MacTutor
Dr. Olinthus Gregory was one of the earliest members of the Society, and for some time held the office of secretary. Though educated in the old English school of mathematics, his acquaintance with the continental methods was much more extensive than would have appeared from his writings, which were almost altogether intended for those who had studied the older English writers. He knew generally what was going on abroad, particularly in the extensions of geometry made by the school of Monge. As editor of the well-known Ladies' and Gentleman's Diaries, he was brought into communication with young students who were desirous of distinguishing themselves in the exact sciences. The protection and encouragement which he afforded to those who were pursuing the path which he himself had trodden, will be gratefully remembered by many; and the period of his superintendence of those useful works will be remembered as that in which every contributor of merit found a friend in the editor. His manners were altogether in accordance with what might have been expected from the preceding account; all he did and said was dictated by benevolence of feeling.
Dr. Gregory's occupations were numerous and engrossing, and his power of application was very great. About thirteen years ago, he was attacked with severe illness, from which it was hardly expected that he would finally recover. Although more or less of an invalid from that time till his death, he continued his numerous avocations with all but, if not altogether, his accustomed energy. On the removal of the tax on almanacs, he was the first to see that the publications which he superintended might be made still more useful in diffusing the spirit of scientific inquiry; and, from that time till his death, original treatises, or useful reprints, were made to form part of them.
The writing by which he is best known to the public at large is his letters on the evidences of Christianity, a work of large circulation. His treatise on mechanics had a considerable celebrity, and was translated into German; it is not improbable that some here present may have learned their first ideas of that science from it.
His edition of Dr. Hutton's Course of Mathematics was consider-ably augmented by himself, and is the best of them all. As an accurate observer, he is known by his experiments on the velocity of sound, which agree almost exactly with those of the first French and three Dutch observers, who were almost simultaneously em-ployed on the same subject.
We have frequently to record losses which bear more directly on practical astronomy, but it is not often that we have to regret the termination of a more energetically useful career, and never of a more zealous one. The principal works known to have been written or edited by him are as follow:
1793. Lessons, Astronomical and Philosophical, 1 vol.
1801. Treatise on Astronomy, 1 vol. 1802. The Gent's Diary, under his editorship.
1806. Treatise on Mechanics, 3 vols.
1807. Translation of Haüy's Natural Philosophy, 2 vols.
1808. Pantalogia, of which he was the general editor, and the contributor of about one half, 12 vols.
1810. Third volume of Dr. Hutton's Course of Mathematics, of which he wrote about one half; and he afterwards edited an edition of the whole course.
1810. Letters on the Evidences, &c. of Christianity, 2 vols.
1815. Tracts on the Trigonometrical Survey.
1816. Plain and Spherical Trigonometry, 1 vol. Dissertation on Weights and Measures.
1817. An account of his Pendulum Experiments and Astronomical Observations made at Shetland, in the Philosophical Magazine.
1818. Appointed editor of the Ladies' Diary and general super-intendent of the Stationers' Company's Almanacs.
1825. Mathematics for practical Men, 1 vol.
1839. Address to the Cadets of the Royal Military Academy on resigning the Professor's Chair.
1840. Hints to Mathematical Teachers, 1 vol.
1840. Tables to be used with the Nautical Almanac.
He was also, at one period of his life, a large contributor to the leading reviews.
Dr. Gregory's occupations were numerous and engrossing, and his power of application was very great. About thirteen years ago, he was attacked with severe illness, from which it was hardly expected that he would finally recover. Although more or less of an invalid from that time till his death, he continued his numerous avocations with all but, if not altogether, his accustomed energy. On the removal of the tax on almanacs, he was the first to see that the publications which he superintended might be made still more useful in diffusing the spirit of scientific inquiry; and, from that time till his death, original treatises, or useful reprints, were made to form part of them.
The writing by which he is best known to the public at large is his letters on the evidences of Christianity, a work of large circulation. His treatise on mechanics had a considerable celebrity, and was translated into German; it is not improbable that some here present may have learned their first ideas of that science from it.
His edition of Dr. Hutton's Course of Mathematics was consider-ably augmented by himself, and is the best of them all. As an accurate observer, he is known by his experiments on the velocity of sound, which agree almost exactly with those of the first French and three Dutch observers, who were almost simultaneously em-ployed on the same subject.
We have frequently to record losses which bear more directly on practical astronomy, but it is not often that we have to regret the termination of a more energetically useful career, and never of a more zealous one. The principal works known to have been written or edited by him are as follow:
1793. Lessons, Astronomical and Philosophical, 1 vol.
1801. Treatise on Astronomy, 1 vol. 1802. The Gent's Diary, under his editorship.
1806. Treatise on Mechanics, 3 vols.
1807. Translation of Haüy's Natural Philosophy, 2 vols.
1808. Pantalogia, of which he was the general editor, and the contributor of about one half, 12 vols.
1810. Third volume of Dr. Hutton's Course of Mathematics, of which he wrote about one half; and he afterwards edited an edition of the whole course.
1810. Letters on the Evidences, &c. of Christianity, 2 vols.
1815. Tracts on the Trigonometrical Survey.
1816. Plain and Spherical Trigonometry, 1 vol. Dissertation on Weights and Measures.
1817. An account of his Pendulum Experiments and Astronomical Observations made at Shetland, in the Philosophical Magazine.
1818. Appointed editor of the Ladies' Diary and general super-intendent of the Stationers' Company's Almanacs.
1825. Mathematics for practical Men, 1 vol.
1839. Address to the Cadets of the Royal Military Academy on resigning the Professor's Chair.
1840. Hints to Mathematical Teachers, 1 vol.
1840. Tables to be used with the Nautical Almanac.
He was also, at one period of his life, a large contributor to the leading reviews.
Olinthus Gilbert Gregory's obituary appeared in Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 5:1 (1841), 81-82.