Royal Medal Research Articles

Collaborative Artisanship: Medals at Louis XIV’s Royal Mint

During Louis XIV’s reign, royal medals were fabricated in a workshop called the Monnaie des Médailles, situated at the heart of artisanal production at the Louvre. Medals were produced by a series of men appointed by the king, but the Monnaie des Médailles achieved administrative perfection under master goldsmith Nicholas Delaunay, who transformed the workshop into a space of performative display, where the king’s most important visitors could marvel at the quality of medalmaking equipment and witness the process of medal striking. Although scholars of medals tend to attribute specific medals to individual artists, struck medals do not correspond to contemporary ideas about the work of art’s authorship. Here, we reconstruct six stages of making – design, modelling, production of punches, dies and flans, followed by striking – to elucidate the artisanal process and place these objects back into the hands of their producers.

History of an observatory on the Agasthiyar hill top

Remarkable feats of the past often leave behind historical pointers leaving us mesmerised. One such episode is that of the establishment of a magnetic and meteorological observatory on the peak of the Agasthiyar mountain 6200 feet above the sea level on the western Ghats in the year 1855 by John Allan Broun under the princely state of Travancore. It had facilities far ahead of its times representing the commitment to scientific universalism by its patrons. Broun established the observatory on the Agasthiyar mountain peak and undertook a meticulous study overcoming daunting geographical constrains. Broun was awarded the Keith Medal from the Royal Society of Edinburgh for the period 1859–1861. He received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society of London in 1878. He passed away in 1879. Remnants of the magnetic observatory which earned Broun scientific acclaim remain undiscovered, clouded within the Agasthiyar mountains.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 21 April 1926—8 September 2022

You have accessMoreSectionsView PDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Cite this article Longair Malcolm 2022Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 21 April 1926—8 September 2022Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc.731–2http://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2022.0034SectionYou have accessDedicationHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 21 April 1926—8 September 2022 Malcolm Longair Malcolm Longair Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Malcolm Longair Malcolm Longair Google Scholar Find this author on PubMed Search for more papers by this author Published:05 October 2022https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2022.0034A TRIBUTEImage copyright: Godfrey Argent Studio.Paying tribute to Her Majesty The Queen, the President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith said, ‘The Royal Society is deeply saddened by the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. Over her six decades as our Patron, she has seen great scientific progress, with many British scientists contributing to breakthroughs. It was a particular honour for the Society to have Her Majesty participate in our 300th Anniversary celebrations and attend the Convocation of Fellows marking the 350th Anniversary of the Society in 2010. Her contribution will be greatly missed.’Her Majesty The Queen was the Royal Society's Patron for over 60 years, signing the Charter Book in 1957. She participated in the 300th Anniversary celebrations in 1960 at the Albert Hall and in the Convocation of Fellows that marked its 350th Anniversary in 2010 at the Royal Festival Hall. She opened the new premises at Carlton House Terrace in 1967 and launched the scheme of China Royal Fellowships in 1986 to promote scientific exchange.During her lifetime, the face of science and its contributions to society changed out of all recognition. Many of the pioneers of the new sciences were honoured in the New Years and Queen's Birthday Honours lists, these honours regularly being conferred by the Queen herself.Among the Society's most prestigious awards are the Royal Medals, founded by His Majesty King George IV in 1825. Between 1826 and 1964 two medals were awarded each year. In 1965 a third medal, celebrating the applied sciences, was introduced on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.The Queen's outstanding record of service to all aspects of society was exemplary, setting a model of dignity and humanity which was an inspiration to us all. Next Article VIEW FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD PDF FiguresRelatedReferencesDetails This IssueDecember 2022Volume 73 Article InformationDOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2022.0034Published by:Royal SocietyPrint ISSN:0080-4606Online ISSN:1748-8494History: Published online05/10/2022Published in print01/12/2022 License:© 2022 The Author(s)Published by the Royal Society Citations and impact Subjectsbiographical history

Nanocracks in nature and industry.

Nanocracks in nature and industry.

Dennis Y.M. Lo Receives Royal Medal.

Dennis Y.M. Lo Receives Royal Medal.

