Leslie Comrie | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1893-08-15)15 August 1893 Pukekohe, New Zealand |
| Died | 11 December 1950(1950-12-11) (aged 57) |
| Alma mater | Auckland University College |
| Known for | Ephemeris calculation automation |
| Awards | Fellow of the Royal Society[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
Leslie John ComrieFRS[1] (15 August 1893 – 11 December 1950) was anastronomer and a pioneer inmechanical computation.
Leslie John Comrie was born inPukekohe (south ofAuckland),New Zealand, on 15 August 1893.He attendedAuckland University College (part of theUniversity of New Zealand) from 1912 to 1916, graduating with BA and MA degrees with Honours inChemistry.[2] DuringWorld War I, despite severe deafness, he saw action in France with theNew Zealand Expeditionary Force, and lost his left leg in February 1918 to a British shell.[3] While convalescing, he started using amechanical calculator and went on to modify commercial calculators for specific projects.
Having joined while in school in New Zealand,[4] Comrie was eventually the first director (1920–1922) of the Computing Section of theBritish Astronomical Association. In 1923 he received a PhD fromSt John's College of theUniversity of Cambridge. He travelled to the United States to teach atSwarthmore College andNorthwestern University in 1924, where he also pioneered the teaching ofnumerical analysis. He returned to England to join theHM Nautical Almanac Office at theRoyal Greenwich Observatory, where he became deputy superintendent in 1926.[5]
His articleOn the Construction of Tables by Interpolation was published in April 1928, and described the use ofpunched card equipment forinterpolating tables of data, in contrast to the more inefficient and error-prone methods involving mechanical devices like thepinwheel calculators under theBrunsviga brand name. In the same year, he became the first person to use punched card equipment for scientific calculations, by usingFourier synthesis to compute the principal terms in the motion of theMoon between 1935 and 2000 (improving upon the predictions ofErnest William Brown).Wallace J. Eckert, an American student of Brown atColumbia University, would later useIBM's vast computational resources to refine the predictions even further.[6]
He was promoted to Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac Office in 1930. However, his unconventional use of machines for calculation caused tensions with his superiors, and he was suspended in August 1936.[7]
Comrie founded in 1937 the world's first private company forscientific computing, incorporated as Scientific Computing Service, Limited.[8][9]DuringWorld War II, he headed a team of 30 scientists to computerize war work, such as the creation of bombing tables for theAllies of World War II. He later used this technology to computerize Britishfootball pools.
After the war, Comrie visited the United States and New Zealand in 1948.[10]Comrie was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of London in March 1950.[1]
Comrie is also remembered for his work in astronomy, as he published both scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from predictingeclipses to thegreen flash. He died on 11 December 1950 at age 57, following a series of strokes. A lunar crater (23.3N 112.7W) and anasteroid,3521 Comrie, bear his name, as does the computer lab at the University of Auckland, which was named on the 50th anniversary of his death.[2]
