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Sir George Biddell Airy F.R.S
- Sir George Biddell Airy ( 1801 - 1892 )
- Institue of Physics Blue Plaque
- Location: 5 Grosvenor Terrace, Alnwick, Northumberland
- Unveiled: 20 October 2003
Researched by Ian Smith, Alnwick Bailiffgate Museum and Dr Ben Rudden, Northumbria University.
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Top of class at Trinity, Cambridge in 1823;
- seventh and longest serving Astronomer Royal 1835-1881;
- involved in positioning the Greenwich meridien;
- experiment at Harton Colliery near South Shields in 1854 to measure the average density of the Earth
Further details in History of Physics Newsletter 16 pages 22 - 33 "Airy - his life and work"
He was the first to describe the visual defect known as astigmatism
from which he himself suffered, and invented a cylindical lens to compensate for it
He is buried on St. Mary's churchyard, Playford, near Ipswich, Suffolk. Where
there is a bust of Sir George in an oval medallion.
Page last updated 1 November 2012