244 



NATURE 



[August i8, 1923 



Obit 



Prof. C. Niven, F.R.S. 



PROF. CHARLES NIVEN was born in September 

 1845, and was one of four brothers who achieved 

 the distinction of being wranglers. He entered the 

 University of Aberdeen as a student in 1859, gradu- 

 ated there with first class honours in mathematics and 

 natural philosophy. In 1863 he proceeded to Trinity 

 College, Cambridge, and in 1867 was senior wrangler. In 

 the same year he was elected a fellow of Trinity College 

 and was appointed professor of mathematics at Cork. 



It was during the tenure of the professorship at Cork 

 that the greater part of Prof. Niven's contributions 

 to mathematical and physical science was published. 

 Between 1868 and 1880 he produced thirteen papers on 

 various subjects. His first paper, on the application 

 of Lagrange's equations to the solution of questions of 

 impact, was published in the Messenger of Mathe- 

 matics in 1868, and, although the method is implicitly 

 involved in Lagrange's general dynamical scheme, its 

 effectiveness in dealing with problems of impulsive 

 motions had previously not been adequately appreci- 

 ated. This paper was followed by three papers on 

 the wave surface, a paper on rotatory polarisation in 

 isotropic media published in the Quarterly Journal of 

 Mathematics, papers on the mathematical theory of 

 elasticity in the Transactions of the Royal Society 

 of Edinburgh, the Quarterly Journal of Mathe- 

 matics, and the Philosophical Magazine, and a 

 paper on a method of finding the parallax of double 

 stars, and on the displacement of the lines in the 

 spectrum of a planet, published in the Monthly Notices 

 of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 1879 he com- 

 municated a paper on the conduction of heat in ellips- 

 oids of revolution to the Royal Society, and in 1880 

 a paper on the induction of electric currents in infinite 

 plates and spherical shells ; both papers were pub- 

 lished in the Philosophical Transactions. These two 

 papers are the most outstanding of Prof. Niven's 

 writings ; the analytical skill exhibited in them is very 

 great, and the results obtained are of importance. 



In 18^ Prof. Niven was appointed to the chair of 

 natural philosophy in the University of Aberdeen. 

 The demands made on his time by the duties of his 

 professorship and the development of the department 

 appear to have prevented him from pursuing his 

 researches farther. In 191 7, however, he sent to the 

 Admiralty a paper on the theory of the location of 

 sound in water, which was of service in connexion with 

 the campaign against submarines, but the paper was 

 never published. His tenure of the chair at Aberdeen 

 extended from 1880 to 1922, and during that time the 

 department of natural philosophy increased greatly ; 

 in 1880 it was housed at King's College with very 

 inadequate laboratory accommodation, but later it was 

 removed to Marischal College, where new and extended 

 accommodation was provided. The provision of the 

 new laboratories and other rooms for the natural 

 philosophy department at Marischal College was very 

 largely due to Prof. Niven's initiative and energy, and 

 their successful completion added greatly to the effici- 

 ency of the department. When natural philosophy 

 was taught at King's College, only a small number of 

 the students obtained any training in experimental 

 work ; with the extended accommodation it became 



NO. 2807, VOL. 112] 



u a r y. 



possible to give experimental training to a larger 

 number of students and to a greater extent. Addi- 

 tional lecture courses for students proceeding to an 

 honours degree were also instituted. 



In March 1922, Prof. Niven developed a serious 

 illness from which he never fully recovered. He retired 

 from the professorship at the end of September 1922, 

 and his many friends hoped that he might enjoy a 

 period of well-earned leisure, but after a few months 

 free from work he died on May 1 1 . 



Mr. E. J. Banfield 



The Melbourne Argus announces the death, in May 

 or June last, of Mr. E. J. Banfield, at the age of 

 seventy-one. Mr. Banfield was bom in Liverjxjol on 

 September 4, 1852, and was the son of Mr. J. W. Ban- 

 field, of Ararat, Victoria. After having been occupied 

 for some years as a journalist, he retired in 1897, with 

 his wife, to Dunk Island, in lat. 17° 55' S., between the 

 Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland coast. Here 

 he lived the life of a recluse, occupied in cultivating 

 tropical produce, and in observing Nature, but he found 

 time to describe his experiences in three books, " Con- 

 fessions of a Beachcomber " (1908), " My Tropic 

 Isle " (191 1), and " Tropic Days " (1918). 



The " Confessions of a Beachcomber " gives an 

 attractive picture of Mr. Banfield's life on Dunk 

 Island. It describes something of his success in adapt- 

 ing himself to his novel surroundings, alone with his 

 wife except for a few natives, and it reveals him as a 

 man of lovable nature, with a pleasant sense of humour, 

 and as an acute observer of Nature. The book is full 

 of the sunshine and luxuriance of the tropics. In 

 vivid word-pictures it describes the birds which visit 

 some gorgeous tree to feed on its honey or its fruit, 

 the productiveness of the banana or the papaw, the 

 habits of stick-insects or leaf-rolling ants, of dugongs, 

 turtles, and sucking-fish, and many more of the charms 

 of the tropics. Wherever Mr. Banfield records his 

 observations he has something instructive to say ; and 

 in many cases his narrative is as entertaining as truthful. 

 He tells us that his retirement was prompted by his 

 wish to put into practical operation his regard for the 

 welfare of bird and plant life. " Man destroys birds 

 for sport, or in mere wantonness, and the increasing 

 m}Tiads of insect hosts lay such toll upon his crops and 

 the fruit of the earth which by the exercise of high 

 intelligence and noble perseverance he has improved 

 and made plentiful, that the national loss is to be 

 counted by hundreds of thousands." 



Under Mr. Banfield's rule Dunk Island became a 

 sanctuary for birds, many of which became bold and 

 familiar. He did not hesitate to incur financial losses 

 in order to remain true to his principles. A promising 

 attempt at bee-keeping was relinquished because of 

 the depredations of two species of bee-eating birds, 

 which he would not interfere with in order to save his 

 bees. His death, which took place on the island, was 

 reported by a passing steamer, to which his wife had 

 signalled for assistance. His writings are well worth 

 the attention of zoologists, botanists, and ethnologists, 

 who will find them to contain much that is illuminating 

 and interesting. S. F, H. 



