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

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

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

. Downing's major contribution to astronomy is in the calculation of the positions and movements of

astronomical bodies An astronomical object, celestial object, stellar object or heavenly body is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe. In astronomy, the terms ''object'' and ''body'' are often us ...

, as well as being a founder 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 collaborati ...

Early life and education

Downing was born in

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

on 13 April 1850, the younger son of Arthur Matthew Downing and Mary Weld. He attended

Nutgrove :''Alternate uses: Nutgrove, St Helens'' Nutgrove ( ga, Ceathrú an Notaigh) is an area in Churchtown, Dublin, Churchtown, County Dublin. It is a suburban area at the foot of the Dublin mountains between Churchtown, Dublin, Churchtown and Rat ...

School, near Rathfarnham, Dublin under the tuition Philip Jones. He then went on to study in

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

from 1866, receiving a scholarship in science graduating with a B.A. 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: altitude and azimuth. Therefore, the horizontal coordinate system is sometimes called as th ...

, 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 (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...

, 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 FRS (15 February 1826 – 5 July 1911) was an Irish people, Irish physicist. He is most famous for introducing the term ''electron'' as the "fundamental unit quantity of electricity". He had introduced the concept, thoug ...

on the perturbations of the Leonid meteors, predicting and explaining the sparseness of the 1899 shower. He became superintendent of

HM Nautical Almanac Office His Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office (HMNAO), now part of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, was established in 1832 on the site of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG), where ''The Nautical Almanac'' had been published since 1767. HMNAO ...

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 judges 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

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

counterpart

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

in establishing an international standard for

astronomical constant An astronomical constant is any of several physical constants used in astronomy. Formal sets of constants, along with recommended values, have been defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) several times: in 1964Resolution No.4 of thXII ...

s. Downing was one of the founders of the

, 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. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

on 13 December 1917.

References

External links

The Royal Observatory Greenwich biography of Downing

Obituaries

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Arthur M. W. 1850 births 1917 deaths People from County Carlow Irish astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society