| Leslie John Comrie was one of the first astronomers to use calculating machines
and punch cards in his work. Comrie was born on Aug. 15, 1893, in Pukekohe, New
Zealand, where he also grew up. During his childhood, he showed an interest and
proficiency in science. He attended Auckland University College in New Zealand
from 1912 to 1916 and founded the University Astronomical Society (now called
the Comrie Astronomical Society).
After receiving a degree in chemistry, Comrie joined the New Zealand
Expeditionary Force. He lost his left leg while fighting in France during World
War I in February 1918. He remained in England after his injury, earning a
doctorate at St. John’s College in Cambridge in 1924. He traveled often
between England and the United States throughout his professional life.
While attending college in England, Comrie discovered the power of mechanical
calculators as an aid to his astronomical calculations. Because calculators were
extremely expensive at the time, Comrie became an expert at determining the
strengths and weaknesses of each unit in relation to his work. He studied
calculators and astronomy throughout the 1920s, determining the best methods for
using calculators to avoid the tedium often found in calculating log tables that
were key to astronomy.
In 1926, while at the British Nautical Almanac Office, Comrie used a Burroughs
adding machine to aid in computing and printing astronomical tables. In 1928,
Comrie programmed a series of punch cards to calculate an extremely complex
formula for predicting the motion of the moon. Comrie’s punch cards provided
the most accurate measurements of the movement of the moon available at the
time. Over a seven-month period, Comrie reportedly used about 500,000 punch
cards with about 20 million holes to calculate the moon’s position every 12
hours from 1935 to 2000.
Comrie helped introduce the world of mechanical calculators into other fields of
science, as well, such as agriculture and mathematics. He aided the Allied
effort during World War II with his precise calculations on weaponry and the
location of German targets.
Comrie suffered a series of strokes in 1949 and 1950, and he died on Dec. 11,
1950, in London. Some historians say Comrie’s long working hours during World
War II contributed to his ill health. His work and research in the area of
scientific computing remained popular among the scientific community for several
years after his death. A crater on the moon’s far side was named for Comrie. |
