THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 589 



THE IIODGKINS AND LANGLEY MEDALS 



The Hodgkins gold medal was established by the Smithsonian 

 Institution to be awarded for important contributions to the knowl- 

 edge of the nature and properties of atmospheric air, or for prac- 

 tical applications of existing knowledge to tlie welfare of mankind. 

 It was tirst bestowed, April 3, 1899, on Sir James Dewar, F. R. S., 

 and second, October 28, 1902, on Prof. J. J. Thomson, F. 11. S. 



The Langley medal was established in memory of the late Secre- 

 tary Samuel Pierpont Langley and his contributions to the science 

 of aerodromics, " to be awarded for specially meritorious investiga- 

 tions in connection with the science of aerodromics and its appli- 

 cation to aviation." This medal was presented in 1910 to the broth- 

 ers Wilbur and Orville Wright, and in 1913, to Mr. Glenn H. 

 Curtiss and M. Gustave Eiffel. 



THE NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS 



In the year 1915, the Government established the National Ad- 

 visory Committee for Aeronautics, in which representatives of the 

 Army and the Navy, the Weather Bureau, the National Bureau of 

 Standards, and others were drawn together for the promotion of 

 the national defence. Secretary Walcott, of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, acted as a member and chairman from its organization, and 

 the meetings were often held at the rooms of the Institution. 



CONCLUSION 



As we thus briefly survey the history of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, its past achievements, and its present development, we can not 

 fail to be tremendously impressed by the fruitfulness of Smithson's 

 bequest. An investment in science is as sure as a United States 

 bond. All history, and especially the history of our own time, 

 proves it. If investigation had always been limited to subjects 

 promising to have utility, we should still be in the dark ages. The 

 enlightenment of the human mind brought about by the study of 

 astronom}'^, for instance, has a value not to be measured by doUars 

 and cents, but by the safety of life and property from religious per- 

 secution and by the advance from superstition and ignorant fear of 

 nature. On the other hand, it would be easy to cite many investiga- 

 tions of apparently merely curious and trivial phenomena which 

 later on came to have commercial utility. One will suffice. As late 

 as 1890 no " practical man " would have dreamed of investigating 

 the conduction of electricity through rarefied gases. Rontgen's dis- 

 covery of X rays in 1895 was not in the least influenced by utility, 

 but came out of pure research work in that field. Think of X-ray 

 hospital work nowadays! Moreover, every department store car- 



