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Richard Christopher Carrington: Briefly Among the Great Scientists of His Time

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Abstract

We recount the life and career of Richard Christopher Carrington (1826 – 1875) and explore his pivotal relationship with Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy. Carrington was the pre-eminent solar astronomer of the 19th century. During a ten year span, he determined the position of the Sun’s rotation axis and made the following discoveries: i) the latitude variation of sunspots over the solar cycle, ii) the Sun’s differential rotation, and iii) the first solar flare (with Hodgson). Due to the combined effects of family responsibilities, failure to secure a funded position in astronomy (reflecting Airy’s influence), and ill health, Carrington’s productive period ended when he was at the peak of his powers.

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Notes

  1. For biographical details on Carrington, see Anonymous (1876), Clerke (1917), and Lindop (1993, 1997, 2004). Unfortunately, no picture of Carrington has been found, although there is a record of one being taken (RGO 6/378, 238; January 1857) and several investigators have searched for a photograph (e.g., Eather 1980, p. 81; Lindop 1993, p. 95).

  2. Isaac Todhunter was First Wrangler out of 38 (CUA Exam.L.5, p. 23; List of Honors, 29 January 1848). Todhunter was a mathematician who later in life wrote a biography of William Whewell. With Carrington as one of his sponsors, Todhunter became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1862.

  3. RCC to Challis: CUA Obsy G.1 xix, 3 (5 February 1849), 5 (8 February 1849), 6 (1 May 1849), 18 (8 May 1849), and 30 (15 August 1849).

  4. A multiplicative factor of 110 is used throughout this paper to calculate the purchasing power of a given number of British pounds ca. 1860 in current US dollars ( http://www.measuringworth.com/ ). Thus 1£ in 1860 had the same purchasing power as $110 today.

  5. Chevallier, with foresight, wrote to Challis on 17 January 1852 (CUA Obsy. G.1 xxii, 4), “Mr. Carrington, much to our regret, is about to leave Durham. One of our regulations … is that the Observer is to be unmarried: and Mr. Carrington is likely soon to marry [this did not happen]. He is also desirous of having a very first rate equatorial; and we have no plans to make such a purchase. He proposes to have some instruments of his own: and if his health is spared, I think he will be a leading astronomer.”

  6. Lindop (1993, p. 68) describes “Spots on the Sun” as “large and heavy – of an inconvenient size and weighing nearly 3-kilograms – … the bulk of it consists of 166 full-page plates illustrating the spots and their behavior.” Publication was aided by a grant of public funds from the Royal Society.

  7. Maunder (1921) writes that the lines should intersect at “exactly” right angles (see also Carrington 1854b). Maunder also noted that “the optical axis of the telescope should be perpendicular to the plane of the [projection] screen, and should meet it at the point of intersection of the cross-lines.”

  8. Despite the importance of the clock and its accuracy for his measurements, Carrington does not discuss it in “Spots on the Sun.” Because of the 0.1 second precision of the observations, Lindop (1993, pp. 25 – 26) suggests that an automated method, such as reported by Carrington (1861), was employed.

  9. Carrington’s (1863, pp. 232 – 244) procedure for calculating ΔN and ΔI is outlined in Lindop (1993, pp. 77 – 78).

  10. For an appreciation of Clerke, see Cliver (2007).

  11. RGO 67/262 (28 August), RGO 67/263-265 (29 August), RGO 67/266 (31 August), RGO 67/267-270 (3 September).

  12. Warren De la Rue (1815 – 1889), like Carrington, was one of the Grand Amateur astronomers of the Victorian Age (Chapman 1998; Anonymous 1890). He is known today for his pioneering work in astronomical, primarily solar, photography.

  13. In the introduction to the Redhill Catalogue, Carrington (1857, p. 4) acknowledged “the valuable services of my friend and assistant Mr. George Harvey Simmonds, who has shared nearly all my labour in observing, and has borne about three-fifths of the more serious labor of computation.”

