josnrn henry 3 



He was an active and long-standing member of the Lighthouse 

 Board of this country and his (Hhgent investigations into the efficiency 

 of various ilhuninants and the best conditions for their use greatly 

 improved the beacons which dotted our coasts. During the dark 

 days of the Civil War, Henry clearly saw the tremendous advantage 

 to be derived from a mobilization of the nation's scientific men for 

 cooperative service. His vision, backed by his tremendous energy 

 and ability, resulted in the formation of the National Academy of 

 Sciences, under a Congressional charter signed by Abraham Lincoln. 



More than fifty years later this same National Academy of Sciences 

 was again called upon in time of national need, and, using the mechan- 



Fig. 1 



ism inspired by Henry, there re-occurred, in 1916, under presidential 

 proclamation, a mobilization of the nation's scientific and technical 



men. 



While the details of Henry's life and work are perhaps not widely 



