British Men Of Science Research Articles

Pensions for ‘Cultivators of Science’

Summary The occasional (and belated) concern of the British Government with science in the nineteenth century is a matter of potential interest to historians of science, yet many previous studies have tended to range over a variety of different aspects of the question. There have been too many vague allusions to financial support as ‘money for science’ in general. It is time that particular parts of the problem were unpacked. For example, the award of money (from the 1820s) to pay a few people of independent means for apparatus was quite distinct from the provision (from the 1830s) of an occasional pension. Even then, to speak of ‘pensions’ uncovers unfortunate ambiguities. For too long science in Britain was regarded as no more than a private hobby for the well-to-do. As late as 1856 an official government statement seemed to make this attitude official. The English attitude to pensions differed remarkably from the French, who established a precedent in the reward of savants, sometimes quoted enviously by British men of science. In 1837 Robert Peel virtually admitted that, in awarding pensions to ‘cultivators of science’, he was following the French practice. It may also be useful to emphasise the contrast between the English (often led by Cambridge professors) and the Scots, mostly from Edinburgh, mainly represented here by Whewell and Brewster, respectively. Babbage had a different role in this story from that usually told. A large part in supporting men of science of modest means could have been played by the British Association for the Advancement of Science but it consistently refused to do so, although it supported an elite among its own members.

The Nobel laureate Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman FRS and his contacts with the British scientific community in a social and political context

The Indian Nobel laureate Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman FRS (18887–1970) interacted closely with the British scientific community. He was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society in 1924, was knighted by the Colonial Government in 1929 and was awarded the Hughes Medal by The Royal Society in 1930. With the help of unpublished letters and newspaper clips, we show the influence of Raman's British physics professor on his life. Next we discuss how Raman came in contact with influential British men of science, who nominated him for the Fellowship of the Royal Society. Then we explore the ways in which he promoted Indian science by nominating his countrymen for Fellowship of the Society. Last, we describe how, in 1943–44, the Secretary of The Royal Society visited India to hold a historic meeting and for various reasons Raman did not take part in it.

‘Newton dépossédé!’ The British response to the Pascal forgeries of 1867

Between 1867 and 1869 Michel Chasles presented a series of manuscripts to the Académie des sciences, which suggested that Isaac Newton's claims to original discovery were unfounded. It quickly became apparent to the majority of the academicians that the manuscripts were forgeries, but Chasles was repeatedly allowed to state his case. This essay focuses on the responses to the affair from four British men of science: David Brewster, Augustus De Morgan, Robert Grant and Thomas Archer Hirst. It asks why they felt it necessary to add their voices to this debate and examines their various strategies for refuting Chasles's evidence.

Book Reviews: The miller of Sneinton

D.M. Cannell, George Green, Mathematician & Physicist 1793-1841 . Athlone Press, 1993. Pp. xxvi + 265, £35 (hdbk). ISBN-0-485-11433X. Most mathematicians will have used, or at least know of, Green’s Theorem and Green’s functions, but they are probably unaware of the unusual background of their eponymous creator. Green also made pioneering contributions in electricity (where he introduced the term ‘potential’), magnetism, hydrodynamics, elasticity, sound and light. Indeed, the intellectual profundity of his work, albeit encompassed in a mere ten publications, was recognized on the 200th anniversary of his birth, by the dedication of a plaque in Westminster Abbey where his name will be found amongst the greatest British men of science - Isaac Newton, John Frederick Herschel, Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Lord Kelvin, George Gabriel Stokes, Lord Rayleigh, Lord Rutherford and J.J. Thomson. All of these had their work recognized during their own lifetime; in marked contrast, George Green, on his death, earned only a modest paragraph in a local newspaper as his sole obituary, and a grave neglected and forgotten for nearly 100 years. There are no portraits or photographs of him, no diaries or working papers, and little in the way of correspondence. Mary Cannell’s book, which is written to interest the lay reader as much as the scientific specialist, provides the background to Green’s unusual life and work.

The quest for archives of British men of science.

The quest for archives of British men of science.

American Science Comes of Age, 1780-1820

D URING the first century and a half of its existence, American science was a branch of British science and depended on Europe for inspiration and ideas, for models of scientific achievement, for medical training, for avenues of publication, for books and instruments, and for museums and herbaria-in short, for everything except native talent and the raw data provided by nature. In science, as in trade, the American colonies were purveyors of raw materials-astronomical observations, seeds, plants, shells, and fossils-which were worked into finished products in the scientific centers of the Old World.' But there were no Acts of Trade and Navigation in the scientific realm. Americans were free to send their specimens and observations wherever they pleased. Not a few corresponded directly with Linnaeus, Gronovius, and Jussieu as well as with British men of science. And well they might; British science in the mid-eighteenth century was at a low ebb compared with the rising tide of science on the Continent, where kings vied with each other to secure the services of an Euler, a Maupertuis, or a Bernoulli. Private enterprise rather than royal patronage was the rule in Britain. This system, or lack of system, had serious disadvantages; yet it provided a considerable stimulus to scientific activity in the colonies. Although the Royal Society of London had little money to support scientific research, it provided a model for colonial science, a place to send observations and publish findings, and hope of recognition of scientific achievement. Actual patronage of colonial science came from nobles, wealthy merchants, and physicians interested in science and horticulture. To a considerable degree this aid was inspired by the desire to procure exotic plants to beautify country estates. In less than half a century, Mark Catesby declared in the preface

Joseph Priestley: Adventurer in Science and Champion of Truth

Series: British Men of Science F. W. Gibbs Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson. 1965. Pp. xii + 258. Price 42s. Until now there has never been a full-length biography of Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) in spite of the large amount of extant material available for study. Historians of science will be grateful to Dr. Gibbs for his labours and for the readable book which he has written.