Ricardo Miledi. 15 September 1927—18 December 2017

For nearly five decades, Ricardo Miledi was among the foremost researchers in elucidating how nerves transmit signals across synapses. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, he qualified as a medical doctor, obtained a PhD with Arturo Rosenblueth and then, while in Canberra with John Eccles FRS, was invited by Bernard Katz FRS to join the Biophysics department at University College London, where he stayed from 1958 to 1984. Both independently and with Katz, he demonstrated that influx of calcium into the presynaptic nerve terminal is the essential trigger for the release of the neurotransmitter that carries signals across to the postsynaptic cell. He found that cutting the nerve to a frog's muscle increased the number and distribution of its muscle acetylcholine (ACh) receptors, which he purified and established as membrane proteins. Together with Katz, he introduced the technique of membrane noise analysis to determine the properties of the individual ion channels opened by ACh, providing the first functional characterization of a single receptor with integral ion channel. With Eric Barnard (FRS 1981), he pioneered a new approach facilitating the study of neurotransmitter receptors and ion channels by ‘transplanting’ them from brain and other tissues into largeXenopusoocyte cells by injection of messenger RNA. After moving to the University of California, Irvine, in 1984, he helped to establish the Mexican Institute for Neurobiology at Querétaro. Working in Irvine and Mexico he extended this oocyte expression technique to incorporate transplanted brain membranes, particularly from patients with epilepsy or other neurological disorders. He received many honours for his work, including the Royal Medal (1998), but was happiest working in his lab applying his extraordinary technical skills and imagination to study synaptic transmission and inspiring a generation of neuroscientists.

Трансформация образа власти на медалях последних Валуа в период Религиозных войн

The article is devoted to the study of images of Royal power that were used by the last Valois dynasty’s representatives, reflecting the transformations that occurred in connection with the attempt to strengthen the Royal authority with intensification of secular power and gaining spiritual power. Studying the French Royal medals of the end of the XVI century, it is possible to identify the main trends of changes in the image of the Royal power during the development of religious conflict, demonstrating the increasing role of certain Christian symbols that were used both to indicate their religious position and its presentation to society during the state crisis. The study analyzes the medals of the time of Charles IX, in particular in memory of St. Bartholomew’s night, and the medals of Henry III. Analysis of these images allows us to come to the conclusion about the evolution of ideas about the king and his power from the image of the ancient hero king that was formed at the time of the beginning of religious wars, to the restoration of the idea of the most Christian king and peacemaker king, common in the pre-Renaissance era, and which is most clearly shown in the images of Henry III.

Lewis Wolpert (1929–2021)

Lewis Wolpert (1929–2021)

Lewis Wolpert (1929-2021).

Lewis Wolpert was a brilliant and inspiring scientist who made hugely significant contributions which underpin and influence our understanding of developmental biology today. He spent his career interested in how the fertilised egg can give rise to the whole embryo (and ultimately the adult) with one head, two arms, two legs, all its organs and importantly how cells become different from each other and how they 'know' what to become. His ideas revolutionised the way developmental biology was perceived and also reinvigorated, in particular, the key question of how pattern formation in embryonic development is achieved. He published over 200 scientific articles and received many accolades over his career for his work and services to science in the UK. These included a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen, being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was also a recipient of the Waddington Medal from the British Society for Developmental Biology and was awarded The Royal Society's top honour, the Royal Medal in 2018. Lewis was also a gifted teacher and communicator, including being the author of a textbook on developmental biology used around the world to train the next generation of developmental biologists. This contribution was recognised in 2003, by the award of the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Award from the Society of Developmental Biology in the USA. Lewis always enjoyed giving talks and lectures, having an infectious and persuasive enthusiasm coupled with a sharp sense of humour. He also published articles in popular science journals (aimed at the public) such as New Scientist, Scientific American and The Scientist. Lewis also wrote several popular science books. He was a passionate advocate for the public understanding of science and was the Chair of The Royal Society/Royal Institution/British Association for the Advancement of Science Committee for Public Understanding of Science (1994-1998). For this contribution he was awarded The Royal Society Michael Faraday Medal for "excellence in communicating science to UK audiences". He presented the prestigious Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1986 entitled 'Frankenstein's Quest: development of life'. These lectures, six in total, are presented by leading scientists and aimed at the general public and broadcast on national television. On a personal level, Lewis influenced all who came into contact with him, shaped his students and postdocs careers and instilled in them, and the community as whole, a life-long love of developmental biology.

Horace Barlow. Scientist of vision

Horace Basil Barlow, Fellow of the Royal Society, winner of the Australia Prize, the Royal Medal of the Royal Society and the Schwartz Prize of the Society for Neuroscience, died on 5 July 2020 at the age of 98, 10 days after suffering a stroke. As news spread among his former students and collaborators, one phrase recurred again and again in the messages of nostalgic reflection: ‘the end of an era’.

Autour d’un tableau méconnu du Louvre : Bertholet Flémal, François Chauveau, Sébastien Leclerc, trois artistes pour un commanditaire à l’heure de la révocation de l’édit de Nantes.

