Dr. G. E. Hale, For.Mem.R.S

Abstract

ANYONE meeting George Ellery Hale must, I think, have felt at once that he was somewhat out of the ordinary run of scientific men. We knew he was a great figure in science, but felt that he could have been equally great at almost anything else. For Nature had not only endowed him with those qualities that make for success in science—a powerful and acute intellect, a reflective mind, imagination, patience and perseverance—but also in ample measure with qualities which make for success in other walks of life—a capacity for forming rapid and accurate judgments of men, of situations, and of plans of action ; a habit of looking to the future, and thinking always in terms of improvements and extensions ; a driving-power which was given no rest until it had brought his plans and schemes to fruition ; eagerness, enthusiasm, and above all a sympathetic personality of great charm. This great and varied array of talents gained for him the complete confidence of everyone he met, from the highest to the lowest.