Sir William Henry Mahoney Christie (1 October 1845 – 22 January 1922) was a British

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 ...

. He was born in Woolwich, London, the son of

Samuel Hunter Christie Samuel Hunter Christie FRS (22 March 1784 – 24 January 1865) was a British physicist and mathematician. Life He studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won the Smith's Prize and was second wrangler. He was particularly i ...

and educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London an ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He was fourth wrangler in 1868 and was elected a fellow of Trinity in 1869. Having been Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich from 1870 to 1881, he was appointed to replace

George Airy Sir George Biddell Airy (; 27 July 18012 January 1892) was an English mathematician and astronomer, and the seventh Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881. His many achievements include work on planetary orbits, measuring the mean density of the E ...

as the eighth

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The post ...

in 1881 and remained in office until 1910. He received the degree

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

''( honoris causa)'' from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in June 1902, and was created a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

(KCB) in 1904. 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 mathemat ...

in June, 1881. He was president of the

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

from 1888 to 1890. The first Astronomer Royal to retire at 65 (all previous incumbents bar Airy and

John Pond John Pond FRS (1767 – 7 September 1836) was a renowned English astronomer who became the sixth Astronomer Royal, serving from 1811 to 1835. Biography Pond was born in London and, although the year of his birth is known, the records indica ...

had died in office; John Pond had been forced by poor health to resign in 1835, while Airy retired aged 81), Christie died and was buried at sea near

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in 1922. He had married in 1881 Mary Violette, daughter of Sir Alfred Hickman.

References

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 83 (1923) 233

External links

*
Online catalogue of Christie's working papers (part of the Royal Greenwich Observatory Archives held at Cambridge University Library)
1845 births 1922 deaths People from Woolwich People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century British astronomers 19th-century British astronomers Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Astronomers Royal Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People who died at sea Burials at sea Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society {{UK-astronomer-stub