John Couch Adams
1819-1892
English Astronomer
John Couch Adams was born to a farming family in rural Landeast, Cornwall. His mathematical abilities were evident at an early age, impressing teachers and earning him a scholarship at St. John's College, Cambridge. Graduating in 1843 with high marks, he had already become interested in the problem of Uranus's orbit, which varied from what was predicted using the laws developed by Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Studying these discrepancies, Adams determined that there must be an additional, then undiscovered, planet beyond Uranus. This meant that when the unconfirmed planet was ahead of Uranus in its orbit, it would pull on Uranus, speeding it up in its orbit. Similarly, when Uranus pulled ahead of this planet, it would be slowed in its orbit. These were the discrepancies Adams and others had noted. The alternative, that Kepler's and Newton's laws were incorrect, was not conceivable since they worked so well for other planets.
Adams's study of the problem involved writing and solving sets of equations with up to 27 unknown terms, a laborious and difficult task. In order to solve this problem, Adams assumed the new planet was at twice the distance from the sun as Uranus (we now know this to be an incorrect assumption as Neptune lies at only about half again the distance from the sun as Uranus). He solved many of the equations and developed a detailed conceptual understanding of the problem in his head, later writing everything down.
Completing his calculations in October, 1845, Adams tried several times to meet with Sir George Airy (1801-1892), one of reigning English astronomers at that time. After several unsuccessful attempts to meet directly with Airy (he neglected to make an appointment, then returned during their meal), Adams left his work for review. Airy, not convinced of the accuracy of Adams's assumption regarding the new planet's distance, wrote Adams to question this but did not receive a response. Meanwhile, papers published by French astronomer Urbain Jean Joseph Leverrier (1811-1877) convinced both English and German astronomers to search for Neptune, which was discovered by Johann Gottfried Galle (1812-1910) in September, 1846.
There was some discussion regarding allocation of credit for Neptune's discovery. Adams performed the calculations first, but they were not published and eventually led to nothing. Leverrier, second to calculate Neptune's position, did publish his calculations, but Galle was the first to actually see Neptune. Ultimately all three men shared credit for this discovery.
Following the discovery of Neptune, Adams was recognized in Britain as a brilliant astronomer and was awarded a Fellowship at St. John's. Offered a knighthood at one point by Queen Victoria, he refused, fearing he did not have the financial resources needed for the life style demanded of a knight. He did accept an appointment as Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at Cambridge and, in 1861, was appointed director of the Cambridge Observatory. Although elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society twice, he turned down the post of Astronomer Royal when Airy retired. He also found time to marry; in 1863 he wed Eliza Bruce.
Throughout his life Adams remained sincere, modest, and self-effacing, in spite of his mathematical and scientific genius. After his death in 1892, he was memorialized with a tablet at Westminster Abbey, near that of Sir Isaac Newton. Adams is currently regarded as the greatest English astronomer and mathematician since Newton.
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