The Founder of Modern Atomic Physics

J. J. Thomson and the Cavendish Laboratory in his Day By Sir George Paget Thomson. (British Men of Science.) Pp. xi + 186 + 20 plates. (London and Edinburgh: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1964.) 25s. net.

Charles Darwin. Evolution by Natural Selection. By Sir Gavin de Beer. British Men of Science. Vol. 1. Nelson, 21s. - Biologist and Philosopher. A Study of the Life and Writings of Alfred Russel Wallace. By Wilma George. Abelard-Schuman, 25s.

Charles Darwin. Evolution by Natural Selection. By Sir Gavin de Beer. British Men of Science. Vol. 1. Nelson, 21<i>s</i>. - Biologist and Philosopher. A Study of the Life and Writings of Alfred Russel Wallace. By Wilma George. Abelard-Schuman, 25<i>s</i>.

Patrick Manson, The Father of Tropical Medicine (Series: British Men of Science)

Patrick Manson, The Father of Tropical Medicine (Series: British Men of Science)

British Men of Science

British Men of Science

Davy Faraday Exhibition in Paris

AN exhibition devoted to the life and work of Davy and Faraday has been arranged at the Palais de la Decouverte in Paris (which operates in association with the University of Paris) with the close collaboration and support of the Royal Institution, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and the Science Museum, and will remain open until July. The managers of the Royal Institution have lent a number of the relics of Michael Faraday from their collection, as, for example, some of the original apparatus used by him in his experiments and pieces of his laboratory and office equipment. The Council of the Institution of Electrical Engineers has lent a number of Faraday manuscripts and letters and the full-sized Reproduction of the statue of Faraday, the original of which stands on the main staircase in the Royal Institution, which dominated the Faraday Centenary Exhibition at the Albert Hall, London, in 1931. The General Post Office has provided an ingenious working section of an automatic telephone exchange, recently shown at Radiolympia. With the collaboration of the British Council, arrangements have been made for a number of lectures to be delivered at the Exhibition by British men of science and engineers on the life and work of Davy and Faraday.

Huma Embryology

LITTLE more than a year ago a new English text-book of human embryology had a somewhat mixed reception in these columns1. Criticisms were that it did not refer to the work of certain British men of science ; that a few features in some diagrams were incorrectly labelled ; and that here and there the text could have been expanded to advantage. To-day another text-book with precisely the same title is addressed to medical students by Prof. Patten, a well-known and much esteemed American embryologist. It is slightly longer ; slightly more lavishly, if not as well (although this is largely a matter of taste), illustrated ; it covers almost the same ground ; and doubtlessly it is open to some of the same criticism. It would be surprising if it were otherwise. In a subject like topographical embryology, where ideas on the genesis of organs represent dynamic concepts based on successive 'still' views of developmental processes, there is ample opportunity for differences in individual interpretation and emphasis ; and furthermore, so much scope that no one person could be expected to have a first-hand knowledge of every part of the whole field. Huma Embryology By Prof. Bradley M. Patten. Pp. xv + 776. (London: J. and A. Churchill, Ltd., 1946.) 45s

Retinal Structure and Colour Vision

THE organ of sight continues to challenge imagination and experimental initiative and so maintains its position as one of the most fascinating living structures in existence, and at the same time the source of so much of our most important knowledge about life and matter. The list of British men of science who have made notable contributions to this field is as impressive as that of any other country. It begins with Newton, whose ideas inspired Thomas Young (according to the latter's own words). Brew-ster, Maxwell, Dalton, Lord Rayleigh made discoveries which are classical. From our own period one need but mention Adrian's brilliant pioneer work on optic nerve impulses, Lythgoe's discovery of transient orange, Stiles' of the directional sensitivity of the retina, and Wright's analysis of the fundamental trichromatic response curves to realize that the tradition is being maintained. Retinal Structure and Colour Vision A Restatement and an Hypothesis. By Dr. E. N. Willmer. Pp.xii + 231 + 4 plates. (Cambridge : At the University Press, 1946.) 21s. net.

