Samuel Christie
was an experimental philosopher and scientific administrator.
1784 Samuel Hunter Christie was born on 22 March, the son of James Christie, a tailor, and his wife, Sarah. As a very young boy Christie displayed great mathematical ability.
1800 His father sent him to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was admitted on 7 October.
1804 He became a scholar. He was a keen rower and also captain of the grenadier company of university volunteers, where he served with Lord Palmerston.
1805 He graduated as second wrangler, Thomas Turton being placed first; they equalled for the Smith's prize.
1806 In October, Christie was appointed third mathematical master at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
1807 After a restructuring at the academy, he was designated fifth mathematical master and quickly rose in promotion within the Woolwich hierarchy.
1826 He became a fellow of the Royal Society and published most of his magnetic work in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
1831 Christie was able to show that there was a relationship between the aurora borealis and terrestrial magnetism; the idea of a magnetic relationship between the sun and the earth was something upon which he had previously speculated.
1833 He was asked to write the report on current knowledge of terrestrial magnetism for the annual meeting of the British Association. He recommended the establishment of a national magnetic observatory in Britain which resulted in a magnetic survey of Britain and ultimately led to the establishment of the Kew Magnetic Observatory.
1833 Presented the Bakerian lecture in which he described a means of measuring electrical resistance, later called the "Wheatstone bridge" after Charles Wheatstone who developed the practical application of the method.
1837 Christie became a member of the Athenaeum and was elected one of the two secretaries of the Royal Society. He joined the newly founded Admiralty compass committee which, over the following years, developed the Admiralty standard compass which remained in use for nearly a century. Christie served as a secretary of the Royal Society until 1854, in conjunction with Peter Mark Roget, Thomas Bell, and William Sharpey.
1838 He became professor at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in June. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.
1840 He remodelled the curriculum. The academy also had well-equipped laboratories and among Christie's colleagues were Michael Faraday, Peter Barlow, John Bonnycastle, Olinthus Gilbert Gregory and James Marsh.
In his first paper on magnetics, read to the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Christie demonstrated that he was aware of the importance of mathematics for navigation. He also observed that the rotation of iron altered its magnetic properties.
1843-47 He engaged in further administrative activities by serving on the council of the Royal Astronomical Society,being vice-president in the last two years.
1854 Christie's health declined, he retired from both the Royal Society and the Royal Military Academy and went to Lausanne.
1858 He was back in England, living in Twickenham, Middlesex.
1865 Christie died at his Twickenham home on 24 January. He was survived by his second wife and possibly nine children.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Oxford DNB