PROCEEDINGS OF THE REGENTS 131 



RADIO CELEBRAIION OF JOSEPH HENRy's BIRTHDAY 



The secretary called attention to the birthday of Henry, first sec- 

 retary of the Smithsonian Institution, which is to be celebrated by 

 radio on December 17. The occasion will be observed by appropri- 

 ate addresses broadcast from the stations 'at Troy and Schenectady, 



N. Y. 



Joseph Henry was born at Albany on December 17, 1799. His 

 first studies in electricity began in 1827, while he was a teacher in 

 the Albany Academy, and in the course of his researches he trans- 

 formed an inefficient piece of electrical apparatus into the powerful 

 electromagnet, and laid the foundation for the most important dis- 

 coveries of the century. He made two distinct forms of magnets; 

 one capable of excitation at a distance, called the " intensity magnet," 

 and the other having possibilities of infinite development of strength, 

 which he named the " quantity magnet." 



Before Henry, the strongest form of electromagnet known could 

 lift only 9 pounds, but after a few months of experiment he pro- 

 duced one which sustained 39 pounds. This was successively fol- 

 lowed by others which could support 750, 2,300, and 3,500 pounds. 

 The intensity magnet was the forerunner of the modern telegraph, 

 and in 1831 Henry transmitted a current through a considerable 

 length of wire and succeeded in ringing a bell. On December 17, 

 92 years later, this identical bell will be rung during the ceremonies, 

 and the sound will be heard by listeners throughout the United States 

 and probably across the Atlantic. The bell is now a treasured relic 

 in the New York State Museum at Albany. 



When the Smithsonian Institution was founded, Joseph Henry 

 was selected as its first secretary, and his plan of organization for 

 the new Institution was carried out. His broad-minded policies en- 

 abled the Institution to become firmly established, and through its 

 stated purpose, "the increase and diffusion of knowledge among 

 men," to attain a world-wide reputation as a center of scientific ac- 

 tiAdty in America. During Henry's term as secretary (1846-1878) he 

 inaugurated the system of daily meteorological observations and re- 

 ports which developed into the present United States Weather 

 Bureau. 



EXPEDITIONS 



Archeological expedition to China. — The archeological expedition 

 sent to China last February under the joint auspices of the Freer 

 Gallery^ of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and under the 

 immediate direction of Mr. Carl W. Bishop, associate curator of the 

 Freer Gallery, seems already to have paved the way for a far better 

 approach to the problems of Chinese archeology than has ever ex- 

 isted before. Mr. Bishop's first duties have been to make clear to 



