Mathematical Adams and the battle for Neptune.

This article focuses on the life and scientific contributions of John Couch Adams, a 19th-century English mathematician and astronomer renowned for predicting the existence and position of Neptune through his study of Uranus's orbital perturbations. Although Urbain Le Verrier published similar findings first, leading to a longstanding credit controversy, Adams made significant advances in lunar theory, terrestrial magnetism, and the study of the Leonids meteor shower. Beyond his scientific work, Adams was an advocate for women in academia, supporting early efforts to promote higher education for women and contributing to the founding of Newnham College at Cambridge. He held prominent academic positions, including presidency of the Royal Astronomical Society and Lowndean Professorship at Cambridge, and was recognized for his meticulous and imaginative mathematical approach.