452 



NATURE 



[December I, 1921 



July next, and not later than July 25, to the Senior 

 Tutor, who will supply further particulars on request. 

 At a meeting of the council of the Association of 

 University Teachers, held on November 25 at Bedford 

 College, Regent's Park, the following resolution was 

 carried unanimously : — "That this council of the Asso- 

 ciation of University Teachers has heard with dismay 

 the proix)sal of the Lords Commissioners of the 

 Treasury to reduce the annual grant in aid of univer- 

 sity education by 300,000/., and protests against the 

 proposal on the ground that it will seriously hamper 

 the work of the universities, impair their efficiency, 

 and in consequence retard their development in the 

 future to the great loss of the nation." Prof. J. 

 Strong, president of the association, stated that the 

 present annual grant from the Treasury to the uni- 

 versities was about one-fifth of the total annual grant 

 for education and one-thousandth part of the revenue 

 of the country. 



The calendar for 1921-22 of University College, 

 London, provides a complete summary of the multi- 

 farious courses of instruction which are available 

 during the present session at that college. Particulars 

 are given of the teaching staff in each department, 

 and by means of a series of reference numbers and 

 letters a time-table has been constructed from which 

 information can be obtained as to the exact lectures 

 which students are advised to attend for the various 

 courses suitable for London University degrees. The 

 fellowships, scholai ships, and prizes administered by 

 the college are also recorded, together with the regula- 

 tions affecting each. A number of appendices com- 

 plete the volume, one of which is devoted to the 

 Provost's report on the past session. As many as 

 3005 students were attending courses, a number which 

 placed a heaw burden on the members of the teaching 

 staff. In spite of this, however, a list of more than 

 280 original publications stands to their credit, show- 

 ing that they still found time to make considerable 

 contributions to the progress of knowledge. 



The Board of Education has published (Rules 100, 

 192 1, 2d.) particulars of a scheme in accordance with 

 which arrangements have been made between the 

 Board and the Institute of Chemistry for the award 

 of national certificates in chemistry to students in 

 technical schools and colleges in England and Wales. 

 Under this scheme the institute, in conjunction with 

 the Board, will approve schemes of training sub- 

 mitted bv the technical schools or colleges for the 

 award 6f certificates for part-time and full-time 

 grouped courses, including, in addition to chemistry, 

 suitable courses in physics, mathematics, and cognate 

 subjects. Courses for part-time course certificates will 

 be designated " Senior " for the ordinary certificate 

 and "Advanced" for the higher certificate. Courses 

 for full-time course certificates will be suitable for 

 students who have attended a secondary school up 

 to the age of sixteen years, and will include physics, 

 mathematics, and one or more modern languages, 

 and mav include other cognate subjects. These 

 certificates will be awarded in chemistry and in 

 applied chemistry. Admission to the course in ap- 

 plied chemistry 'will be restricted to students who 

 have satisfactorilv completed a full-time course in 

 chemistry or another course approved by the institute 

 and by the Board. The training for the full-time 

 course certificate in chemistry must extend over at 

 least three vears, while for that in applied chemistry 

 at least one vear will be required. The council of 

 the institute will consider at a later date whether 

 and how far the training and the higher certificates 

 should be recognised as qualifying for admission to 

 the examination for the assoriateship of the institute. 

 NO. 2718, VOL. 108] 



Calendar of Scientific Pioneers. 



December 1, 1866. Sir George Everest died.— 



Entering the East India Company in 1806 as a cadet, 

 Everest in 1823 succeeded Lambton as superintendent 

 of the Trigonometrical Survey of India. Under his 

 direction the measurement of the arc of meridian from 

 Cape Comorin to the north of India was completed. 

 His name was given ^ to the great peak in the 

 Himalayas. 



December 2, 1897. Friedrich August Theodor Win- 

 necke died. — Of Winnecke Gill remarked that he was 

 unquestionably the greatest teacher of practical astro- 

 nomy since the days of Bessel. From 1872 to 1882 

 he was director of the obser\'ator}- at Strassburg. 



December 3, 1920. Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney 

 died. — Besides being prominent in all branches of 

 photography, which he did much to develop, Abney did 

 valuable work on spectroscopy, photometry, light, and 

 vision. He served for twenty years in the Royal 

 Engineers, and from 1884 occupied important posi- 

 tions in connection with public education at the De- 

 partment of Science and Art and the Board of^ 

 Education. j 



December 4, 1798. Luigi Galvani died.— While lec- 

 turer in anatomy in the L'niyersitv of Bologna, 

 Galvani made many experiments in muscular con-j 

 traction through electrical influence, and in 1791 pub- 

 lished his " De Viribus Electricitatis. . . ," 



December 4, 1893. John Tyndall died.— Cor 

 mencing life as a railway engineer, Tyndall, ii 

 1853, at the age of thirty-three, became professor of 

 natural philosophy at the Royal Institution, a post 

 he held until 1887. Like Huxley a fearless champion 

 of freedom of thought, he was widely known for his 

 work on diathermancy, diamagnetism, and the flow 

 of glaciers, his lectures, and his books, among which 

 was "Heat, a Mode of Motion," while as a moun- 

 taineer he was the first to ascend the Weisshorn. 



December 5, 1859. Louis Poinsot died.— A student, 

 professor, and examiner of the Ecole Polytechnique, 

 Poinsot, in 1803 published his "Elements de 

 Statique," which contained his theory of couples, and 

 in 1834 his "Th^orie nouvelle de la rotation des 

 corps," dealing with the motion of a rigid body. 



December 5. 1902. Johannes WIsllcenus died.— The 

 successor of Strecker at Wurzburg, and of Kolbe at 

 Leipzig, Wislicenus devoted himself to organic 

 chemistry, and did pioneer work in stereochemistry. 

 December 6, 1771. Giovanni Battista ^^orgagni died. 

 —The founder of pathological anatomy, Morgagni was 

 a professor at Padua. In 1761, in his eightieth year, 

 he published the result of his life's work, " Anatomi^^ 

 cal Researches into the Seats and Causes of Disease." 

 December 6, 1799. Joseph Black died.— Called by 

 Fourcrov "the Nestor of the chemistry- of the 

 eighteenth century," Black made his two great dis- 

 coveries of carbonic acid and latent heat in 1754 and 

 1761 respectively, and to him is due the principle of 

 specific heats. As a student he was much influenced 

 by Cullen, whom he succeeded in the chairs of 

 chemistry at Glasgow and at Edinburgh. The date of 

 his death is often given erroneously as No\-ember 10 

 or November 26. 



December 7, 1912. Sir George Howard Darwin died. 

 —The second son of the great naturalist, Darwm, from 

 1883, was Plumian professor of astronomy and _ex^ 

 perimental philosophy at Cambridge, His principal 

 researches related to gravitational and tidal problems, 

 and the stability of planetary orbits. He was 

 knighted in 1005', and in 191 1 received the Copley 

 medal of the Roval Society. E. C. S. 