Introduzione alla Rachotelemetria (Radar)

IN view of the outstanding achievements of Britain and the United States in radar development, it is at first sight somewhat surprising that the first serious text-book on radar to be published should come from Italy. When we consider, however, that for Italy the War finished a good eighteen months before it ended for us, it is not difficult to see that scientific men in that country have had more time to write of their work than British men of science, and have been less concerned with difficulties of security. Indeed, there are several British and American books on radar technique under way which take the development of the subject far beyond the scope of the present book, and these will be looked for with interest by a wide variety of readers. For the radio engineer, of course, British developments have been made available in the excellent series of papers submitted to the recent Radiolocation Convention held by the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Introduzione alla Rachotelemetria (Radar) Apparecchi e nozioni entrati nell'uso corrente. Per Prof. Ugo Tiberio. Pp. 277. (Roma: Editore Rivista Marittima, 1946.) 300 lire.

British Radio Industry

THE fundamental scientific principles of radiolocation and the startling results obtained from its application during the War have now become common knowledge. While the conception of this important new weapon is a tribute to British scientific research, and its success in practice demonstrates the ability of the Fighting Services to utilize a highly technical development, there is a necessary intermediate factor, which must not be forgotten, in the form of the design and production facilities available during the time of the country's direst need. The Radio Industry Council has dealt with this last aspect of the subject in a booklet recently issued under the title "The British Radio Industry in War and Peace" (Radio Industry Council, 59 Russell Square, London, W.C.1). The object of this small publication is to tell the world what British men of science, engineers and workpeople have accomplished in the past years in the application of the whole field of radio technique to war-time requirements, and the manner in which the experience gained during this terrific effort will be applied to the post-war development of broadcasting and television receiver production.

The British Council

THE last annual report of the British Council, which covered the year ending March 31, 1944 (see Nature, 155, 58; 1945), well indicated the importance of the work of the Council, not only in the war effort but also for the establishment of cultural relations in times of peace. The Council's work in making British contributions to science better known abroad and promoting contacts between British men of science and those of other countries, particularly since the establishment of its Science Department four years ago, has become so important that the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of the British Council in July 1935 should not be passed unmarked by scientific workers.

Some British Work on Nutrition

NUTRITION is the theme of vol. 2, Nos. 10 and 11 of the British Medical Bulletin, The issue opens with an article on nutritional science in medicine by Sir Edward Mellanby. Sir Edward pleads for an international agreement on the optimum composition of bread and other cereal foods which form such a large proportion of the normal diet. The Health Section of the League of Nations has prepared the way for this kind of agreement by working out the international standardization of vitamins and by setting up standards of nutrition in terms of common foods. Discussing bread, Sir Edward says that British men of science consider that it should be made of flour containing as much of the wheat grain as can be physiologically absorbed, that is to say, the whole grain except the outer coarse bran; some North American workers, on the other hand, favour the old type of low-extraction, and white flour with the addition of vitamins known to be present in the wheat grain. The health of the consumer, said Sir Edward, and not the milling or other interests concerned, should control the composition of bread.

Scientific Books and Papers for China

THROUGH the Cultural Scientific Mission to China of the British Council, British men of science have learned of the great difficulties under which their Chinese colleagues are labouring to-day. Of the many obstacles to the pursuit of science in war-time China, not the least important is the scarcity of standard text- and reference books, and journals and reprints, which, equally with technical apparatus, are necessary for scientific teaching and research. The Natural Science Society of China (British Branch), through its president, Dr. S. P. Chu, and honorary secretary, Mr. P. M, Yap, is appealing for scientific and technological publications, which readers of Nature, either individually, or as organizations, can spare, to be sent to China. The great majority of Chinese scientific workers are accustomed to English texts and literature; indeed, many of them have obtained a part or the whole of their training in Great Britain, and the response to this appeal will be of significance, not merely as an expression of comradeship between British and Chinese scientific workers, but also as a constructive effort towards rehabilitating science in Free China. The British Council, 3 Hanover Street, London, W.1, has offered to receive on behalf of the Society such scientific literature as may be available; and it will be dispatched as opportunity offers to the Science Library of the Natural Science Society of China in Chungking.

Edward Divers, F.R.S. (1837–1912)

AMONG the British men of science and engineers who some sixty years ago laid the foundation of scientific instruction in Japan, none was more highly esteemed than Edward Divers. Born in London on November 27, 1837, he attended the City of London School and then studied under Hofmann at the old College of Chemistry, Oxford Street. He graduated M.D. at Queen's College, Galway, and later was lecturer in materia medica at Queen's College, Birmingham, and in medical jurisprudence at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. In 1873, at the invitation of the Public Works Department of Japan, he, with ten other Englishmen, went to that country to establish a College of Engineering. The first principal of the College was Henry Dyer (1848–1918), but on his return home in 1882, Divers was appointed to succeed him. Later, when the College became a part of the Imperial University, Divers became professor of chemistry in the Department of Science. He remained in Japan until 1899, when he was made emeritus professor. After his retirement, Divers settled in London, where his house became the 'Mecca' of Japanese students visiting England. He received honours from the Japanese Government, and a bronze statue of him was erected in the College courtyard. Most of Divers' original papers were contributed to the Journals of the Chemical Society and Society of Chemical Industry. Of the former society he became a vice-president and of the latter he served as president in 1905–6. He died on April 8, 1912, and was buried at Brookwood.