乔治·达尔文George Howard Darwin

乔治·达尔文是埃玛·韦奇伍德和查尔斯·高尔顿·达尔文的次子。他的父亲是On the origin of the species的作者，因此是他那个时代最著名的科学家之一。达尔文的母亲埃玛·韦奇伍德来自另一个著名家族，是约西亚·韦奇伍德的孙女，后者以其世界闻名的陶器而著称。因此，用他的一位兄弟[2]的话来说，达尔文：-

……出生于科学紫。

查尔斯和埃玛对教育有强烈的看法，他们非常反对当时的古典式教育，但又觉得不愿在自己的孩子身上进行教育实验。经过多次犹豫之后，他们把达尔文的哥哥送进了拉格比公学，而达尔文则被送到克拉珀姆的一所学校，由查尔斯·普里查德牧师开办，此人后来成为牛津的萨维尔天文学讲席教授[2]：-

大约在那时，普里查德正以其在科学教育方面的开创性工作引起有识之士的注意。

达尔文在普里查德的学校表现出色，并获得了到剑桥大学三一学院学习的奖学金。他在剑桥也表现出色，于1868年成为第二名数学荣誉学位考试一等及格者（Wrangler）（意即在数学荣誉学位考试中获得一等学位者中排名第二），同年成为史密斯奖获得者，并当选为三一学院会士。

这一时期剑桥的许多顶尖毕业生进入了法律行业，达尔文确实也是如此，于1874年获得律师资格。然而，一些人回归数学或其他科学研究并不罕见，达尔文也走了这条路，回到三一学院，他仍保留着自己的研究员职位。他的研究员职位于1878年到期，但他继续在剑桥工作，于1883年成为那里的普卢米安天文学与实验哲学讲席教授。次年，他再次当选为三一学院研究员。

1884年，达尔文与莫德·杜普伊结婚；他们育有四个孩子，两男两女。他们的长子查尔斯在1909年数学荣誉学位考试中获得第四名优等生。

讣告[2]中有一段诗意的描述，说明达尔文的研究领域与其父亲的研究领域之间的关系：-

达尔文不仅证明自己无愧于其帝王血统，而且能够向新的方向扩展帝国的疆界。他从未知的浩瀚海洋中开拓出的领土，位于他伟大的父亲几乎未曾投以一瞥的方向……

达尔文研究了潮汐对行星的影响。特别是，他使用皮埃尔·西蒙·拉普拉斯和开尔文引入的方法，讨论了潮汐作用对日-地-月系统的影响。他的一个理论，即月球在其历史早期因太阳的潮汐作用而从熔融的地球中被拉出，现在被认为是错误的。

达尔文对日地月系统轨道情形下的三体问题进行了重要研究。他还研究了旋转流体的稳定性，这同样源于他对月球由熔融地球以流体形式形成的兴趣。他关于梨形旋转质量是稳定的结论，今天被认为是错误的。

尽管我们今天不接受达尔文的结论，但他的重要性在于他是第一个将数学技术应用于研究日地月系统演化的人。

达尔文的研究方法是数学家的方法[2]：-

[他的]主要工作是在他的书房里完成的，在那里他总是坐在扶手椅上，写字板横放在手臂上，全神贯注于艰苦的算术或分析过程。

在[2]中，达尔文的性格被描述为：-

就个人而言，达尔文爵士是一位最好客、最令人愉快的伙伴，一个具有最高知识诚实度的人，但对他的某些朋友的不同观点却极为宽容。……他的健康从未强健过，他明智地从不把时间浪费在学术改革的细节上，但他关心原则，并为原则而奋斗。

达尔文在1899-1900年担任皇家天文学会的主席，并于1892年获得该学会的金奖。

George Darwin was the second son of Emma Wedgwood and Charles Darwin. His father was the author of On the origin of the species and, as a consequence, one of the most famous scientists of his time. George's mother Emma Wedgwood was from another famous family, being a granddaughter of Josiah Wedgwood who is famed for his world famous pottery. George was, therefore, in the words of one of his brothers [2]:-

... born in the scientific purple.

Charles and Emma had strong views on education, being very much opposed to the classical style of education of the time and yet feeling that they did not wish to conduct educational experiments with their own children. After much indecision, they sent George's older brother to Rugby and George was sent to a school in Clapham run by the Rev Charles Pritchard who later became the Savilian Professor of Astronomy at Oxford [2]:-

Pritchard was about that time attracting the attention of thoughtful men by his pioneer work in scientific education.

Darwin excelled at Pritchard's school and he won a scholarship to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. He also excelled at Cambridge, becoming Second Wrangler (meaning that he was ranked second among those awarded a First Class degree in the Mathematical Tripos) in 1868, becoming a Smith's Prizeman in the same year, and being elected to a fellowship at Trinity.

Many top graduates from Cambridge from this period entered the legal profession and that indeed is what Darwin did, being called to the Bar in 1874. However it was not uncommon for some to return to mathematical or other scientific study and Darwin followed this route returning to Trinity where he still held his fellowship. His fellowship expired in 1878 but he continued to work at Cambridge, becoming Plumian professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy there in 1883. He was re-elected to his Trinity fellowship in the following year.

In 1884 Darwin married Maud du Puy; they had four children, two boys and two girls. Their eldest son Charles was Fourth Wrangler in the Mathematical Tripos of 1909.

The obituary [2] contains a poetic description of the relation of George Darwin's areas of study to those of his father:-

Sir George Darwin not only proved worthy of his imperial descent, but capable of extending the boundaries of Empire in new directions. The territories which he reclaimed from the vast ocean of the unknown lay in a direction in which his great father scarcely cast an eye ...

Darwin studied tidal effects on the planets. In particular, using methods introduced by Laplace and Thomson, he discussed the effects of tidal action on the Sun-Earth-Moon system. One of his theories, namely that the Moon was pulled from a molten Earth early in its history by tidal action of the Sun, is now considered incorrect.

Darwin made a major study of the three-body problem in the case of the orbits of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. He also studied the stability of rotating fluids, again motivated by his interest in the Moon being formed in fluid form from a molten Earth. His conclusions that a pear shaped rotating mass is stable is today thought to be incorrect.

Despite the fact that we do not accept Darwin's conclusions today, he is important in being the first to apply mathematical techniques to study the evolution of the Sun-Earth-Moon system.

Darwin's approach to research was that of a mathematician [2]:-

[His] chief work was done in his study, where he was constantly to be found in an arm-chair with his writing board resting across his arms, engrossed in toilsome arithmetical or analytic processes.

In [2] Darwin's character is described:-

Personally Sir George was a most hospitable and pleasant companion, a man of the highest intellectual honesty, but widely tolerant of the diverging views of some of his friends. ... His health was never robust, and he wisely never squandered his time on the details of academic reform, but for the principles he cared and for them he fought.

Darwin was President of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1899-1900 and won the Gold Medal from that Society 1892.