346 



NATURE 



[November io, 192 i 



never ceased urging the renewal of Antarctic 

 exploration. The difficulties in awakening interest 

 and raising the funds were great, especially for a 

 man of Bruce 's sensitive and retiring nature; but 

 he was dauntless, as ever, in the pursuit of his 

 aim. Largely through the liberality of the late 

 Mr. James Coats, of Paisley, and Major Andrew 

 Coats, but also by public subscription in Scotland, 

 sufficient funds were raised, and in 1902 the 

 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition sailed in 

 the Scotia for the Weddell Sea, returning in 1904. 

 The expedition, like all with which Bruce was 

 associated, had no record-breaking aims except 

 in the amount of scientific work to be accom- 

 plished. It devoted chief attention to oceano- 

 graphy, zoology, and meteorology. From all points 

 of view it was a great success. By the unexpected 

 discovery of Coats Land in lat. 74° S., some half- 

 million square miles were added to the area of 

 Antarctica. More than 10,000 miles of ocean were 

 sounded and investigated, and collections were 

 made in depths down to 3,000 fathoms. With the 

 single exception of the Challenger, the Scotia 

 collections have never been equalled in size and 

 importance. 



The expedition founded a meteorological station 

 at the South Orkneys, which has since been main- 

 tained by the Argentine Government. Later 

 attempts to organise a new Antarctic expedition 

 failed for want of funds ; but Bruce devoted him- 

 self to publishing the scientific results of the 

 Scotia expedition and the foundation of the Scot- 

 tish Oceanographical Laboratory ' in which he 

 hoped to see the nucleus of a great oceano- 

 graphical institute in Edinburgh. He also paid 

 repeated visits to Spitsbergen, exploring and 

 mapping in detail Prince Charles Foreland and 

 taking a leading part in the economic development 

 of the archipelago. 



Bruce received the gold medal of the Royal 

 Scottish Geographical Society (1904), the patron's 

 medal of the Royal Geographical Society (1910), 

 the Neill prize and gold medal of the Royal Society 

 of Edinburgh (1911-13), and the David Living- 

 stone centenary gold medal awarded by the Ameri- 

 can Geographical Society (1920). He was an 

 honorary LL.D. of Aberdeen (1907), and was 

 nominated by the, Prince of Monaco a member of 

 the committee of the Oceanographical Institute of 

 Paris. His publications include " Polar Explora- 

 tion " (1911), "The Weddell Sea: An Historical 

 Retrospect " (1917), and many zoological and 

 oceanographical papers in transactions of various 

 societies and in the Scotia results. 



No man could give himself more wholly to his 

 v.'ork than Bruce did, or ask for less reward : 

 publicity in any form was distasteful to him. He 

 shrank from a life lived in public, but he was 

 tireless in advancing Polar exploration even when 

 he himself could not share in the expedition con- 

 cerned. As a leader his indomitable spirit, invari- 

 able thoughtfulness for others, and cheery com- 

 radeship endeared him to all who served with 



NO. 2715, VOL. 108] 



him. His last instructions contain an appeal for 

 further Antarctic work in their directions that 

 after cremation his ashes are, if possible, to be 

 scattered in the South Atlantic ocean about 

 long. 10-15O E. in a high southern latitude, a 

 region where exploration is much needed. 



R. N. R. B. 



Prof. F. E. Armstrong. 



The death of Prof. F. E. Armstrong, which 

 occurred after a very brief illness on October 28, 

 deprives the University of Sheffield and the mining 

 mdustry of a man who had already rendered great 

 services to both and would have' rendered many 

 more had he lived. Born in 1879, the son of the 

 Rev. R. A. Armstrong, a Liverpool Unitarian 

 minister, Francis Edwin Armstrong was educated 

 at Giggles wick School and University College, 

 Liverpool. After spending some time in an elec- 

 trical engineering firm, he became an articled pupil 

 at the Tinsley Park Colliery, Sheffield, and after- 

 wards assistant to Mr. J. H. W. Laverick, 

 first in Derbyshire, and then in Warwickshire. In 

 1906 he went to Mexico to manage the collieries 

 of the late Sir Ernest Cassel, and also visited and 

 reported on mines in British Columbia. He re- 

 joined Mr. Laverick in Sheffield, and in 1913, 

 when acting as engineer to the Askern Coal and 

 Iron Co., Doncaster, he was appointed to the 

 chair of mining in the University of Sheffield, a 

 position which he was exceptionally well qualified 

 to fill, from his wide practical experience and theo- 

 retical knowledge. He was an admirable teacher, 

 and had a great influence among mining men of 

 the district in which he taught. In 1914 he volun- 

 teered for service with the Friends' Ambulance 

 Unit, and took his motor-car to France, where he 

 did useful work. In 1917 and 1918 he was head 

 of the Labour Section of the Coal Mines Depart- 

 ment of the Board of Trade, and in 1919 was 

 appointed a member of the committee on miners' 

 lamps. His work on this subject was of great 

 value to the committee, and was still proceeding. 



Kindly and generous, with an ardent love of 

 justice. Prof. Armstrono- was keenly interested in 

 social, political, and religious questions, quietlv 

 and unobtrusively taking an active part in many 

 movements of reform. He worked unselfishlv, 

 without thought of reward, and might have played 

 an important part in the regeneration of the coal- 

 mining industry. His early and unexpected death 

 came as a shock to his colleagues and students, 

 whose affection and esteem he had won by his 

 kindness and high moral character. 



C. H. D. 



The death is announced, on November 4, at 

 thirty-seven years of age, of Mr.' Herman Sloog, 

 honorary secretary of the Groupe Inter-Universi- 

 taire Franco-Britannique, the Society des In- 

 g^nieurs Civils de France, and the Office National 

 des Universit^s et Ecoles Francaises. 