  14. An auctioneer’s flyer in the RAS Club Bound Pamphlets (Vol. 42, 17) gives the date of the Redhill sale.

  15. For biographical detail on Airy, see Anonymous (1892), Airy (1896), Clerke (1917), and Chapman (2004).

  16. Maunder (p. 118) decried Airy’s “microscopic imperiousness” which “was almost avowedly intended to militate … against the growth of real zeal and intelligence in the staff.”

  17. Warren De la Rue initiated the Royal Society nomination process and Airy agreed to be the first signatory (De la Rue to GBA: 2 December 1859, RGO 6/391, 208).

  18. While Carrington left no archive of his correspondence, Airy’s is voluminous and fortunately includes copies of letters he wrote (made with a letter copying press) as well as those he received. Carrington’s correspondence with Challis is preserved in the Cambridge Observatory archive (CUA).

  19. De Morgan announced Schwabe’s selection to GBA on 9 November 1856 (RGO 6/235, 665) as follows: “Swabby, or whatever his name is, medalist, unanimous. I think Carrington made out his case.” Because the selection of the Medalist was a two-step process, De Morgan wrote to Airy again on 8 January 1857 (RGO 6/235, 671), “As to Medal. I am not strong in inclination toward Mr. Schwabe, but shall by no means oppose it. The thing does possess the character of extraordinary “pertinacity” as our worthy colleague [Carrington] pertinaciously calls it, and great importance has been attached to the results by persons unconnected with us.” The reference to Schwabe’s “pertinacity” in RAS President Johnson’s 1857 medal presentation speech suggests Carrington’s authorship of (or contribution to) the address, not unusual, since he had proposed Schwabe for the Medal [RCC to GBA: 18 December 1855, RGO 6/235, 618; see the exchange between Smyth and Airy (12 November 1857, RGO 6/236, 507 and 16 November 1857, RGO/236, 512)].

  20. De Morgan responded to this proposal by reminding Carrington “that we must have officers (Postulate 1) and we would not get them at 10 meetings per annum”. De Morgan to GBA (19 May 1855, RGO 6/235, 516).

  21. RCC to GBA: 9 July 1855; RGO 6/235, 530.

  22. RCC to GBA: 12 May 1857, RGO 6/251, 158; In a response to a letter from the Admiralty (13 June 1857, RGO 6/251, 161) requesting his opinion, as Astronomer Royal, on publication of the catalogue, Airy (23 June 1857, RGO 6/251, 162), after weighing the pros and cons of supporting publication, “deem[ed] it my duty to abstain from definitely suggesting to Their Lordships any precise reply to Mr. Carrington.” Subsequently, Le Verrier offered to publish the Catalogue in the Annales of the Paris Observatory. It is possible that this offer spurred the Admiralty’s eventual decision to cover the cost of publication (Lindop 1993, p. 18).

  23. For example, when Editor Robert Grant was temporarily away in 1856 – 1857, Carrington volunteered to edit the Monthly Notices “provided he had it all to himself” (De Morgan to GBA: 9 November 1856, RGO 6/235, 665). On 6 April 1857 (CUA G.1 Obsy xxvi, 11), RCC wrote to Challis, “The editing of the Monthly Notices … in Mr. Grant’s absence robs me of a good deal of my time ….”

  24. RAS Special Council Meeting on 20 November 1858, Vol. 6, Minutes of the RAS Council (1856 – 1866), p. 47.

  25. The origin of the format change in 1859 lay in the fact that before then, the Monthly Notices (octavo) and Memoirs (quarto) were billed on their title-pages as “half volumes” which together comprised the “complete” volume of a “session.” As reported in Dreyer and Turner (1923, pp. 239 – 240), “this notice disappeared after 1858, the Monthly Notices being recognized as a separate journal.” Because of its “rapidity and regularity” of publication, the Notices which contained “abstracts, observations, shorter papers, etc.,” had been increasing in popularity vs. the Memoirs which was the intended “principal organ” of the RAS and contained full-length papers. “Still the Council wished to make the [Notices] `become an integral part of the Memoirs’.” Thus, from 1859 – 1867 the Monthly Notices (Volumes 19 – 27; the two large books in Figure 1) were printed in both quarto and octavo format, permitting the combined binding of the quarto-size Memoirs and Notices for a given year (see also Anonymous 1859). After the Special Council Meeting in November 1858, De Morgan wrote to Airy, “We decided to print [the Monthly Notices] in Octavo and Quarto both … Carrington wanted to make our Mo. No. the chief publication and have the long papers [Memoirs of the RAS] auxiliary. This I call Mo. No. mania.” (25 November 1858, RGO 6/377, 163). In regard to the punctuated Monthly Notices series in Figure 1, a few other volumes were missing for early years in the AFRL collection and it appears that the quarto-sized volumes 19 – 27 were obtained to fill such a gap.

