Alfred Wilks Drayson

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Alfred Wilks Drayson (also Wilkes) (1827–1901) was an English army officer, writer and astronomer. He was a personal friend of Arthur Conan Doyle, who dedicated to him the short story collection The Captain of the Polestar.[1]

Background

Born 17 April 1827, he was one of a large family, son of William Drayson who worked at the

Waltham Abbey where the factory was located.[6][7][8][9] Another sister, Louisa, married Samuel Burdon Ellis as his second wife, and was mother of Alfred Burdon Ellis.[10] The fourth surviving daughter, Helen Matilda, married Charles Davies in 1848.[11] Further sisters were Emily (1811–1894), who married William Woods (died 1856) of Woolwich Dockyard; and Laurette, christened 1819.[5][12][13]

The second son of the family was Henry Edwin Drayson, in partnership at Faversham to 1843 with Frederick Drayson, as civil engineers and surveyors.[14][15] He later visited Lammot du Pont I in the USA.[16]

Life and career

The family home, which had been at Chatham since 1835 when William Drayson retired, broke up in 1837 when Ann Marie died.[17] Alfred Drayson was educated at Rochester Grammar School from age 11, for two years. He was then withdrawn, after an attack of scarlet fever, spending time as a convalescent with his elder brother, a civil engineer.[18]

Drayson graduated in 1846 at the

Seventh Xhosa War.[9] He rose through the ranks of the Royal Artillery, being promoted captain in 1854, on his return from South Africa; major in 1868; lieutenant-colonel in 1869, and colonel in 1874.[18][19] He was in India around 1877, and was based at Halifax, Nova Scotia for five years.[1][18][20]

Group of Woolwich instructors, 1869, with Alfred Wilks Drayson on the extreme right

From 1858 to 1873 Drayson was on the Military Topography staff at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, serving as Professor of Surveying and Topographical Drawing.[21][22] He retired from the army in 1883 with the honorary rank of major-general,[23] and became president of the Portsmouth Literary and Scientific Society.[9][24]

Drayston died in Portsmouth on 27 September 1901.[2]

Interests

A member of

billiards and related games including pyramid pool.[25] He was a reputed player of whist, and an author on a well-known book on the subject.[26]

Spiritualism

Drayson attended a

Georgina Cowper through Andrews.[28] In 1864 Drayson and Andrews assisted the medium Mrs. Mary Marshall at a séance attended by John Ruskin. It was held at the home of Mrs Makdougal Gregory, widow of William Gregory.[29] More than one séance at this time involved Drayson and Ruskin; at the first, the homeopath John Rutherford Russell was also present. Drayson in May 1864 saw Ruskin and the Cowpers socially.[30] He investigated the supposed haunted Clamps-in-the-Wood, Staffordshire, prompted by a story of a friend, William Howitt.[31]

Stainton Moses.[38]

In 1882 Drayson was living in

theosophy[40] and to Alfred Percy Sinnett.[41] Conan Doyle later reported, in his History of Spiritualism, the claim that Drayson in the 1880s was receiving a large number of apports through a medium.[42] He retained a sceptical view of this claim, being more convinced by other aspects of Drayson's spiritualism.[43]

Astronomy and Earth science

Drayson published scientific theories, not accepted by later authors. These included discussion of the

obliquity of the ecliptic. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1868.[1] While related ideas were put forward by Thomas Belt, the theoretical basis for large tilts in the Earth's axis was undermined by 1880, with work of George Darwin.[44]

In 1884, in the weekly Light: A Journal of Psychical, Occult, and Mystical Research, he published a paper The Solution of Scientific Problems by Spirits on the moons of Uranus, relating a conclusion given by a medium in a séance of 1858.[45] It was later contested by Camille Flammarion.[46]

After Drayson's death, his views were defended by

Algernon Frederick Rous de Horsey in Draysonia (1911), and others.[47]

Works

Illustration by Harrison Weir from Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa (1858)

Drayson published:

  • Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa (1858)[48]
  • The Earth We Inhabit: its past, present, and probable future (1859), put forward an
    Budget of Paradoxes, including the prospect of telegraph cables breaking.[51] Such breaks were known with Atlantic cables, but are now attributed to underwater mudslides. A contemporary with a related theory was William Lowthian Green.[52]
  • Great Britain has been and will be again within the Tropics (1859), introduced his "second rotation" theory.
    pseudo-science".[55]
  • Practical Military Surveying and Sketching (1861)[56]
  • Tales at the Outspan (1862)[57]
  • The Common Sights in the Heavens (1862)[58]
  • The Young Dragoon; or, Every day life of a soldier, by one who has served (1870, anonymous)[59][60]
  • On the Cause, Date, and Duration of the Last Glacial Epoch of Geology, and the Probable Antiquity of Man: With an Investigation and Description of a New Movement of the Earth (1873), postulated a 30,000 year cycle with large variation of the Earth's axial tilt.[61][62]
  • The Cause of the supposed Proper Motion of the Fixed Stars and an explanation of the Apparent Acceleration of the Moon's Mean Motion (1874)[63]
  • The Gentleman Cadet: His Career and Adventures at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (1875)[64]
  • Among the Zulus: The Adventures of Hans Sterk, South African Hunter and Pioneer (1879)[57]
  • Experiences of a Woolwich Professor (1886), includes views on phrenology[65]
  • The Art of Practical Whist (1886)[66]
  • "The White Chief of the Umzimvubu Caffres" from Everyboy's Annual, in book form The White Chief of the Caffres (1887), was paraphrased by Mervyn Peake as part of an early story, published in Peake's Progress (1979).[67][68]
  • Thirty Thousand Years of the Earth's Past History Read by Aid of the Discovery of the Second Rotation of the Earth (1888)[69]
  • From Keeper to Captain: Being the Adventures of G. Cooperson During his Career in the Dragoons (1889)[70]
  • The Diamond Hunters of South Africa (1889), illustrations by Arnold W. Cooper.[57][71]
  • The Art of Practical Billiards for Amateurs (1889)[72]
  • Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geology (1890), returned to Drayson's "second rotation" theory, and influenced A Journey in Other Worlds of 1894.[73][74]

Drayson also contributed to the

Boy's Own Paper.[75]

Patents

Drayson was granted, with Charles Richard Binney, an 1858 patent for improvements to underwater telegraph cables.

carbon disulphide, rather than water, for rapid cooling.[80]

In literature

Conan Doyle's villain

Newcomb's formula on axial tilt, Drayson resenting Newcomb's lack of interest in his own work on the subject; and he regards Drayson as a model for Colonel Moran.[82]

Family

Drayson married in 1852 Mary Catherine Preece, fourth daughter of Richard Matthias Preece, and elder sister of

Sir John Wrottesley, 1st Baron Wrottesley.[85]

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-979496-6
    .
  2. ^ a b Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1901. D. Appleton & Company. 1902. p. 489.
  3. ISBN 978-0-915317-18-9
    .
  4. ^ Finance Account of the United Kingdom in Eight Classes, for the Year 1851. 1832. p. 37.
  5. ^ a b "Gunpowder & Explosives History Group Newsletter 4, Winter 2002 (PDF)" (PDF). pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Caroline Agnes Drayson, Author Information At the Circulating Library". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  7. ISBN 978-0-915317-18-9
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-8063-1177-7
    .
  9. ^ a b c "1902MNRAS..62R.241. Page 241". Harvard University. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  10. ^ Stewart Marsh Ellis (1920). George Meredith: His Life and Friends in Relation to His Work. Ardent Media. p. 215. GGKEY:5Y96JHF61J0.
  11. ^ The Law Times. Office of The Law times. 1848. p. 426.
  12. ^ Sylvanus Urban, ed. (1856). The Gentleman's Magazine. p. 664.
  13. ^ "England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XK8M-358 : 12 December 2014), Laurette Drayson, 11 Jun 1819, Christening; citing Waltham-Abbey, Essex, England, Record Office, Chelmsford; FHL microfilm 1,526,972.
  14. ^ Gentleman's Magazine, Or Monthly Intelligencer. Edward Cave. 1844. p. 88.
  15. ^ Great Britain (1844). The London Gazette. T. Neuman. p. 1040.
  16. ISBN 978-0-8139-1012-3
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0-915317-18-9
    .
  18. ^ a b c Butler, William Mill (1899). "Drayson, Alfred Wilkes, The Whist Reference Book". Philadelphia: John C. Yorston Company. pp. 122–4. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
  19. ^ The New Annual Army List, Militia List, and Yeomanry Cavalry List. J. Murray. 1875. p. 44.
  20. ISBN 978-0-19-283811-7
    .
  21. ^ Guggisberg, Frederick Gordon (1900). ""The Shop;" the story of the Royal Military Academy". Internet Archive. London, New York: Cassell & Co. p. 262. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  22. ISBN 978-0-8018-8291-3
    .
  23. ^ "No. 25291". The London Gazette. 27 November 1883. p. 5856.
  24. ISBN 978-1-78092-908-8
    .
  25. ISBN 978-0-09-126610-3
    .
  26. ISBN 978-0-87413-373-8
    .
  27. ISBN 978-0-87413-373-8
    .
  28. ISBN 978-0-85771-625-5
    .
  29. ISBN 978-0-300-09099-4
    .
  30. ISBN 978-0-85771-625-5
    .
  31. ISBN 978-1-108-02594-2
    .
  32. ISBN 978-0-87413-373-8
    .
  33. ISBN 978-1-108-02595-9
    .
  34. ISBN 978-1-108-02565-2
    .
  35. ISBN 978-1-4597-1898-2
    .
  36. ISBN 978-0-85771-625-5
    .
  37. ISBN 978-0-230-30050-7
    .
  38. ISBN 978-0-521-34767-9
    .
  39. ISBN 978-1-136-11932-3
    .
  40. ISBN 978-0-7524-6253-0
    .
  41. ISBN 978-3-10-402972-6
    .
  42. ISBN 978-1-4270-8172-8
    .
  43. ISBN 978-1-4668-6315-6
    .
  44. ISBN 978-3-642-76268-0
    .
  45. ISBN 978-85-15-00273-3
    .
  46. ISBN 978-1-4655-2465-2
    .
  47. ISBN 978-0-486-13162-7
    .
  48. ISBN 978-1-62376-066-3
    .
  49. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1859). The Earth We Inhabit: its past, present, and probable future.
  50. ISBN 978-0-8047-1364-1
    .
  51. ^ s:Budget of Paradoxes/L
  52. ISBN 978-0-8047-1364-1
    .
  53. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1859). Great Britain has been and will be again within the Tropics.
  54. ISBN 978-1-59143-779-6
    .
  55. ^ Samuel Greatheed; Daniel Parken; Theophilus Williams; Josiah Conder; Thomas Price; Jonathan Edwards Ryland; Edwin Paxton Hood (1859). The Eclectic Review. C. Taylor. p. 667.
  56. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1861). Practical Military Surveying and Sketching. Chapman & Hall.
  57. ^
    ISBN 978-0-231-13046-2
    .
  58. Bibcode:1862cshe.book.....D
    .
  59. ^ Drayson, Alfred Wilks (1870). The Young Dragoon; or, Every day life of a soldier, by one who has served (capt. Drayson).
  60. ISBN 978-5-04-051891-3
    .
  61. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1873). On the Cause, Date, and Duration of the Last Glacial Epoch of Geology, and the Probable Antiquity of Man: With an Investigation and Description of a New Movement of the Earth. Chapman & Hall.
  62. ISBN 978-0-521-81928-2
    .
  63. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1874). The Cause of the supposed Proper Motion of the Fixed Stars and an explanation of the Apparent Acceleration of the Moon's Mean Motion: with other geometrical problems in astronomy hitherto unsolved. Chapman and Hall.
  64. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1875). The Gentleman Cadet: His Career and Adventures at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich : a Tale of the Past. Griffith and Farran.
  65. ^ "Spectator Archive, 2 April 1887, Page 23 Experiences of a Woolwich Professor. By Major-General A. W. Drayson". The Spectator. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  66. ^ "Drayson, Alfred Wilkes, 1827–1901, The Online Books Page". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  67. ^ Donald R. Hettinga; Gary D. Schmidt (1996). British Children's Writers, 1914–1960. Gale Research. p. 209.
  68. ISBN 978-1-316-17513-2
    .
  69. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1888). Thirty Thousand Years of the Earth's Past History Read by Aid of the Discovery of the Second Rotation of the Earth. Chapman and Hall.
  70. ^ "Alfred Wilks Drayson (1827–1901), Author Information At the Circulating Library". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  71. ^ "S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science, Cooper, Mr Arnold W". Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  72. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1889). The Art of Practical Billiards for Amateurs. G. Bell.
  73. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson (1890). Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geology: Giving Further Details of the Second Rotation of the Earth and of the Important Calculations which Can be Made by Aid of a Knowledge Thereof. K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Company, Limited.
  74. ISBN 978-1-903582-37-4
    .
  75. ISBN 978-1-4803-8615-0
    .
  76. ^ "Alfred Wilks Drayson - Graces Guide". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  77. ^ Alfred Wilks Drayson; Charles Richard Binney (1858). Description of the patent Elongating Tunnel Telegraph Cable ... with reasons for the failure of the present Atlantic Cable ... Illustrated with a chromo-lithograph.
  78. ISBN 978-1-108-06948-9
    .
  79. ^ The Engineer. Morgan-Grampian (Publishers). 1868. p. 451.
  80. ^ The Student and Intellectual Observer of Science, Literature and Art. 1870. p. 72.
  81. ISBN 978-1-78092-033-7
    .
  82. ^ Schaefer, B. E., Sherlock Holmes and some astronomical connections, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, vol. 103, no.1, p.30–34, 1993JBAA..103...30S http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/JBAA./0103//0000033.000.html
  83. ISBN 978-0-09-126610-3
    .
  84. ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. W. Pickering. 1852. p. 512.
  85. ^ Burke, Bernard (1903). Ashworth P. Burke (ed.). A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage (65th ed.). London: Harrison and Sons. p. 1623.

External links

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