July 28, 192 1] 



NATURE 



701 



warn us that modern civilisation is at the cross-roads 

 of its destiny. Unless, by some deflection of its recent 

 purpose, power can be concentrated - upon the con- 

 structive works of peace, it will destroy civilisation by 

 w^ar. At this moment the Middle Ages seem to 

 whisper once more the message of an ideal which in 

 modern times most men have discarded or have tried, 

 however- wistfully, to forget. In industry men begin 

 to think of the medieval guilds. In art the naive 

 sinceritv of the primitive painters inspires some of 

 those moderns whose pictures are religious. In 

 politics men speculate as to the possibility of a 

 Council of the Peoples which may recognise -nation- 

 hood, but allay its rivalries. We cannot go back to 

 the Middle Ages and become medieval in all our 

 thought and way of life. But it is possible that the 

 future may blend some medieval ideas with those 

 derived from the age of power, and that what is 

 perilous in some modern tendencies may be trans- 

 muted by a rediscovery of some aspects of truth better 

 known to the medieval than to the modern mind. To 

 the medieval thinker three mysterious powers sus- 

 tained, bv their harmonious working, the life of 

 Christendom. They were called the priesthood, the 

 Empire, and the university : Sacerdotium, Imperium, 

 and Studium. For all three in a form adapted to 

 modern needs the modern world may find a place. 



The recent annual meeting of the council of the 

 Association of University Teachers was held at Bed- 

 ford College, London, and was well attended by dele- 

 gates from the various university institutions of Eng- 

 land and Wales. The president, Prof. John Strong, 

 of the University of Leeds, in his retiring address 

 indicated the general aims of the association, the lines 

 on which it has been working, the progress made, 

 and some of the more important problems opening up. 

 The primary aims were the advancement of knowledge 

 and the furtherance of the interests of the universi- 

 ties. So long as the universities were in difficulties 

 regarding finance, so long would their work suffer. 

 Such questions as teachers' salaries and superannua- 

 tion were, under present conditions, insistent. The 

 superannuation question had not been settled by the 

 recent grant from the Treasury, nor was the problem 

 of salaries yet solved, although progress towards a 

 solution was apparent. Apart from these, other and 

 equallv serious questions were arising. The relation 

 of the universities to the State and to the local 

 authorities would demand more and more serious con- 

 sideration. While greater financial support from the 

 Government was imperative, the matter of similar 

 and more uniform support from the local education 

 authorities was urgent. The suggestion of a uniform 

 local rate being levied upon all the local education 

 authorities had much to be said in its favour, but. 

 among other things, it would mean increased local 

 representation. Consideration of these points gave 

 rise to the question of the possible Infringement of the 

 present autonomy of the universities — a matter of vital 

 Importance to the teaching Jjodv. Any such possibili- 

 ties would have to be watched carefully by the uni- 

 versities. The officers and executive committee for 

 the coming vear were elected as fol'ows : — President : 

 Prof. John Strong (Leeds). Vice-Presidents: Prof. 

 McBain (Bristol) and Mr. F. Boulden (Sheffield). 

 Treasurer: Asst. Prof. Tabor (Imperial College). 

 Hon. General Secretary: Mr. R. D. Laurie (Abervst- 

 wvth). Executive Committee: Prof. Calder (Man- 

 chester), Prof. Dame Helen Gwvnne-Vaughan (Blrk- 

 beck College), Mr. Haigh (Reading). Miss Halket 

 CBedford College). Prof. Lea (Birmingham^ Prof. 

 Mair (Liverpool), Mr. Monahan (Leeds), Prof. Orton 

 CBangor), Asst. Prof. Philpot (Unlversltv College, 

 London), and Prof. Truscott" ^Imperial College). 



NO. 2700, VOL. 107] 



Calendar of Scientific Pioneers. 



July 28, 1818. Gaspard Monge, Comte de Peluse, 

 died. — The creator of descriptive geometry, Monge 

 was a prominent figure through the whole of the 

 Revolutionary period. He had a great share in 

 founding the Ecole Poly technique, and, like 

 Berthollet, was a favourite of Napoleon. At the 

 Restoration he was expelled from the Institute on 

 account of his having voted for the death of Louis XYI. 



July 29, 1751. Benjamin Robins died. — A mathe- 

 matician of distinction, Robins Invented the ballistic 

 pendulum and carried out a series of experiments 

 which marks an era in the history of gunnery. He 

 died at Madras as chief engineer to the East India 

 Company. 



July 29, 1869. Joseph Beete Jukes died. — A favourite 

 pupil of Sedgwick, Jukes became naturalist to H.M.S. 

 Fly In Australia (1842-46), and from 1850 was direc- 

 tor of the Geological Survey of Ireland. 



July 29, 1885. Henri Milne-Edwards died.— Milne- 

 Edwards filled the chairs of entomology, zoology, and 

 physiology at the Jardin des Plantes, studied the 

 natural history of the coasts of France and Sicily, and 

 wrote valuable works on the Crustacea, on the corals, 

 and on physiology and comparative anatomy. 



July 29, 1898. John Alexander Renia Newiands died, 

 — One of the first to indicate that the properties of 

 the elements are related to their atomic weights, 

 Newiands practised in London as an analytical 

 chemist. 



July 30, 1832. Jean Antoine Chaptal, Comte de 

 Chanteloup, died. — A member of a wealthy family, 

 Chaptal engaged in practical chemistry^ and during 

 the Revolution superintended the manufacture of gun- 

 powder. Under Napoleon he served as Minister of 

 Instruction, and did much to further the Industrial 

 arts and manufactures of France. 



July 30, 1913. John Milne died. — For twenty years 

 professor of geology and mining at the Imperial Col- 

 lege of Englneenng, Tokyo, Milne made an exhaus- 

 tive study of earthquakes. He founded the Seismo- 

 logical Society of Japan, invented various Instruments, 

 and contributed numerous papers on seismology to the 

 British Association and other bodies. 



July 31, 1839. Gaspard Clair Francois Marie Riche, 

 Baron de Pronv. died. — A famous member of the Corps 

 des Ponts et Chaussees, Prony during the Revolution 

 directed the compilation of extensive logarithmic 

 tables. He became a professor at the Ecole Poly- 

 technique, and was employed on many civil engineer- 

 ing works of importance. The Prony friction 

 dynamometer was his invention. 



August 1, 1769. Jean Chappe d'Auteroche died. — An 

 assistant astronomer of the Paris Academy of Sciences, 

 the Abb^ Chappe d'Auteroche observed the transit of 

 Venus of 1761 at Tobolsk, Siberia, and that of 1769 

 at St. Joseph, California, where he died of fever 

 brought on bv his exertions in the interest of science. 



August 2, 1823. Lazare Nicholas Marguerite Carnot 

 died.— Carnot began life as a mllltani' engineer. He 

 helped to found the Ecole Polytechnlque, and was one 

 of the first members of the Instltut de France. His 

 work of 1803, "Geometrle de position," gives him a 

 place beside' Monge and Poncelet as one of the founders 

 of modern geometry, and as a military engineer he is 

 remembered for his great work on fortifications. 



August 3, 1770. Guiilaume Francois Rouelle died.— 

 As professor of chemistry In the Jardin du Rol, Rouelle 

 attracted much attention by his lectures and his new 

 ideas. Lavoisier and Proust were amcxig his pupils. 



E. C. S. 



