Simon Newcomb
1835–1909 (age 74)
Astronomer/Mathematician
Biography
Simon Newcomb, born in 1835, was a self-taught mathematician and astronomer who rose to become superintendent of the Nautical Almanac, publishing precise tables that served sailors and scientists around the world and helping to standardize astronomical constants.
He also lectured, wrote popular works on astronomy, and served on numerous scientific committees, and when he died in 1909 his colleagues laid him to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.