CORTIE, ALOYSIUS. - Jesuit, astronomer, b. in London on 22 Apr. 1859, d. at Stonyhurst on 16 May 1925. From 1891 he was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society; from 1896 to 1916 he taught physical-mathematical sciences at the college of Stonyhurst.
He took an active part in the work of the astronomical observatory of the same college, which had been made famous by Fr. Stefano Perry, whose life he wrote (*Father Perry F. R. S. the Jesuit Astronomer*, London 1890). After Fr. W. Sidgreaves, he himself became director (1920–25). His personal contributions dealt with the relations between solar disturbances and those of terrestrial magnetism. Though not reaching the scientific stature of Fr. Perry, Fr. Cortie exerted considerable influence both through his expository gifts and through his participation in international scientific life.