28o 



NATURE 



\yan. 23, 1890 



to the Catholic Colleges at Douai and Rome. "While at 

 Rome, he resolved to enter the Order of Jesuits ; and, 

 returning to England, he joined the Enghsh province of the 

 Order on November 12, 1853. After two years' noviciate, 

 he went to France for one year. He then returned to 

 Stonyhurst for a course in philosophy. His inclination 

 to mathematics was soon apparent, and his superiors in 

 the Order decided to train him specially for this line of 

 work. In 1858 he occupied the 6th place on the Mathe- 

 matical Honours list of the London University. After 

 attending lectures by De Morgan, he went to Paris for a 

 year to finish his mathematical studies. On returning to 

 Stonyhurst, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics 

 and Director of the Observatory, succeeding Father 

 Weld, who had for many years occupied the position. 

 During the College year 1862-63, Father Perry taught 

 one of the classes at Stonyhurst. In September 1863 he 

 went to study divinity at St. Bueno's College, North 

 Wales, and in 1866 he was ordained priest. Two years 

 later he returned to Stonyhurst to resume his professor- 

 ship and the charge of the Observatory. From this time 

 he never left the College save to take part in some 

 scientific expedition. 



The work at Stonyhurst Observatory had been chiefly 

 meteorological and magnetic before Father Perry's as- 

 sumption of the directorship. In 1866 it was selected as 

 one of the first-class meteorological stations. In 1867 the 

 astronomical department of the Observatory was placed 

 in a much more satisfactory position by the acquisition of 

 an equatorial which originally belonged to Mr. Peters, 

 and a small instrument destined for spectroscopic work. 

 The first of these instruments was an 8-inch by Troughton 

 and Simms, the second a 2|-inch. The first spectroscope 

 was procured in 1870 from Mr. Browning, and was used 

 for prehminary work on star spectra, pending the con- 

 struction of a larger instrument ordered from Troughton 

 and Simms. In 1874 a large direct-vision spectroscope 

 was ordered from Browning for use in observing the 

 transit of Venus. Two years later a Maclean spectroscope 

 was added, and in 1879 another by Browning containing 

 6 prisms of 60° ; and more recently a Christie half-prism 

 by Hilger. 



With these instruments Father Perry has carried out 

 systematic work of the highest class, his aim being to 

 make Stonyhurst as efficient an observatory for solar 

 physics as the means at his disposal would admit. His 

 first communication to the Royal Astronomical Society 

 indicates the policy he pursued — to undertake no work 

 which was a mere duplication of that done at other places. 

 His solar work during the last ten years formed the sub- 

 ject of a lecture at the Royal Institution on May 24. It 

 may be divided into two classes — drawings and spectro- 

 scopic observations. For the drawings an image of the 

 sun lol inches in diameter was projected on a sheet of 

 drawing-paper affixed to a sketch-board carried by the 

 telescope, and all markings on the sun traced. The 

 drawing finished, the chromosphere and prominences 

 were examined with the spectroscope. About 250 draw- 

 ings were made every year from 1880. The results of 

 the observations were published annually in a neat little 

 volume, and also in various publications. 



In addition to this work, regular observations of 

 Jupiter's satellites, comets, &c., were made, as also 

 spectroscopic observations of comets, stars, &c. 



Father Perry's labours were not confined to the Ob- 

 servatory alone, and in fact the extraneous work which 

 he undertook gave the world the best opportunities for 

 studying his high character, and impressed astronomers 

 with a sense of his great devotion to their science. The 

 first occasion on which he left the Observatory for 

 scientific work was in the autumn of 1868, when, accom- 

 panied by Father Sidgreaves, he made a magnetic survey 

 of the west of France. In the following year the vacation 

 was spent in a like work for the east of that country. In 



1 87 1, assisted by Mr, Carlisle, he made a similar survey 

 of Belgium. 



In 1870, Father Perry took part, for the first time, in an 

 eclipse expedition, being stationed near Cadiz, whither he 

 had taken the two spectroscopes acquired by the Observa- 

 tory in 1870, and two telescopes — a Cassegrain of 9I; 

 inches and a 4-inch achromatic. In 1874 he volunteered 

 for the Transit of Venus expeditions, and was selected by 

 Sir George Airy as chief of the Kerguelen party. Much 

 tact and energy were required for the success of his 

 party, who encountered several obstacles before arriving 

 at the " Island of Desolation," as he termed Kerguelen. 

 The spirit in which these obstacles were met is shown by 

 his words — " We were determined that no consideration 

 should make us flinch where the astronomical interests 

 of the expedition were at stake." That this was no vain 

 boast is proved by the evidence of those who were his 

 colleagues in any excursions by water. His sufierings 

 from sea-sickness were so fearful that everyone wondered 

 that he cared to venture on even the most promising trip ; 

 aad that he should have undertaken the terrible voyage 

 to Kerguelen speaks volumes for his enthusiasm for 

 science. " Four days and nights the mighty waves had 

 been washing over the VolageP His patience in suffering 

 on this and other occasions helped to win for him the 

 esteem of the officers with whom he came in contact. 

 Not one word of his discomfort is to be found in any of 

 the journals kept by him. In addition to the work of the 

 expedition, he took magnetic observations at the Cape,^ 

 Kerguelen, Bombay, Aden, Port Said, Malta, Palermo, 

 Rome. Naples, Florence, and Moncalieri, and lectured on 

 the Transit of Venus at the Cape and Bombay, and, on 

 his return, at the Royal Institution. 



In 1882 he went to Madagascar for the Transit of 

 Venus. For the eclipse of August 29, 1886, he went ta 

 Carriacou, for that of August 19, 1887, to Russia ; and 

 last November he sailed for Salut Isles on his final expe- 

 dition. It is worthy of remark that the Archbishop of 

 Demerara, who had been a pupil of his, went to Barba- 

 does in 1886 to see his old master ; and on the present 

 occasion the body of the master was taken to Demerara. 



When at Stonyhurst, Father Perry, in addition to his 

 Observatory work, carried out to the fullest extent his 

 duties as a professor. He was very popular as a lecturer ; 

 and at Liverpool, Wigan, and neighbouring towns, he 

 often delighted audiences, some of which numbered more 

 than 3000 people. Father Perry but rarely occupied the 

 pulpit of recent years, but he was much admired as a 

 preacher. His sermons were marked by the earnestness 

 which formed so distinguished a feature of his character. 



To those who came in contact with him in connection 

 with his scientific work, he endeared himself by his genial 

 and retiring manner, retiring on all occasions save when 

 some sacrifice was demanded for the science he loved so 

 well, and for which he laid down his life on December 27. 



In 1874, Father Perry was elected a Fellow of the Royal 

 Society, and very shortly before his last voyage he was 

 placed on its Council. He was a Fellow and Member of 

 Council of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a Fellow 

 of the Royal Meteorological Society, the Physical Society 

 of London, and the Liverpool Astronomical Society. Of 

 the last-named Society he was President at the time of 

 his death. In 1886 he received the honorary degree of 

 D.Sc. from the Royal University of Ireland, and at 

 various dates he was elected by the Accademia dei Nuovo 

 Lincei, the Societe Scientifique de Bruxelles, and the 

 Soci^t^ Ge'ographique d'Anvers. For several years pre- 

 ceding his death, he served on the Committee of Solar 

 Physics, appointed by the Lords of the Committee of 

 Council on Education, and also on the Committee for Com- 

 paring and Reducing Magnetic Observations, appointed 

 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. 

 In April 1887 he took part in the International Astro- 

 photography Congress held at Paris. 