  26. RGO 6/235, 628; Airy gave an abbreviated version of the maxim (Surtout, pas trop de zèle), writing, “ ‘Point de Zèle, Monsieur.’ “ (No zeal, Sir.).

  27. RGO 6/236, 532.

  28. RGO 6/236, 534.

  29. RGO 6/236, 724; Baron Johannes von Gumpach (  – 1875), a British subject who later became a Professor of Astronomy at Peking University.

  30. 24 November 1859, RGO 6/236, 731; Marth’s paper was rejected for the Monthly Notices but was published the following year in Astronomische Nachrichten (Hutchins 2008, p. 149).

  31. RGO 6/ 237, 410 Although this type of bluff was common with Airy (see below), the concern was real. If Carrington became RAS President, it would automatically qualify him to be a Visitor of the Royal Observatory, thereby giving him both an official capacity and a forum (the annual visitation) to review and critique the Greenwich program. Lindop (1993, p. 21) noted that Carrington, though not a Member of the Board of Visitors, “eagerly read through each of Airy’s Annual Reports and commented on them … often offering suggestions …” When Manuel Johnson died, De Morgan wrote Airy (RGO 6/377, 176; 4 March 1859), “I suspect you will be asked who you recommend [to replace him as Radcliffe Observatory Director]. … Will you have C-----n [?] He would keep you well watched and instructed.”

    In regard to Airy’s penchant for threatened resignations: On 2 March 1865, Carrington, as Secretary/Treasurer of the RAS Club, wrote to Airy (RGO 6/238, 828), “Mr. De la Rue has handed to me your letter in which you desire to resign the chair of the Club. I will duly attend … though I regret your determination.” On 13 March 1865, Carrington (RGO 6/238, 831) wrote Airy, “I have to inform you that in your resignation of Membership of the RAS Club you were unanimously elected an Hon[orary] Life Member I believe for the third time.” The next day Airy wrote back (RGO 6/238, 832), to “acknowledge the kindness of the Club” in doing so.

  32. 3 November 1860, RGO 6/237, 414; Lindop (2004) refers to Airy’s “almost pathological resentment of any questioning of his authority.”

  33. 5 November 1860, RGO 6/237, 418 In the end, Airy’s name was put forward by the Council for President (along with Carrington’s as Secretary) and the radical contingent (which didn’t include Carrington) placed Lee’s name in nomination for President, with Lee prevailing (Dreyer and Turner 1923, pp. 140 – 142).

  34. 13 March 1859; RS: HS.5.206.

  35. RS: HS.5.214. See also RCC to Challis (CUA Obsy G.1 xxx 16; 3 May 1860).

  36. Pogson to GBA (16 May 1859, RGO 6/146, 255); GBA to Pogson RGO 6/146, 256 (23 May 1859, RGO 6/146, 256).

  37. 1 April 1859, RGO 6/146, 253.

  38. 3 July 1860, CUA Obsy G.1 xxx, 26.

  39. RGO 6/146, 56.

  40. RGO 6/146, 58.

  41. Whewell was the Godfather of Airy’s daughter Hilda and officiated at her wedding (GBA to Whewell: 15 June 1864, Add.Ms.a.200.183). When Whewell’s wife died, Airy’s wife Richarda kept house for him during the mourning period (Airy 1896, p. 119). Airy and Whewell had worked closely on the Sheepshanks Endowment to Cambridge University for the Promotion of Astronomy (Dreyer and Turner, p. 192) of £10 000 (∼ $1 100 000 today) [30 September 1856, TCL Add.Ms.a.200.112; 17 November 1858, TCL Add.Ms.a.200.123; 5 February 1859, TCL Add.Ms.a.200.130] which Miss Sheepshanks supplemented by £2 000 (∼ $220 000) in early 1861 [28 August 1860, TCL Add.Ms.a.200.1157; 6 February 1861, TCL Add.Ms.a.200.165]. Both Whewell and Airy were trustees of the fund, along with the Fellows and Scholars of Trinity College.

