ANNALS OF THE ACADEMY 59 



promote the study of meteoric bodies, a branch of science which 

 Dr. Smith had pursued with much success, and, in accordance 

 with the wishes of the donor, it was decided that a gold medal, to 

 be given as a reward for original investigations, would be most 

 appropriate." The expense for preparing the die for this medal 

 which was to be called the " Lawrence Smith Medal," was 

 met by Mrs. Smith. It was designed by Chaplain of Paris, and 

 the first award was made to Professor Hubert A. Newton in 

 1888, as will be noted on a later page. 



In the summer of 1881 Prof. S. P. Langley spent some weeks 

 on the summit of Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada of Cali- 

 fornia, under the official direction of the Chief Signal Officer of 

 the Army, in making astrophysical observations." He was so 

 much impressed with the suitability of that place as a permanent 

 station for scientific observations, that on his return, with the 

 assent of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, he laid before the 

 National Academy of Sciences a proposition to have the moun- 

 tain peak set apart as a reservation for scientific uses. The moun- 

 tain was described by Prof. Langley in a letter addressed to the 

 Acting Chief Signal Officer of the Army, and dated June 14, 

 1 882, in the following manner : 



" Mt. Whitney is a barren peak in the Sierras of southern California, reputed 

 to be the highest in the State. It is a mass of granite, extremely abrupt on the 

 Eastern slope, which overlooks the Inyo desert, and is, except for scientific pur- 

 poses, believed to be valueless, as with the exception of the unmarketable pine 

 trees on the lower slopes, there is no vegetation, and no gold has ever been found 

 in its vicinit)'. 



" This very barrenness, as the indication of exceptional dryness, fits it as a 

 station for special meteorological investigations, as do also its extremely pre- 

 cipitous character, and consequent abrupt rise from the plain." .... 



In a previous letter to the Chief Signal Officer, dated February 

 13, 1882, Prof. Langley remarked: " In case a Signal Service 

 Station be erected on Mt. Whitney, I would respectfully suggest 

 to the Chief Signal Officer that it should contain not only pro- 

 vision for the regular meteorological observations, but also for 

 the temporary accommodation of other scientific observers who 



"See Prof. Papers of Signal Service, No. 15, 1884, p. 9. 



