PERSONAL SKETCH OF GEORGE BIDDELL AIRY.
The history of Airy's life, and especially the history of his life's
work, is given in the chapters that follow. But it is felt that the
present Memoir would be incomplete without a reference to those
personal characteristics upon which the work of his life hinged and
which can only be very faintly gathered from his Autobiography.
He was of medium stature and not powerfully built: as he advanced in
years he stooped a good deal. His hands were large-boned and
well-formed. His constitution was remarkably sound. At no period in
his life does he seem to have taken the least interest in athletic
sports or competitions, but he was a very active pedestrian and could
endure a great deal of fatigue. He was by no means wanting in physical
courage, and on various occasions, especially in boating expeditions,
he ran considerable risks. In debate and controversy he had great
self-reliance, and was absolutely fearless. His eye-sight was
peculiar, and required correction by spectacles the lenses of which
were ground to peculiar curves according to formulae which he himself
investigated: with these spectacles he saw extremely well, and he
commonly carried three pairs, adapted to different distances: he took
great interest in the changes that took place in his eye-sight, and
wrote several Papers on the subject.
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