  42. CUA Minute Book of the Council of the Senate from Nov. 9, 1858 to Dec 7, 1863, vol. II, Min. I.4 (7 Dec 1860).

  43. GBA to Whewell: 2 April 1859, RGO 6/378, 542; Airy wrote [marked “(Private)”], “If you look in the Philosophical Magazine, just published, you will see that Challis is “doing the mystical in Algebra as he has done heretofore in Hydrodynamics and Gravitational Astronomy. He is off his head. I have not the least confidence in him.”

  44. TCL, Add.Ms.a.200.122.

  45. The task of choosing Peacock’s successor as Lowndean Professor took place during the time that the selection procedure for this position was being changed. Under the old procedure, selection and appointment was made by high government officials, e.g., the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord President of the Privy Council, the Lord High Treasurer, the Lord Steward of the King’s Household, etc. Under the proposed new system, the electors would be the Vice-Chancellor of the University, the President of the Royal Society of London, the Astronomer Royal, The Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, the Plumian Professor of Astronomy, the Sadlerian Professor of Pure Mathematics (once established), and the President of the Royal Astronomical Society. This proposal was confirmed by a Grace of the University Senate on 26 November 1857 (CUA CUR 39.12 / 22(2)) and was sanctioned by an Order of Her Majesty in Council on 7 March 1860 (CUA CUR 39.18 / 37(1)). Adam’s formal notification of his selection on 23 March 1859 was made in the traditional manner, by the Lord Steward of the Queen’s Household (SJL Adams 20/10/1,2; Adams to Walpole: 11 November 1858, SJL Adams 16/65,1), but it seems certain that the government officials would have consulted with, or taken advice from, the astronomical/scientific establishment and the University (i.e., the new slate of electors). There appears to have been some confusion about who would make the selection early on because John Wrottesley (JW), President of the Royal Society, wrote Adams (JCA) on 12 November 1858 that if JW was required to act in capacity of Elector, JCA could depend on his support (SJL Adams 15/37/1). On 15 November 1858, one week after Peacock’s death, Prime Minister Stanley unofficially informed Adams (SJL Adams 14/18/1) that he had been unanimously chosen by the Electors, adding, “It has been represented to us that of late years the Lowndean Professorship has been practically a sinecure…” On 13 December 1858, Airy wrote to congratulate Adams and urged him to keep the Sheepshanks fund (Hutchins 2008, pp. 127 – 128; footnote 41) in mind “when you have any great thundering calculations to be made.” (13 December 1858, RGO 6/377, 10).

  46. Stokes to Vice-Chancellor, Special Observatory Syndicate: 15 February 1861, CUA CUR.29, 48.3.

  47. Adams to Vice-Chancellor, Special Observatory Syndicate: 15 February 1861, CUA CUR.29, 48.4; In the Adams archive, in a draft letter to the Vice-Chancellor (never sent) dated 27 April 1861, Adams offered to withdraw his name from consideration because the position was being contested [by Carrington]. (SJL Adams 16/48/1; Franzl 1999).

  48. When leaving Cambridge Observatory for Greenwich, Airy, himself, had written (Observatory Minutes, 1st Minute Book, 1817 – 1845; Report on the proceedings in the Observatory since May 30 1835, 9 December 1835), “Whether the Director of the Observatory might not be more advantageously attached to an office not encumbered with lectures, is a question that I scarcely venture to raise.” Adams (CUA CUR.29, 48.4) in his letter to the Vice-Chancellor on 15 February 1861 also advocated separating the Directorship from any Professorship.

