Airy, George Biddell, Sir

1801 - Airy was born in Northumberland, England on July 27, 1801.

1811 - Attended the Colchester Royal Grammar School and was able to learn arithmetic, double-entry book keeping.

1819 - Airy was able to study at Trinity College in Cambridge as sizar (working student).

1822 - Airy was elected scholar of Trinity.

1823 - Graduated as the top of his class and was able to receive the Smith's Prize.

1824 - Airy was awarded a fellowship at Trinity College on October 1, 1824.

1825 - Pubished his book Trigonometry.

1826 - Became Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge and an appointed member of the Board of Longitude.

1828 - Elected as the Pulian Professor of Astronomy and Director of the new Cambridge Observatory.

1830 - Married Richarda Smith on March 24, 1830.

1831 - Received the Society's Copley Medal award.

1834 - Pubished his book Gravitation and became Chairman of the Commission set up to construct Standard Weights and Measures.

1835 - Became Astronomer Royal when he moved to Greenwich. His contributions as a mathematician and astronomer, he improved the orbital theory of Venus and the Moon, made a study on interference fringes in optics, studied and made a mathematical study of the rainbow and computed the density of the Earth by swinging a pendulum at the top and bottom of a deep mine. Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1836 - Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

1845 - Received the Society's Royal Medal award and was elected President of Royal Astronomical Society.

1851 - Established a new Prime Meridian at Greenwich.

1866 - Pubished his book Patial Differential Equations.

1871 - Elected President of the Royal Society of London.

1874 - Organised the expedition to observe the transit of Venus.

1892 - Died in Greenwich, England on January 2, 1892.