NATURE 



[June 24, 1922 



F. W. Sanderson. 

 Mr. Frederick William Sanderson, headmaster 

 of Oundle School, whose tragic death occurred on 

 Thursday, June 15, at the close of an address to the 

 National Union of Scientific Workers on " The Duty 

 and Service of Science in the New Era/' made a deep 

 and lasting impression upon scientific education in this 

 country. He had just concluded his address, and 

 Mr. H. G. Wells, who presided, had described him as 

 the greatest headmaster that ever lived, when he slid 

 from the chair in which he was sitting, and a few 

 minutes later died from heart failure. Mr. Sanderson, 

 who was born on May 13, 1857, was nth wrangler 

 at Cambridge in 1882, and assistant master at Dulwich 

 College from 1885 to 1892, when he was appointed head- 

 master of Oundle School, Northants, which he trans- 

 formed from a small and relatively unknown institution 

 to a great and leading educational power. No Public 

 School in the kingdom possesses such laboratories and 

 workshops, and in none is it possible for a boy to b'e 

 better prepared for worthy citizenship in a modern 

 community. In all subjects Mr. Sanderson introduced 

 methods of instruction which are both effective and 



stimulating. The practical method of teaching science 

 is combined with lessons on the romance of the subject 

 and points of contact with the action of Nature and the 

 work of man in everyday life : library research is 

 encouraged in connection with history and literature : 

 English by reciting and acting an adapted play of 

 Shakespeare's every term: languages by direct methods, 

 and so on throughout the curriculum. Mr. Sanderson 

 was not only an original thinker but also a tireless ex- 

 perimenter in educational methods, and his breadth of 

 interest was so great that the classical and literar)'' work 

 at Oundle is as distinctive as that in science. The spirit 

 of it all is that of education for service — creativeness 

 rather than personal possession — and Mr. Sanderson's 

 last words were a plea for this uplifting principle in 

 every school. Oundle remains a noble monument to- 

 his high ideals and their successful achievement. 



We much regret to see the announcement of the 

 death, on June 18, of Prof. J. C. Kapteyn, foreign 

 member of the Royal Society and professor of astronomy 

 and mechanics in the University of Groningen, Holland. 



Current Topics 



Dire experience, in the form of aerial disasters, is 

 emphasising the fact that the new form of locomotion 

 possesses points of difficulty, and that the complexity 

 of the problems presented is unparalleled in any of 

 the older branches of transport. In delivering the 

 annual lecture in memory of W^ilbur Wright before 

 the Royal Astronomical Society on June 15, Mr. Alec 

 Ogilvie dealt with some aspects of the problem, and 

 his address contains the following striking paragraph : 

 " It is not m}^ wish to exaggerate the importance to 

 the world's knowledge of aeronautical research of 

 the Wright brothers, but it is my desire to lay the 

 strongest emphasis on the lesson to be learnt there- 

 from — namely, that the whole basis of aeronautical 

 progress rests on genuine research in the laboratory, 

 on the development of mathematical lines of attack, 

 and on full scale research work in the field, and cannot 

 possibly rest only or even mainly upon technical 

 development." The lecturer said that the national 

 effort put into aerial research was now far below the 

 pre-war standard, and that the importance of funda- 

 mental research is not grasped by those in authority 

 in this country. It may be recalled that the Royal 

 Aeronautical Society, to which Mr. Ogilvie was speak- 

 ing, has taken an active part in bringing the views 

 of scientific aviation to the notice of the Air Ministry, 

 and is the accepted representative body for that 

 purpose. Moreover, during the later stages of the 

 war, when aviation was taking a leading part in 

 fighting operations, Mr. Ogilvie was responsible to 

 the Air Board for its new designs of aeroplane, and 

 this lends additional interest to his statement that 

 " our rapid technical development during the war 

 period, in which we as a nation overtook both friends 

 and enemies after starting a long way behind, was 

 mainly due to the solid research work which was 



NO. 2747, VOL. 109] 



and Events. 



done in the laboratories of this country between 1909 

 and 1914. It appears to me, however, that there is 

 some danger that the real lessons of the past have 

 not been understood and taken to heart." Mr. 

 Ogilvie claimed for the Wright brothers a greater 

 measure of praise for their demonstration of the firm 

 structure of knowledge than for their superior skill and 

 technique. The latter has hitherto been appreciated 

 and the former neglected, but indications, still only 

 straws, seem to point to a more even balance between 

 research and technique in the immediate future of 

 aviation. 



The Mount Everest expedition has made another 

 new record in altitude. The Times announces that 

 Messrs. Finch and Bruce with one Gurkha camped at 

 25,000 ft. for two nights and, employing oxygen, 

 finally attained an altitude of 27,200 ft. This is 

 400 ft. above the record reached by Messrs. Mallory, 

 Somervell, and Norton on May 21, and only 1800 ft. 

 below the summit of Mount Everest. The Times also 

 publishes a long despatch from General Bruce, giving 

 details of the organisation of camps and transport on 

 the Rongbuk glacier and Chang La (North Col). The 

 route to the highest camp, at Chang La, was very 

 trjdng, and imsettled weather added to the difficulties, 

 but each camp was made self-complete with stores 

 and equipment, the Chang La camp having food for 

 ten British and a large number of porters, besides a 

 full Alpine kit and the oxygen apparatus. It has been 

 proved that up to 25,000 ft. a camp can be established 

 without employing oxygen, and this gives considerable 

 hope for the final assault on the summit. In the same 

 despatch Mr. Mallory gives an account of the climb 

 from Chang La camp to 26,000 ft. This altitude was 

 reached without much more physical discomfort than 



