calculations appertaining to this were made at H.M. Nautical Almanac Office under his superintendence, and went to show that the failure of the shower to reappear at the end of last century was probably due to the perturbations of the meteors by the action of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, while the meteors were travelling at a great distance from the Sun. The main body of the swarm was thus made to pass at a distance of nearly millions of miles from the Earth's orbit.
Downing's term of office at Gray's Inn was marked by special efforts at co-operation between similar departments in other countries with the view of avoiding duplication of work, and led to the holding in Paris, in 1896 May, of an International Conference on Fundamental Stars, and the results of the Conference, the inauguration of which was due to him, were far-reaching.
In later years illness troubled Dr. Downing considerably and appeared to intensify his natural reserve. He retired from the Nautical Almanac in 1910 on completing the sixtieth year of his age. It is the testimony of a member of his staff who was with him throughout the years of his Superintendency, that "he was at all times fair, courteous, and considerate; he always consulted the interests of his staff, and was in every worthy movement a sympathetic helper."
His work at Greenwich Observatory and the Nautical Almanac represented his professional work in astronomy. But his interests were not limited to this, and he took a keen interest in what may be called amateur astronomy. Thus he had an important part in the founding of the British Astronomical Association, an Associa-tion especially intended for the help and organisation of amateur observers. He became its second President, 1892-1894, and for many years was a Member of its Council. He was the Secretary and organiser of its first Eclipse Expedition-viz. that to Vadsö to observe the total eclipse of 1896 August 9, and the failure of the expedition from an astronomical point of view, owing to cloudy weather, was a great disappointment to him; its social success and the strength which it gave to the young Association were some compensation for his trouble. It should be noted, as showing his interest in eclipse problems, that during his term of office at Gray's Inn he was wont to issue circulars for the convenience of eclipse observers, giving local particulars of the times of occurrence and other helpful data in the case of notable eclipses. He communicated in all seventy-five notes and papers to the Monthly Notices. He served nineteen years on the Council, during three of which he was Secretary and two Vice-President.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1896.
Reviewing Dr. Downing's career as a whole, it might be summed up by saying that the talents he displayed were sober and solid rather than brilliant, but the useful work which he accomplished entitles him to an honourable place among professional astronomers.
During his last years he suffered much at times from a painful affection of the heart, and the end came very suddenly on 1917 December 8. He leaves a widow and one daughter.
He was elected a Fellow of the Society on 1875 March 12.
W. F. D. and E. W. M.
Arthur Matthew Weld Downing's obituary appeared in Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 78:4 (1918), 241-244.