  49. Syndicate papers in Cambridge University Senate Archives, CUA CUR.29, 48.7.

  50. CUA Minute Book of the Council of the Senate from Nov. 9, 1858 to Dec 7, 1863, vol. II, Min. I.4 (29 April 1861).

  51. Syndicate papers in Cambridge University Senate Archives, CUA CUR.29, 48.9, 3; Carrington, himself, appears to have paid his assistants well. Chapman (1998, pp. 40, 149) calculates that Simmonds was paid £126 per year, with apartment, making him “one of the best-paid [privately employed] assistant astronomers of the day.”

  52. RGO 6/147, 35.

  53. 3 May 1861, RGO 6/147, 36.

  54. Grant (GBA to Prof. J.D. Forbes, 15 November 1859, 6/146, 88); Main (GBA to Radcliffe Trustees, 1 April 1859, RGO 6/146, 253); Adams (GBA to Whewell, 10 November 1858, TCL, ADD.Ms.a.200 (122)); Pogson (GBA to Prin. Sec. of State for India, 25 Sep 1860, RGO 6/146, 200).

  55. See also Smith (1991) & Hutchins (2008, p. 153).

  56. RAS Minutes of (RAS) Council, Vol. 6 (10 November 1865, p. 214; 8 December 1865, p. 216); also Dreyer and Turner (1923, p. 147); At the November meeting Carrington was nominated by Hodgson and Airy to receive the Gold Medal for 1866 for his work on the solar spots but at the December meeting Carrington requested (via a letter) that his name be removed from consideration.

  57. RCC to Airy (RGO 6/237, 382) Capt. William Stephen Jacob (1813 – 1862) first made observations at Pune when engaged in the Survey of North-Western India during the 1830s. From 1848 – 1859 he was appointed Astronomer at Madras Observatory “without application on his part, but from his several papers transmitted to [the RAS]”. (Anonymous 1863; Ananthasubramaniam 1991).

  58. The letter Carrington wrote to Airy on 13 October 1862 on this topic was vintage Carrington, “If you should take a favourable view of my proposal, you will greatly promote a general desire that I have long entertained to see our Council proceed from merely conducting publication and evening meetings to action in real astronomical business where their influence may be usefully exerted to lead undertakings of more importance.” (RGO 6/238, 220). And the response on 16 October 1862 was vintage Airy, “I cannot take any part in the proposal. The idea of sending to the Cape Observatory a Chief scarcely inferior to the established Cape Observer, with a large and expensive staff, to carry out a plan of observations which has not originated with the Cape Observer and on which (I believe) he has not been consulted, will not, I conceive, be accepted by any official person.” (RGO 6/238, 222).

  59. Hamilton to GBA (7 November 1862; RGO6/238, 184); Whitbread to GBA (15 November 1862; RGO 6/238, 187).

  60. RGO 6/239, 689.

  61. 6 March 1865, RGO 6/239, 695; As a result of Carrington’s insubordination, De la Rue threatened to resign his Presidency (De la Rue to GBA, 4 March 1865; RGO 6/239, 693). Carrington’s provocation of the even-tempered De la Rue is noteworthy. RAS finances were a concern (some might say obsession) for Carrington from 1862 – 1865. He desired to make the accounting system he promoted “a model for other societies.” Pritchard to GBA (2 March 1865; RGO 6/239, 689). During this period, Airy wrote to De la Rue that he believed Carrington to be “truly insane”, continuing, “after [Carrington’s] breaking of all rules of order and subordination … we should be put down as simpletons if we put him in nomination [for the RAS Council] again.” (13 November 1865, RGO 6/240, 468).

  62. Carrington died at age 49 of a cerebral hemorrhage and at the inquest, his physician, Mr. R. Oke Clark, surgeon, “said he had attended deceased, who told him he had had an attack of paralysis.” [See footnote 66 for reference.] No time is given for the attack but it is possible that it was not a current ailment but rather one he gave as part of a medical history in which case it might have referred to the debilitating event in late 1865. The timing of the 1865 illness is based on RAS Bound Pamphlets, 42(2S), Carrington’s tract entitled “Appeal on the Accounts at the Special General Meeting, 1866” (9 February 1866), in which he wrote, “illness … has kept me at home for the last six weeks, and is likely to keep me at home as long again.”

