Sir George Howard Darwin, (9 July 1845 – 7 December 1912) was an English barrister 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, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

, the second son and fifth child of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...

and Emma Darwin.

Biography

George H. Darwin was born at

Down House Down House is the former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he had conceived in London before moving to Down ...

, Kent, the fifth child of biologist

and Emma Darwin. From the age of 11 he studied under Charles Pritchard at Clapham Grammar School, and entered

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, in 1863, though he soon moved to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, where his tutor was Edward John Routh. He graduated as

second wrangler At the University of Cambridge in England, a "Wrangler" is a student who gains first-class honours in the final year of the university's degree in mathematics. The highest-scoring student is the Senior Wrangler, the second highest is the Se ...

in 1868, when he was also placed second for the

Smith's Prize The Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1769. Following the reorganization in 1998, they are now awarded under the n ...

and was appointed to a college fellowship. He earned his M.A. in 1871. He was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

in 1872, but returned to science. George Darwin conducted studies into the prevalence and health outcomes of contemporary first-cousin marriages in Great Britain. His father Charles had become concerned after the death of three of his children, including his favorite daughter, Annie, from tuberculosis in 1851, that his and Emma's union may have been a mistake from a biological perspective. He was reassured by George's results.

Darwinian mechanics

Although George Darwin was the son of the famous

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...

, rather than moving predominantly into the field of

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

like his father, George instead kept his focus on

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

. Subsequently, his efforts within geology caused him to stumble onto many seemingly radical ideas, some of which were related to the notion that preserved within the physical structure of the planet was the

mechanical energy In physical sciences, mechanical energy is the sum of potential energy and kinetic energy. The principle of conservation of mechanical energy states that if an isolated system is subject only to conservative forces, then the mechanical energy is ...

(or the collective inertial motion), which may have allowed an ancient rapidly spinning Earth to somehow expel a piece of its mass, and it was this expelled mass which later congealed to create the natural satellite that was now in orbit around the Earth. So, before the Apollo mission and the rise to prominence of the relativistic notion that the origin of the Moon was due in part to collisions within a very active protoplanetary disk, there was a radically different depiction of

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

and

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

ary evolution, which was proposed by George Darwin, in 1879, called the Fission Theory. In 1879, 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 knowledge, including mathemati ...

and won their

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1884 and their

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

in 1911. He delivered their

Bakerian Lecture The Bakerian Medal is one of the premier medals of the Royal Society that recognizes exceptional and outstanding science. It comes with a medal award and a prize lecture. The medalist is required to give a lecture on any topic related to physical ...

in 1891 on the subject of "tidal prediction". In 1883 Darwin became

Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy The Plumian chair of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy is one of the major professorships in Astronomy at Cambridge University, alongside the Lowndean Professorship (which is now mainly held by mathematicians). The chair is currently held at t ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He studied tidal forces involving the Sun,

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

, and formulated the fission theory of Moon formation. Darwin was a Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

(RAS) and won the Gold Medal of the RAS in 1892. From 1899–1901 he served as President of the RAS. The RAS founded a prize lectureship in 1984 and named it the

George Darwin Lectureship The George Darwin Lectureship is an award granted by the Royal Astronomical Society to a 'distinguished and eloquent speaker' on the subject of Astronomy including astrochemistry, astrobiology and astroparticle physics. The award is named after t ...

in Darwin's honour. He was an invited speaker in the

International Congress of Mathematicians The International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union (IMU). The Fields Medals, the Nevanlinna Prize (to be rena ...

1908, Rome on the topic of "''Mechanics, Physical Mathematics, Astronomy''." As President of the

Cambridge Philosophical Society The Cambridge Philosophical Society (CPS) is a scientific society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of l ...

, he also gave the Introductory Address to the Congress in 1912 on the character of pure and applied mathematics. He received the degree of ''Doctor mathematicae (

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

)'' from the Royal Frederick University on 6 September 1902, when they celebrated the centennial of the birth of

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 ...

