He was twenty years old when he entered St.
John's College, Cambridge. His career in the University was one of
almost unparalleled distinction, and it is recorded that his
answering at the Wranglership examination, where he came out at the
head of the list in 1843, was so high that he received more than
double the marks awarded to the Second Wrangler.
Among the papers found after his death was the following memorandum,
dated July the 3rd, 1841: "Formed a design at the beginning of this
week of investigating, as soon as possible after taking my degree,
the irregularities in the motion of Uranus, Which are as yet
unaccounted for, in order to find whether they may be attributed to
the action of an undiscovered planet beyond it; and, if possible,
thence to determine the elements of its orbit approximately, which
would lead probably to its discovery."
After he had taken his degree, and had thus obtained a little
relaxation from the lines within which his studies had previously
been necessarily confined, Adams devoted himself to the study of the
perturbations of Uranus, in accordance with the resolve which we have
just seen that he formed while he was still an undergraduate. As a
first attempt he made the supposition that there might be a planet
exterior to Uranus, at a distance which was double that of Uranus
from the sun.
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