Portrait of George Airy by James Pardon, 19th century, oil on canvas.
The paired Venus transits of 1874 and 1882 were opportunities to apply new astronomical techniques and to use the various planned expeditions to investigate other types of science, taking magnetic observations of the Earth and investigating regional natural history. For the 1874 transit the Astronomer Royal, Sir George Biddell Airy FRS (1801-1892), was given the task of co-ordinating the British side of an international effort. Under his direction, teams of scientists travelled to the Hawaiian Islands, including Honolulu; to Egypt; to the Islands of Rodriguez and Kerguelen in the Indian Ocean; and to New Zealand.
This was a scientific event that, for the first time, the public could follow almost as it happened. Rapid communication by telegraph and fast newspaper printing meant that observer’s accounts from all over the world would be read at the breakfast table. Successful results came quickly – although the remote Kerguelen observers, from British, American and German teams far to the south would be last to report.