Editing Arthur Matthew Weld Downing

{{Short description|Anglo-Irish mathematician and astronomer (1850–1917)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use Irish English|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRAS}}
| image             = Arthur Matthew Weld Downing.jpg
| image_size        = 
| image_upright     = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1850|4|13|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Carlow|Carlow, County Carlow]], United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1917|12|8|1850|4|13|df=y}}
| death_place       = [[Bloomsbury]], London, England
| fields            = Mathematics, astronomy
| workplaces        = [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]], [[HM Nautical Almanac Office]]
| education         = 
| alma_mater        = [[Trinity College Dublin]]
| known_for         = 
| influences        = 
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| awards            = 
| spouse            = Ellen Jane Downing
| children          = 
| signature         = <!--(filename only)-->
}}

'''Arthur Matthew Weld Downing''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRAS}} (13 April 1850&nbsp;– 8 December 1917) was an Anglo-Irish mathematician and [[astronomer]]. Downing's major contribution to astronomy is in the calculation of the positions and movements of [[Astronomical object|astronomical bodies]], as well as being a founder of the [[British Astronomical Association]].<ref name="DSB">{{cite web|last=McKenna|first=Susan M. P.|title=Downing, Arthur Matthew Weld|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/downing-arthur-matthew-weld|url-status=live|access-date=21 October 2021|website=Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography|publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030143405/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/downing-arthur-matthew-weld |archive-date=30 October 2020 }}</ref><ref name="RAS">{{cite journal|title=Obituary Notices: Fellows:- Downing, Arthur Matthew Weld|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|date=1918|volume=78|pages=241–244|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0078//0000241.000.html|accessdate=13 April 2017|doi=10.1093/mnras/78.4.241a|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Downing was born in [[County Carlow]] on 13 April 1850, the younger son of Arthur Matthew Downing and Mary Weld.<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|last1=Wilkins|first1=George A.|title=Downing, Arthur Matthew Weld (1850–1917)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57899|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/57899|accessdate=13 April 2017}}</ref> He attended [[Nutgrove]] School, near Rathfarnham, Dublin under the tuition Philip Jones. He then went on to study in [[Trinity College Dublin]], from 1866, receiving a scholarship in science graduating with a BA in 1871 with a gold medal in mathematics. Downing went on to receive a Masters in 1881, and an honorary Doctor of Science in 1893.<ref name="DSB" /><ref name="RAS" />

==Career==
He became an assistant at the [[Royal Greenwich Observatory]] on 17 January 1873. He was first in charge of the manuscripts and library, followed by the time department, and then the circle computations. One of his areas of study was that of the altazimuth or [[horizontal coordinate system]], as well as bring one of the four observers of the transit circle and altazimuth. In 1875, Downing was elected as a fellow of the [[Royal Astronomical Society]], contributing 75 papers dealing primarily with correcting errors in the star catalogues and the computation of the motions of astronomical bodies. In one paper, he worked with [[George Johnstone Stoney]] on the perturbations of the [[Leonids|Leonid meteors]], predicting and explaining the sparseness of the 1899 shower.<ref name="DSB" />

He became superintendent of [[HM Nautical Almanac Office]] from 1891 until his retirement in 1910. He was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]] in June 1896. He collaborated with his American counterpart [[Simon Newcomb]] in establishing an international standard for [[astronomical constant]]s.<ref name="DSB" />

Downing was one of the founders of the [[British Astronomical Association]], and was an ardent supporter during its early years. Through this work he gave significant support to amateur astronomy, serving as vice president (1890–1891) and later president (1892–1894) of the Association. He served as secretary (1889–1892) and vice president (1893–1895) of the Royal Astronomical Society.<ref name="DSB" /><ref name="Almanac">{{cite web|title=1892: A. M. W. Downing, Superintendent 1892–1910|url=http://astro.ukho.gov.uk/nao/history/nao_1892.html|website=The Nautical Almanac & Its Superintendents|publisher=HM Nautical Almanac Office|accessdate=13 April 2017}}</ref>

Downing was married to Ellen Jane Downing, with whom he had one daughter. Downing died suddenly from heart disease on 8 December 1917,<ref name="RAS" /> in his home at 30 New Oxford Street, [[Bloomsbury]]. He was cremated at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] on 13 December 1917.<ref name="ODNB" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.royalobservatorygreenwich.org/articles.php?article=1100 The Royal Observatory Greenwich biography of Downing]

===Obituaries===
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/Obs../0041//0000070.000.html Obs '''41''' (1918) 70]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, Arthur Matthew Weld}}
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1917 deaths]]
[[Category:Scientists from County Carlow]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish astronomers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College Dublin]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]