Vice-Admiral Radler de Aquino

Extract

Francisco Radler de Aquino, one of the first of the Institute's few Honorary Members, died on 8 October 1953 in his seventy-fifth year, but his death was not officially notified to the Institute for some months. He had been in failing health for some years, but had made sufficient recovery from a serious illness to prepare, and practically see through the press, still another volume of tables. He had retired from the Brazilian Navy in 1935 at the age of 57 with the rank of Captain; and it was not until sixteen years later, on 24 March 1951, that he was given the belated promotion to Vice-Admiral: the reasons for the delay were obscure but apparently political. By his death the science of navigation will lose one of its most stalwart champions and one of its most prolific writers. The field of tables for astronomical navigation will hardly seem the same without his colourful personality and his constant additions to his many publications. Many, including those who did not always agree with his views, will miss him as a friend, even though that friendship had largely been carried on by correspondence.