Abstract
This book, the fifth in a series on science and Irish culture sponsored by the Royal Dublin Society, was written by Charles Mollan based in large part on the late Ian Elliott’s years of extensive research on the life and work of amateur astronomer William Edward Wilson (1851–1908).
Elliott’s fascination with Wilson was a natural by-product of his own interest in photography and solar physics coupled with his ardent desire to bring greater attention to the important contributions of Irish scientists. Documenting the life and work of a private individual whose papers and effects have not been institutionally collected, preserved and catalogued is a project fraught with challenge. Elliott’s untimely death left Mollan with a different challenge: how to organize this rich raw material into a readily accessible and usable form without the benefit of Elliot’s valued guidance. The result, I am pleased to say, is a resource that will be welcomed by a wide audience.
Mollan brings William Wilson to life by fleshing out his published papers with detailed accounts of his family background, his surviving correspondence, and personal diaries enhanced by an extensive collection of photographs. Lively biographical sketches of notable Irish scientists with whom Wilson interacted place him as well as his contributions within the broader scientific enterprise of his day.
Ill health prevented Wilson, a landed gentleman from Co. Westmeath in the Irish Midlands, from attending school or university. Educated privately at home, he developed the talent and ambition to pursue a wide range of astronomical investigations beginning in December 1870, when, at age 19 years, he participated in the solar eclipse expedition to Algeria led by William Huggins. Although the eclipse was clouded out, the experience seems to have stimulated in him a lifelong interest in astronomy, especially methodical study of the sun, its sunspots and temperature, as well as a desire to discover the source of its radiant energy.
Wilson’s personal wealth enabled him to pursue his investigations with a battery of quality instruments. Technically savvy, he designed and modified devices like the radio-micrometre to measure the absorption of heat in the solar atmosphere and the meldometer to determine the melting points of metals. An avid astronomical photographer, he pioneered the use of cinematography to record changes in a sunspot and, later, a solar eclipse by capturing hundreds of sequential still images over the course of several hours. Intrigued by the novel properties of radium, he procured a sample of radium bromide to test his theory that the sun derived its energy from a radium core under intense pressure.
Throughout his life, Wilson was an active participant in the scientific community and received his contemporary recognition for his many contributions. He was elected fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal Dublin Society, and the Royal Society of London and received an honorary degree from Dublin University.
The book will be of special value to historians of science interested in the lives as well as the contributions of serious amateurs in the nineteenth century.