Laurie, Philip Stevenson, 1913-1982 (Royal Greenwich Observatory archivist)
Dates
- Existence: 1913-07-18 - 1982-08-23
Biography
Philip Laurie was born in Birkenhead on 18 July 1913. Educated at Eltham College near London, he joined the Royal Observatory, Greenwich on 28 January 1935 as a Temporary Computer. In 1944 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and in 1946 he was made a permanent member of ROG staff.
Laurie served for many years in the Solar Department and was Acting Head of Department under H.W. Newton, before being made Head in 1957. Laurie had a particular interest in the history of the Observatory and became increasingly involved with the RGO’s Archives. On 1 October 1974, he was transferred to full-time duty as ROG Archivist, a position he held until retirement on 24th May 1977. He was awarded an MBE in 1975, both for his contributions to solar work and for his work in preserving and maintaining the RGO Archives.
Laurie died on 23 August 1982. The following year, the RGO’s ‘Laurie Project’ began, with a grant from the Manpower Services Commission under the Community Programme Scheme, to catalogue the RGO Archives. It was named after Laurie in recognition of the major contributions he made to the RGO Archives.