Papers of William Christie

Official correspondence concerning the Annual Visitation of the Board of Visitors to Royal Observatory. The volume is divided into 18 sections. The first two sections cover the years 1891-1893 and 1894-1901. The remaining sections cover the years 1895-1910 inclusive. Much of the correspondence is between Christie and W.D. Barber, the Secretary of the Board of Visitors. The other correspondents are W.G. Adams, R.S. Ball, P. Cavell, A.E. Cooper (for Sir William Abriey), F.W. Dyson, Admiral Field, M. Forster, H.P. Hollis, Sir William Higgins, Lord Kelvin, Mr Lister, E. MacGregor, H. Outhwaite, B. Price, Lord Rayleigh, H.H. Turner and W.J. Wharton.

Each section covers the following subjects:

1. Arrangement of the meeting of the Board of Visitors at the Royal Observatory.

2. Arrangement of a dinner or luncheon for the Board of Visitors.

3. Invitation card for the Annual Visitation to the Royal Observatory.

4. Bills and receipts from tradesmen.

5. List of additions to movable property at the Royal Observatory.

Sections 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 18 also contain the following:

1: Correspondence on the addition of W.G. Adams and A.W. Riicker of the Board of Visitors.

2: Recommendation that Lord Baden Powell becomes a member of the Board of Visitors.

4: List of visitors to the Royal Observatory and three tables titled 'The printing of Greenwich volumes', 'The number of pages in the Greenwich volumes' and 'Annual values of magnetic elements'.

8: List of visitors to the Royal Greenwich in 1899.

9: List of the Board of Visitors.

10: Printed copy of the 'Report of the Astronomer Royal to the Board of Visitors 1902' and corrected proofs and duplicates.

11: Letter informing the Astronomer Royal of the appointment of J. Larmor to the Board of Visitors.

12: Correspondence concerning a proposal to abandon the traditional dinner in favour of a luncheon at the Royal Observatory.

13: Copy of a medical certificate signed by G. Potter M.D., stating that Christie is in a 'very poor state of health' and recommending 'that he give up his work immediately'.

16: 'Extracts from the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Visitors 1908 June.'

18: Correspondence on the postponement of the meeting of the Board of Visitors due to the illness of the Astronomer Royal.

Indexed