December 8, 1923] 



NA TURE 



845 



The Royal Society Anniversary Meeting. 



Institution' OF Research Professorships. 

 A T the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society 

 -^*- held on November 30, the report of the Council 

 was presented and the president, Sir Charles Sher- 

 rington, delivered his address. The report of the 

 Council refers mainly to the chief benefactions 

 made to the Society for the promotion of scientific 

 investigation. These are the gift of 100,000/. made 

 by Sir Alfred Yarrow in February last, a bequest 

 of 50,000/. by Dr. Ludwig Mond, which came to the 

 Society through the death of Mrs. Mond in May last, 

 500/. a year for at least five years from the Worship- 

 ful Company of Armourers and Brasiers, the Foulerton 

 gift of 20,000/. and the bequest by Miss L. A. Fouler- 

 ton of the residue of her estate, and the Messel 

 bequest of four-fifths of the residuary estate. The 



in proportion to the total incomes of these two funds. 

 It was further resolved on the recommendation of 

 this Committee that the chief remaining part of the 

 income from the various funds be used in the endow- 

 ment of certain Royal Society professorships, these 

 to be awarded to men only of proved ability for 

 independent research ; and regulations have been 

 adopted both for the endowment of these professor- 

 ships and for the endowment of scientific research 

 in other ways out of the residue of the various funds. 

 Detailed regulations for the administration of these 

 four funds and for the appointment to and tenure 

 of Royal Society research professorships have been 

 adopted by the Council, and a separate Committee has 

 been appointed to make recommendations as to the 

 administration of the Yarrow fund. 



Photo\ \Eliiott and Fry. Ltd. 



I'rof. .\. Kowler, profe!».sor of astropliysics, Imperial College 



of Science and Technology. 



Yakrow Rkshakch Pkofkssors of thk Royal Society. 



Mr. G. I. Taylor, fellow and lecturer in mathematics, 

 Trinity College, Cambridge. 



income from the present investments of the four 

 funds available for the endowment of scientific 

 research is approximately as follows : Foulerton 

 gift, 1000/. ; Foulerton bequest, 4050/. ; Messel 

 fund, 1575/. ; and Yarrow fund, 5450/. No income 

 has so far been regeived from the Mond fund, but, 

 according to the terms of the will, it is anticipated 



!iat there will be an annual income of about 2500/. 



Upon the receipt of Sir Alfred Yarrow's gift, a 

 committee was appointed by the Council to consider 

 and make recommendations as to the general use 

 and administration of the Foulerton, Messel, Yarrow, 

 and Mond funds. Following a recommendation of 

 this Committee, the Council resolved that in the 

 tirst place the remaining sums of 250/. to be paid 

 m respect of the yet unpublished volumes of the 

 Koyal Society Catalogue of Scientific Papers be paid 

 out of the income of the Mond fund, and that after 

 tliis the deficit of the Royal Society's publication 

 fund should be met each year by contributions from 

 10 Messel fund and from the Mond fund, the.se 



I )ntributions being made in so far as convenient 



Sir Charles Sherrington devoted his address 

 almost entirely to an account of the institution of 

 these research professorships and the policy adopted 

 by the Society in regard to this means of securing 

 the advancement of natural knowledge. It is felt 

 that professorships endowed in the way described, so 

 as to be mobile both as regards the University at 

 which they are held and the subject of research, 

 are of enormously greater value than professorships 

 or fellowships tieil for all time to a particular uni- 

 versity and a particular subject. 



The portions of the president's address referring 

 to the use of these endowments, and to the work of 

 this year's medallists, are printed below in a slightly 

 abridged form. 



Sir Charles Sherrington's Presidential 

 Address. 



At the anniversary meeting it cannot be out of 

 place to iterate the main object of the Society's 

 foundation — " the improvement of Natural Know. 



NO. 2823, VOL. I 12] 