  63. Records of the RAS Club 1820 – 1923, ed. H.H. Turner (1904).

  64. At the March 1872 meeting of the RAS Club, Carrington moved that Mr. Fletcher be removed from the list of members for “non-attendance” in accordance with Rule 10. “A show of hands was taken, and only one hand was held up in favor of enforcing the rule. Mr. Carrington objected to this decision and left the room.” At the April 1872 meeting, the Secretary read a letter from Carrington requesting that his named be withdrawn from the list of members. (Turner 1904).

  65. Carrington’s misadventures with this clock provide a sad coda to his career (Lindop 1993, pp. 34 – 35). In his quest for a high vacuum, Carrington (1873a) reported breaking “eight pieces of glass, half an inch thick each, at an expense of £3 each” (for a total cost of ∼$2500)”, prompting Robinson (1873) to point out that the problem could be avoided by not using large flat surfaces of glass in the clock case but instead using convex surfaces “on the principle of the arch.”

  66. Unless otherwise noted, all information in this section is from the Surrey Advertiser and County Times: 26 August 1871, 9 September 1871, 30 March 1872, 20 November 1875, 29 November 1875, and 11 December 1875.

  67. Clark testified that “the quantity of chloral taken by deceased could not by any possibility have caused death,” although he allowed that chloral may have contributed indirectly to Rosa’s death by hindering her mobility. Subsequently, others have suggested that chloral hydrate was the main cause of death: Clerke (1917), Forbes (1969, p. 92), Chapman (1998, p. 41), and Clark (2007, p. 126). Chloral was also implicated in Carrington’s death, but autopsy results seem definitive that it was not a factor in his case.

  68. Carrington set up an annuity of £200 ($22 000) per year for his mother, forgave his brother David’s debt, and bequeathed to the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society £2000 ($220 000) each.

  69. Maunder’s finding countered Lord Kelvin’s 1892 Presidential Address to the Royal Society in which Kelvin, on the basis of a calculation of the amount of work the Sun would need to do to produce a moderate magnetic storm, famously ruled out a solar cause for geomagnetic storms (Cliver 1994).

  70. Franzl (1999; p. 543) asks if Carrington might have anticipated some of Hale’s discoveries.

Abbreviations

CUA:

Cambridge University Archives

SJL:

St. John’s College Library, Papers of John Couch Adams

TCL:

Trinity College Library

RGO:

Royal Greenwich Observatory

RS:

Royal Society

RAS:

Royal Astronomical Society

RCC:

Carrington

GBA:

Airy

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Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to thank the following: Adam Green for assistance with the Whewell archive at Trinity College; Kathryn McKee for assistance with the Adams archive at St. John’s College; Jacqueline Cox for assistance with the Cambridge University archives; Peter Hingley and Mary Chibnall for support at the RAS Library; Adam Perkins from the Cambridge University Library for help in navigating the Airy archive, deciphering Carrington’s challenging handwriting, and providing historical context and perspective; John Riddick from the British Geological Survey for kindly providing copies of the Greenwich records of the 1859 geomagnetic storm; Iwan Williams and Margaret Penston for drawing our attention and providing access, respectively, to the RAS Club records; and Christine Woollett and Joanna Corden for assistance at the Library of the Royal Society. We thank Lee Stevens and Pete Marenfeld for assistance with the figures and are grateful to the referees for helpful comments. E.W.C. is grateful to Carlene Skeffington for help and support in examining the Airy, Cambridge University, and Whewell archives and to Colin Fenn, Bob Flanagan, and Jill Dudman of the Friends of West Norwood Cemetery for their assistance and hospitality during a visit to Carrington’s gravesite.

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  1. Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Sunspot, NM, 88349, USA

    Edward W. Cliver

  2. No. 2 Ravens Close, Cooden, East Sussex, TN39 4TG, UK

    Norman C. Keer

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Cliver, E.W., Keer, N.C. Richard Christopher Carrington: Briefly Among the Great Scientists of His Time. Sol Phys 280, 1–31 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-012-0034-5

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