October 27, 1923] 



NA TURE 



629 



commenced work with this instrument as soon as the 

 clockwork had been somewhat improved^ and a photo- 

 graphic survey was made of the great star cluster in 

 Perseus and pu Wished in a paper by Ball and Rambaut 

 in the Trans. R. Irish Academy. Soon after, in the 

 autumn of 1892, Ball left lor ('ainl)ridge and Rambaut 

 was appointed to surreed him us Andrews professor of 

 astronomy and Royal Astronomer of Ireland. During 

 the next five years he continued his photographic work, 

 but under great difficulties and with long interruptions, 

 as the mounting, clockwork, and the dome under 

 which the instrument was h()us("d were all found to be 

 useless and had to be replaced by others. 



In 1897 Rambaut left Dunsink to take up the post of 

 Radcliffe Observer at Oxford. Up to that time the 

 Radclif^e Observatory had been devoted almost 

 altogether to meridian work, and the observations made 

 since 1839 had been regularly published. But a vast 

 number of observations made in the years 1774 to 1838 

 had never been prepared for publication, and Rambaut 

 spent a good deal of time examining them. He showed 

 that they had been carefully made and would be worth 

 printing, but he did not succeed in obtaining the neces- 

 sary means for reducing and printing these old observa- 

 tions. In the meantime the Radcliffe Trustees decided 

 to procure a first-class instrument for astronomical 

 photography, and a tower was built in the grounds of 

 the observatory, surmounted by a dome 32 feet in 

 diameter. In this was, in 1902, erected a photographic 

 instrument by Sir Howard Grubb, consisting of a photo- 

 graphic refractor of 24 inches aperture and an iS-inrh 

 refractor for visual work. In 1904 stellar parallax w oik 

 was commenced, arranged according to the programnu' 

 proposed by Kapteyn and in consultation with him, and 

 this work has been continued ever since. A volume of 

 the Radcliffe Observations published about a month 

 ago contains the resulting parallaxes of 2400 stars in 

 addition to full descriptions of the instrument and 

 measuring apparatus. 



-More than a year ago Rambaut was attacked by 

 illnf>s. from which he never reco\-t'rf(l. It was tliere- 

 fore \cr)- fortunate that the chief work of his life had 

 been completed. He will be much misstd by tht n 

 frien''- '"'- - heerful and kindly disposition had won , ^ 

 hit: :(1. He lca\(- a widow and thitc >oii- to 



mom 11 111- loss. J. L'. E. 1). 



I)k. J. A. IInrki R. O.i;.!-.. F.R.S. 

 John Ai.M'.n IIakki.k w.l-^ hoin a! Alston. Cunihcr 

 land, on Ianuar\- 2},. 1S70. and died at lIiL;h:Mtf 01 



Ooinhcr I' 



a! th.' 1 



,,i> thn.> onl\^ in hi-, lift \ loin 1 h 



•.ith, 'I'hr i'lhn 



(1 1 ).ihon srhojar in 



llarkcr .^|r \\\\\v time in 



with ^hli^1,lll ii- hirnaio. and in « ollal loial ion 



with ('h:ippiii , ont in i (joo a chi , .jc i<iiii]);iri :' ai 



<it t fi pkiliiniin i ■ 



thi • ■ National I'h', 



luon-iit into hriii'j at it^ I 



tory, and Dr. Harker was one of the little band of 

 devoted workers whom Sir Richard Glazebrook 

 gathered round him at the beginning of the great 

 endeavour which resulted in the present institution at 

 Teddington. Harker became chief of the thermometry 

 branch of the Physics Department. His work over 

 a period of the next ten years is largely reflected in 

 a series of valuable papers, mostly on high tempera- 

 ture measurement, for which he received the F.R.S. 

 in 1910. At the International Petroleum Congress 

 at Vienna in 1912 he was the dclr-ate of the British 

 Government. His researciu s with \\". Y. Higgins on 

 flash-points of oils enabled him to make valuable 

 contributions to the discussions. In association witli 

 the present writer, Dr. Harker subsequently worked 

 on the thermionics of high-temperature furnaces — 

 a subject on which he gave a Friday evening discourse 

 at the Royal Institution. In 1913 he went for several 

 months to Eskdalemuir Observatory as temporary 

 superintendent. 



When the War broke out Harker was lent by the 

 National Physical Laboratory to tlie Inventions 

 Department of the Ministry of Munitions, and became 

 director of the research laboratory and was responsible 

 for the organisation of the work of the Nitrogen Pro- 

 ducts Committee. In this capa( ity lu- \isited Canada 

 and the United States in 1918, and was on board the 

 Cunard liner Afidanta when she was torpedoed off 

 northern Ireland. On that occasion a generous act of 

 self-sacrifice undoubtedly aggravated the ill effects of 

 the exposure on his constitution. Harker also went 

 on similar missions to Norway, Sweden, and France. 

 lie received the O.B.E. in recognition of his valuable 

 War services. 



After tlie War, Harker returned to Teddington for a 

 brief ))erio(l hrlore setting up as a consulting engineer 

 with Dr. J. h\ Crowley in Westminster, lie was a 

 vice-president of the Faraday Sociel\ . and hiad ser\ ed 

 on the Comiiil of the Physical Soeiet\. lb' wa-> a 

 prominent nu ndier of, among otliers. the Oxx-en 

 Committee and the Gas Cylinders Committet' ol tlie 

 "Re^carrli 1 )epartmcnt. 



ilarktr wa^ a man of -real scieiititie keennos and 



,1 ini:hl\- -tr ' \cr\ likeable personalit\. who 



will he urea; li\- hi^ friends, lie posse>sed a 



ureat fund oi ,^: iiniitie reminiset'iiees. 'rhoni:h newr 

 of robust ph\>i']ne. hv did not hesitate to make trequt'nt 

 inroads on his re>er\ c o\ ner\ on^ (•ner;^\ . 1 lis dex'otion 

 to his War duties (loiihtles> Mixed \'> nndermiiK' his 

 constitution, and 

 in duration, lie 



at the end his illne 

 married Ada. tlie 



.s was om 

 damditer 



lioma-^ l\! 



id three d, 



I in en on S,il urd.i\ 



inatioM ti 



t )(t 

 (il, 



I Ml 

 iratoi 



d >t,ilt 



\ slinrt 



ot the 

 id two 

 k plare 

 il'cr 1 ^ .\inonL;' 

 n/.l.rook ,md .'^ir 

 nton I rpi(->ented 

 h. am! Mr. V . II. 

 it the \,itional 

 G. W. C. K \vi . 



\\ 1, 



Ko\ 

 ( )\loi, 



K'. \ 



:u Irnutv 



iiihhii 



NO. 281 7, VOL. I 1 2 J 



