William Christie (astronomer)

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Sir William Henry Mahoney Christie (October 1, 1845 – January 22, 1922) was a British astronomer. Having been Chief Assistant at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich from 1870 to 1881, he was appointed to replace George Airy as Astronomer Royal in 1881 and remained in office until 1910. The first Astronomer Royal to retire at 65 (all previous incumbents bar Airy and John Pond had died in office; John Pond had been forced to resign in 1835 while Airy retired aged 81), Christie died and was buried at sea near Gibraltar in 1922.

[edit] Obituaries

• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 83 (1923) 233
• The Observatory 45 (1922) 77
• Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific 34 (1922) 138 (one paragraph)

Preceded by: George Airy

Astronomer Royal 1881–1910

Succeeded by: Frank Dyson