Canadian - Mathematician | March 12, 1835 - July 11, 1909
Flight by machines heavier than air is unpractical and insignificant, if not utterly impossible.
Simon Newcomb
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Astronomers are greatly disappointed when, having traveled halfway around the world to see an eclipse, clouds prevent a sight of it; and yet a sense of relief accompanies the disappointment.
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As years passed away I have formed the habit of looking back upon that former self as upon another person, the remembrance of whose emotions has been a solace in adversity and added zest to the enjoyment of prosperity.
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Aerial flight is one of that class of problems with which men will never have to cope.
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We are probably nearing the limit of all we can know about astronomy.
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A suggestion had been made to me looking toward a professorship in some Western college, but after due consideration, I declined to consider the matter.
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As the existence of a corps of professors of mathematics is peculiar to our navy, as well as an apparent, perhaps a real, anomaly, some account of it may be of interest.
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I finally reached the conclusion that mathematics was the study I was best fitted to follow, though I did not clearly see in what way I should turn the subject to account.
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I had not yet gotten into the world of light. But I felt as one who, standing outside, could knock against the wall and hear an answering knock from within.
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If my impressions are correct, our educational planing mill cuts down all the knots of genius, and reduces the best of the men who go through it to much the same standard.
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In 1858 I received the degree of D. S. from the Lawrence Scientific School, and thereafter remained on the rolls of the university as a resident graduate.
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In 1860 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in British America.
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