Simon Newcomb
Simon Newcomb
Simon Newcombwas a Canadian-American astronomer, applied mathematician and autodidactic polymath, who was Professor of Mathematics in the U.S. Navy and at Johns Hopkins...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionMathematician
Date of Birth12 March 1835
CountryCanada
real sensual navy
As the existence of a corps of professors of mathematics is peculiar to our navy, as well as an apparent, perhaps a real, anomaly, some account of it may be of interest.
men class able
Aerial flight is one of that class of problems with which man will never be able to cope.
america eclipse-of-the-sun british
In 1860 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in British America.
might might-have-been mathematician
James Edward Oliver might have been one of the great mathematicians of his time had he not been absolutely wanting in the power of continuous work.
country teacher father
My father followed, during most of his life, the precarious occupation of a country school teacher.
graduation school degrees
In 1858 I received the degree of D. S. from the Lawrence Scientific School, and thereafter remained on the rolls of the university as a resident graduate.
father men rational
My father was the most rational and the most dispassionate of men.
knowledge simple discovery
One hardly knows where, in the history of science, to look for an important movement that had its effective start in so pure and simple an accident as that which led to the building of the great Washington telescope, and went on to the discovery of the satellites of Mars.
limits astronomy knows
We are probably nearing the limit of all we can know about astronomy.
new-year memorial-day adversity
As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of prosperity.
airplane past men
The mathematician of to-day admits that he can neither square the circle, duplicate the cube or trisect the angle. May not our mechanicians, in like manner, be ultimately forced to admit that aerial flight is one of that great class of problems with which men can never cope... I do not claim that this is a necessary conclusion from any past experience. But I do think that success must await progress of a different kind from that of invention.
distance future airplane
The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery and known forms of force, can be united in a practical machine by which men shall fly along distances through the air, seems to the writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration to be.
airplane bird speed
Quite likely the twentieth century is destined to see the natural forces which will enable us to fly from continent to continent with a speed far exceeding that of a bird.
england nova-scotia descent
Though born in Nova Scotia, I am of almost pure New England descent.