Comrie Lecture 2000
by
Garry Tee
University of Auckland

Leslie John Comrie, one of the most distinguished graduates of Auckland University College and one of New Zealand's major mathematicians, was born at Pukekohe on 1893 August 15, and he died in London on 1950 December 11. Throughout the second quarter of this century, scientists worldwide acknowledged Comrie as the leader in scientific computing. Comrie studied at Pukekohe High School and Auckland Grammar School, and from 1912 to 1916 he studied at Auckland University College, graduating as M.A. (University of New Zealand) with Honours in Chemistry. As an undergraduate he founded the Auckland University College Astronomical Society, now called the Comrie Astronomical Society, which sponsors the annual Comrie Lecture. Despite severe deafness he insisted upon joining the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and he was severely wounded in France. He then studied at University College London and Cambridge University, and from 1923 to 1925 he pioneered the teaching of numerical analysis in the USA, at Swarthmore College and at Northwestern University. At the Nautical Almanac Office at Greenwich from 1925 to 1936, Comrie invented the first computing laboratory, and he revolutioned the computation of the Nautical Almanac by calculating machines. In 1938 he founded in London the Scientific Computing Sevice. That was the first computing consultancy firm, and it had immense influence upon the development of computing. He employed many women as professional computers, teaching them how to use a wide range of calculating machines to perform various types of scientific computation. The many mathematical tables published by Comrie were acclaimed as the finest tables ever produced. In 1946, Harvard University Press published a book about their large calculating machine (the Harvard Mark 1). Comrie's review, entitled "Babbage's Dream Comes True", revived the fame of Charles Babbage (1791-1871) as inventor of the computer. Leslie John Comrie was elected F.R.S. in March 1950, and he died in his sleep at the age of 57 on 1950 December 11. A lunar crater and an asteroid have been named after Comrie.

Date received: November 9, 2000

Copyright © 2000 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cafp-13.