Anne le Pas de Sécheval est maître de conférences à l’Université Paris Nanterre. Sa recherche est actuellement centrée sur la peinture dans les églises de Paris et l’art religieux en France au xvii e siècle. Elle a publié en 2018 « Hardouin-Mansart et la genèse du décor intérieur du Dôme » dans l’ouvrage Saint-Louis-des-Invalides : la cathédrale des armées françaises dirigé par Alexandre Gady et Antoine de Romanet. Paraîtra en 2020 l’article « Philippe de Champaigne et Charles Le Brun lecteurs du livre d’Ézéchiel ? Réflexions sur la culture biblique des peintres au xvii e siècle » dans les actes du colloque international Mise(s) en œuvre (s) des Écritures 2 de l’École des Chartes. Université Paris Nanterre, 200, avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre Cedex.

Gustav Victor Rudolph Born. 29 July 1921—16 April 2018

Gustav Born (Gus) made fundamental contributions to the study of blood platelets and their role in thrombogenesis. Working first on the biochemistry of these cells and their granules, Gus later devised an extremely effective method to measure their dynamic responses when stimulated to aggregate by pro-thrombotic stimuli. ‘The Born Aggregometer’, as it is known, revolutionized the study of platelets and the diagnosis of platelet-related disorders. Gus was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972 for his work and subsequently awarded the Royal Medal. He received numerous other accolades and awards for his contributions to cardiovascular medicine.

LISTER Joseph (1827-1912). To the 190th of the birthday

Joseph Lister – the largest English surgeon and scientist, the founder of antiseptics, President of the Royal society of surgeons, a member of the house of lords. Joseph Lister was born on 5 apr 1827 in England. In 1844 he graduated from high school, and in 1852, the medical faculty of the University of London and was appointed resident assistant College University hospital. The first scientific work of Lister was published in 1852 and was dedicated to the structure of the iris of the eye and its muscles. Soon Lister began working in the clinic of Professor George. Syme in Edinburgh and published lectures, devoted primarily to ophthalmology. In 1855 he became a member of the Royal College of surgeons and is a Professor in the George. Saimaa. In 1858 Lister became a surgeon of the Royal hospital in Edinburgh and at the same time began to read a course of surgery at the University. On 9 March 1860 he was appointed Professor of surgery in Glasgow. In 1867 in the journal "Lancet" published articles Lister, in which he argued the idea that wound infection is called a living beginning, introduced from the outside; was presented to combat surgical infection, comprising treating hand surgeon, surgical field and instruments, disinfection of the air by atomization of a solution of carbolic acid. In 1869 Lister was transferred to the surgical clinic in Edinburgh, and in 1877 he was given the chair of clinical surgery at king's College London. In 1884 Joseph Lister was given the title of baronet, from 1895 to 1900 he was President of the Royal society of surgeons; in 1897 appointed a member of the house of lords. In 1892 he was 65 years old and, according to the law, he had to leave the Department at the Royal College. Joseph Lister was made an honorary member of numerous universities and scientific societies, was awarded the Royal medal (1880), medal of Comenius (1877), albert (1894), Copley (1902); the order of merit (1902). Died Joseph Lister, on 10 February 1912 in Walmer. In honor of Joseph Lister has been named a genus of bacteria Listeria (Listeria), he is on the English postage stamp, issued in 1966.

Thomas Walter Bannerman Kibble

Thomas Walter Bannerman Kibble

Mary Lyon's X-inactivation studies in the mouse laid the foundation for the field of mammalian dosage compensation.

Mary Frances Lyon was born in 1925 in Norwich, England. In 1943 she entered Girton College, a part of Cambridge for women and graduated in 1946. She started graduate school, with R. A. Fisher at Cambridge and then moved to the Institute of Animal Genetics at Edinburgh where C. H. Waddington had developed good facilities for mouse work. Lyon earned her Ph.D. in 1950 and remained at Edinburgh to work on the mutagenic effects of radiation. The project moved to Harwell in England because of the need for more space. Lyon moved with the project and became head of the genetics division in 1962. There she remained for the rest of her career. She received a number of honours for her work, including being made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1973; election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1979; receiving the Royal medal of the Royal Society in 1984 and the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1997. She died on Christmas Day, 2014. In the first 10 years of her postdoctoral work she published several papers on mouse and radiation genetics and one in 1960 on the murine sex-linked mottled gene. This paper, entitled, ‘A further mutation of the mottled type in the house mouse’ was published in the Journal of Heredity (Lyon 1960). Though rarely quoted, is highly significant. In it, she concludes ‘This prompts the suggestion that in heterozygotes some event occurs at an early embryonic stage which determines whether the mutant or normal gene shall be active in each cell present at that time, and that the subsequent pattern depends on movement of the descendant cells. It is not possible to suggest what is the nature of this early event’. This ‘early event’ was specified a year later in a much quoted one page paper in Nature (1961). Lyon proposed that the mosaic phenotype of female mice heterozygous for some sex-linked

George James Allman (1812-1898): pioneer in research on Cnidaria and freshwater Bryozoa.