Niels Henrik Abel. Darwin crater on Mars is named after him. File:Sir George Howard Darwin by Mark Gertler 1912.jpg, ''Sir George Howard Darwin'', oil on canvas, Mark Gertler, 1912 File:George Darwin ca1908.jpg, George Darwin ca 1908 by his daughter Gwen Raverat File:Lady George Darwin by Cecilia Beaux 1889.jpeg, ''Lady George Darwin'', pastel,

Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American society portraitist, whose subjects included First Lady Edith Roosevelt, Admiral Sir David Beatty and Georges Clemenceau. Trained in Philadelphia, she went on to study ...

, 1889

Family

Darwin married Martha (Maud) du Puy, the daughter of Charles du Puy of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, in 1884; his wife was a member of the Ladies Dining Society in Cambridge, with 11 other members. She died on 6 February 1947. They had three sons and two daughters: * Gwen Raverat (1885–1957), artist. * Sir Charles Galton Darwin (1887–1962), physicist and applied mathematician. * Margaret Elizabeth Darwin (1890–1974), married Sir

Geoffrey Keynes Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes ( ; 25 March 1887, Cambridge – 5 July 1982, Cambridge) was a British surgeon and author. He began his career as a physician in World War I, before becoming a doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, where h ...

. * William Robert Darwin (1894–1970) * Leonard Darwin (1899–1899) George and Maud Darwin bought

Newnham Grange Newnham Grange () is a Grade II listed house on Silver Street, Cambridge, next to the River Cam and The Backs. Since 1962 it has been part of Darwin College, Cambridge. History and residents The building was built in 1793 for the family ...

, Cambridge in 1885. The Darwins extensively remodelled the house. Since 1962 the Grange has been part of

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and women. The college is named after one of th ...

. He is buried in Trumpington Extension Cemetery in Cambridge with his son Leonard and his daughter Gwen (Raverat), his wife Lady

Maud Darwin Martha Haskins, Lady Darwin ( du Puy; July 27, 1861 - 6 February 1947), known as Maud Darwin, was an American socialite and the wife of the English Cambridge University astronomer Sir George Darwin. Biographical notes She was born as Martha H ...

was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium; his brothers Sir

Francis Darwin Sir Francis "Frank" Darwin (16 August 1848 – 19 September 1925) was a British botanist. He was the third son of the naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin. Biography Francis Darwin was born in Down House, Downe, Kent in 1848. He was t ...

and Sir Horace Darwin and their respective wives are interred in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground.

Works

* *
The tides and kindred phenomena in the solar system
' (Boston, Houghton, 1899) *
Problems connected with the tides of a viscous spheroid
' (London, Harrison and Sons, 1879–1882) *
Scientific papers (Volume 1)
Oceanic tides and lunar disturbances of gravity'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1907) *
Scientific papers (Volume 2)
Tidal friction and cosmogony.'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1908) *
Scientific papers (Volume 3)
Figures of equilibrium of rotating liquid and geophysical investigations.'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1908) *
Scientific papers (Volume 4)
Periodic orbits and miscellaneous papers.'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1911) *
Scientific papers (Volume 5)
Supplementary volume, containing biographical memoirs by Sir Francis Darwin and Professor E. W. Brown, lectures on Hill's lunar theory, etc...'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1916) * ''The Scientific Papers of Sir George Darwin''. 1907. Cambridge University Press (rep. by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

, 2009; )

Articles

"On Beneficial Restrictions to Liberty of Marriage,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XXII, June/November 1873.
"Commodities ''Versus'' Labour,"
''The Contemporary Review,'' Vol. XXII, June/November 1873. * "The Birth of a Satellite" ''Harper's Monthly Magazine,'' December 1903, pages 124 to 130.

References

External links

* * * *

– by George Darwin, from A.C. Seward'

(1909). *
details of correspondenceTrinity College Chapel memorial
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, George Howard 1845 births 1912 deaths 19th-century British astronomers 19th-century English mathematicians Darwin–Wedgwood family Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Copley Medal Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Medal winners Second Wranglers Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Presidents of the British Science Association Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society English eugenicists Victoria Medal recipients 20th-century British astronomers Plumian Professors of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy