The Typography of Tables: A Note on L. J. Comrie

Astronomers and those interested in machine computing honour Comrie for his work in these fields. They join typographers and elderly mariners in honouring him for his contribution to the typography of tables. Leslie John Comrie was born in Pukekohe in 1893. He graduated MA Hons in chemistry in 1916 from Auckland University College. 'In spite of his deafness, he served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the First World War, and ... was wounded, losing a leg' (Greaves, 296). Prestigious scholarships and studentships led to a PhD at Cambridge where he studied astronomy. After a period at Cambridge, and then teaching in the United States where he introduced a course in computational science, Comrie returned to Britain in 1925 to an appointment to H.M. Nautical Almanac Office, becoming Superintendent in 1930. He resigned in 1936 and the following year founded Scientific Computing Service Ltd, which provided 'major computational operations for government departments, for universities, and for industry.