George James Allman (1812-1898), acclaimed for pioneering studies of Hydrozoa and Bryozoa, was born in Cork, Ireland. He earned B.A. (1839) and M.B. (1843) degrees at Trinity College, Dublin, and an M.D. (1847) from Trinity College and Oxford University. Choosing academia over medicine, he served as Professor of Botany, University of Dublin (1844-1855), and as Regius Professor of Natural History, University of Edinburgh (1855-1870). Allman initially undertook research on freshwater bryozoans, but his interests later turned to marine hydroids. His bibliography, with publication dates retraced herein, comprises more than 200 titles. Most important of these were monographs on limnic Bryozoa (1857) and "gymnoblastic" or anthoathecate Hydrozoa (1871, 1872). Other prime works were on hydroids from the Straits of Florida (1877) and from the Challenger Expedition (1883, 1888). He named 22 families, 64 genera and 283 species of Hydrozoa, along with three families and nine species of Bryozoa. Of these, names of some five families, 19 genera, and 146 species of hydrozoans, along with three families and three species of bryozoans, are currently recognized as valid. For distinguished academic service, Allman was awarded the Royal Medal (Royal Society of London, 1873), the Brisbane Prize (Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1873), the Cunningham Medal (Royal Irish Academy, 1878), the Gold Medal (Linnean Society of London, 1896), and an LL.D. from the University of Edinburgh (1873). He died 24 November 1898 in Parkstone, Dorset, England. Two genera and 22 species have been named in his honour.

Rodney Hill. 11 June 1921 — 2 February 2011

Rodney Hill was born on 11 June 1921 in Leeds, and educated at Leeds Grammar School. He went up to Cambridge University in October 1939, with a Major Scholarship at Pembroke College. He graduated BA with first-class honours in 1942 in the Mathematical Tripos. Volunteering for war work immediately, he worked in full-time government service on ballistics in the Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory, and on the plasticity of metals in the Cavendish Laboratory. In 1943 he moved to the Armament Research Department at Fort Halstead in Kent, for three years. Here he was involved in, for example, the modelling of armour penetration by projectiles. This established his expertise in the Mathematical Theory of Plasticity, in which he became a world-recognized leader via the writing of a renowned book with that title (still in print after 60 years) and 170 research articles with eventually 26 collaborators. He had more than 10 research students. In 1963 he wrote a textbook, Principles of dynamics , based on his lectures to undergraduates. Subsequent appointments were at the British Iron and Steel Research Association in Sheffield, at Bristol University, and then as Professor of Applied Mathematics at Nottingham University (1953–62), and at Cambridge University. He retired in 1979 but continued with active research for more than another 20 years. Hill was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1961, whose Royal Medal he received in 1993. He received the Honorary Degree of DSc from the Universities of Manchester (1976) and Bath (1978). He was awarded the von Karman Medal of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1978, and the Panetti Medal of the Turin Academy in 1988. In 1982 The Rodney Hill 60th Anniversary Volume called Mechanics of solids was published, edited by H. G. Hopkins and M. J. Sewell. It contains 19 articles by 23 contributors in 693 pages. The Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics (US $25 000, at four-yearly intervals) has been established by Elsevier Ltd. It was awarded first in 2008 (Ortiz) and then in 2012 (Gao). A principal relaxation of Hill for 50 years was in extended botanical expeditions with his wife, Jeanne, in many parts of the English countryside, searching for, and identifying and recording, many species of wild flowers and fungi; and in the cultivation of a garden at home. Rodney Hill married Jeanne Wickens in 1945. She died in 2003. They had one daughter, Caroline, who survives them. Rodney died in Cambridge on 2 February 2011.

John Tyndall and the Royal Medal that was never struck.

Just once in its long history has a Royal Medal been awarded but not presented. John Tyndall FRS (1820-93) was the chosen recipient in 1853 for his early work on diamagnetism but declined to accept it. The story of why Tyndall felt compelled to turn down this considerable honour sheds light on the scientific politics and personal relationships of the time, on the importance given to the study of magnetism, and on Tyndall's own character and career.

Jacob Lockhart Clarke's and John Hughlings Jackson's first description of syringomyelia

Jacob Lockhart Clarke's and John Hughlings Jackson's first description of syringomyelia

A. Ian Scott (1928–2007)

A. Ian Scott (1928–2007)