98 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



In 1910 the Henry Draper Medal was awarded to Mr. 

 Charles Greeley Abbot, Director of the Smithsonian Astrophys- 

 ical Observatory " for his researches on the infra-red region 

 of the solar spectrum and his accurate measurements, by im- 

 proved devices, of the solar ' constant ' of radiation." '"' The 

 medal was presented to Mr. Abbot at the annual dinner, April 

 19, 191 1. Five years having elapsed since the last award of the 

 Barnard Medal, a committee of the Academy recommended 

 that it be given in 1910 to Dr. Ernest Rutherford, Langworthy 

 Professor of Physics and Director of the Physical Laboratory 

 in the University of Manchester, for his investigations on the 

 phenomena of radio-activity. The committee remarked, in part, 

 as follows : 



" Prof. Rutherford has been identified with this branch of physical science 

 since its inception by the discovery of the so-called X-rays in 1895. His 

 researches, published in numerous communications to current journals, appear 

 to have contributed more than those of any contemporary to the establishment 

 of the salient properties of radio-active substances. Not content w^ith the experi- 

 mental determination and verification of these properties, he has recently gone 

 further and pointed out the convincing evidence they afford of the correctness of 

 the ancient doctrine of the atomic structure of matter. In addition to his con- 

 tributions in this field of investigation of many original, ingenious, and pene- 

 trating methods of observation and measurement, he has also furnished the best 

 general account of its origin, development, and present status in his book on 

 Radio-active Transformations (published in 1906) and in his presidential address 

 read before the section of mathematics and physics of the British Association for 

 the Advancement of Science, in August, 1909." ^"* 



The medal was awarded to Professor Rutherford, in accord- 

 ance with the recommendation of the committee. 



The Academy was represented at the meeting of the council of 

 the International Association of Academies held in Rome in June, 

 1909, by the chairman of the Committee on International Cooper- 

 ation in Research, Professor George E. Hale, who was also the 

 delegate to the Darwin Celebration at the University of Cam- 

 bridge, June 22 to 24, 1909. The committee recommended that 

 the Academy should vote in favor of admitting the Swiss Society 



™ Rep. Nat. Acad. Sci. foi 1910, p. 12. 

 '" Loc. ciU, p. 14. 



