4A,§^ 



NATURE 



[March 7, 1901 



qjublications of the Royal Dublin Society, of which he 

 •was secretary for about ten years, many short condensed 

 opape^s, on the optical and electric influence of the Earth's 

 'motion, on the amount of the electric radiation from an 

 •alternating current, on a model illustrating the properties 

 of the aether, all of which went straight without super- 

 fliwua analysis to the core of the matter on hand, and 

 -eminently merit Mr. Heaviside's description {infra) as 

 "not large in bulk, but very choice and original." At 

 tt^^; present time, after so much progress has been made 

 in the abstruse but fundamental topics with which they 

 deal, these pioneering papers, like Maxwell's Treatise 

 ■op which they are based, still repay careful study. It is 

 much to be desired that they may soon be republished 

 in more accessible form, along with their author's other 

 -scattered writings. 



• As years passed, the calls on his time became more 

 numerous, in the tender care of his family, in the dis- 

 charge of public duties, and in response to requests for 

 afivice froni an ever-widening circle of devoted scientific 

 friends ; so that his opportunities for continuous study al- 

 most disappeared. But heal ways managed to keep wonder- 

 fully abreast of scientific progress in a very wide range of 

 knowledge, and spent most of his spare time in deeply pon- 

 dering over its meaning. The scientific public of this coun- 

 try was placed very early in touch with Hertz's magnificent 

 and decisive verification of electrodynamic theory, through 

 the attention commanded by FitzGerald's brilliant ex- 

 position in his British Association address of 1888. It 

 w^s fitting that this should come from him ; for, as Lord 

 Kqlvin has recalled, he had five years before pointed out 

 'to the British Association the possibilities of the very 

 pl^n of obtaining electric radiation of manageable wave- 

 length which in Hertz's hands has led to success. His 

 o>vn activity became more and more absorbed in the 

 administration of the College laboratory, rendered more 

 arduous by limited funds and distance from other scientific 

 •centres, and in the promotion of the practical and tech- 

 nical side of physical science. Yet he still followed very 

 closely the progress of abstract mathematical physics ; 

 haridly any one could be named who had thought more 

 deeply, or whose knowledge was more available and 

 many-sided, more entirely free from all prepossession or 

 prejudice. At the meeting of the British Association 

 last September he was, as usual, present, and was of 

 cpurse one of the prominent figures ; the writer, speaking 

 ,from full knowledge, can testily that the proceedings of 

 the physical section were interesting and successful from 

 onj? cause beyond all others — the assiduity with which he 

 djeypted himself to attendance, and the unceasing flow of 

 v^ltiable suggestion atid appreciative criticism which he 

 C9f)|tt}ibuted. His stores of knowledge were, ripening and 

 niatUring in fibre year by year ; his memory was unfailing, 

 apd each new fact or phenpirtenon seemed to find its place 

 at once in the setting to which it belonged. Whatever 

 views were presented tpi hirn, however much they jarred 

 with his own ideas, were certain to receive patient and 

 careful consideration. There was nobody who did more 

 tQ, eagouragQ ypunger men and to. bring out what was 

 best ift; tiiem.; the r time which he was accustomed to 

 • devote without stint to the elucidation and improvement of 

 the wQrI«,pf others sadly diminished the opportunities for 

 work rr(t>re'especially his own. Hi§i advice and judgment 

 were valued over the whole range of physical science, APt 

 less in foreign lands than at home, notwithstanding tjiat 

 he published so little. When a physicist or physical 

 chemist came to a puzzle or paradox, or, was in doubt be- 

 tween various plans of procedure, it seems to havejipme 

 to be almost the natural, course to write to FitzGerald. A 

 letter of inquiry or criticism always elicited a prompt 

 ■reply, entirely devoid of pretension to magisterial authority, 

 byt certain to bring out new aspects of the subject and 

 exhibit its connections with other problems. He wg;$ 

 constantly acting as referee of scientific papers for the 



NO. 1636, VOL. 63] 



Royal Society and other bodies, and was accustomed to 

 interest himself in them as if they were his own work. 



He frequently acceded to requests to serve as examiner 

 on physics in other Universities, notwithstanding the 

 serious drafts on his time and energy that were involved ; 

 his connection with the University of London in that 

 capacity has been almost uninterrupted since 1888. He 

 became one pf the Commissioners of National Education 

 in Ireland in 1898, and immediately threw himself into 

 the task of reconstituting primary education on more 

 practical lines, undertaking a tour through the United 

 States in the autumn of that year in order to study 

 American methods. Last year he was appointed a 

 member of the Irish Board of Intermediate Education, 

 and much was expected from his assistance in working 

 out the difficult problems that engage their attention. In 

 his own University he was always in the forefront of 

 progress, and often wished to move faster" than ah ancient 

 institution is usually inclined to allow. 



In a private letter, in response to a hurried intimation of 

 FitzGerald's death, Mr. O. Heaviside writes as follows : — 

 " I only saw him twice knowingly, once for two hours, and 

 then again for six hours, after a long interval ; yet we had 

 a good deal of correspondence at one time, and I seemed to 

 have quite an affection for him. A mutual understanding 

 had something to do with that. You know that in the 

 pre-Hertzian days he had done a good deal of work, not 

 large in bulk but very choice and original, in relation to 

 the possibilities of Maxwell's theory, then considerably 

 undeveloped and little understood ; and his way of look- 

 ing at things was more like my own than anybody's. 

 Well, he found that I had done a lot of work in the same 

 line, and he was most generous in recognising and 

 emphasising it. Too generous, of course. You re- 

 member that review of my ' Electrical Papers ' that he 

 wrote ? No one knew better than myself how to allow 

 for his temperament and desire to help me. He used to 

 write to me a good deal about electromagnetic problems, 

 and I laid down the law to him like — like myself, in fact. 

 He took it all very pleasantly. But I knew all the while 

 that he had a wider field than myself, and no time to 

 specialise much. He had, undoubtedly, the quickest and 

 most original brain of anybody. That was a great dis- 

 tinction ; but it was, I think, a misfortune as regards his 

 scientific fame. He saw too many openings. His brain 

 was too fertile and inventive. I think it would have 

 been better for him if he had been a little stupid — I 

 mean not so quick and versatile, but more plodding. He 

 would have been better appreciated, save by a few." 



Prof. W. Ramsay writes on the day- following his 

 return from India, when the first news came to him : — 



" I understand that it has been thought right for some 

 of FitzGerald's friends to contribute each a short notice 

 of him as a tribute to his memory. The blow is 

 so recent and the feeling of personal loss so acute 

 that this is a difficult task. But to me, as to many others, 

 FitzGerald was the truest of true friends ; always inter- 

 ested, always sympathetic, always encouraging, whether 

 the matter discussed was a personal one, or one con- 

 nected with science or with education. And yet I doubt 

 if it was these qualities alone which made his presence 

 so attractive and so inspiring. I think it was the feeling 

 that orie was able to converse on equal terms with a man 

 who" was so much above the level of one's self^, riot merely 

 in intellectual qualities of mind, but in every reSpect. I 

 know that FitzGerald would have been the last to 

 acknowledge this, for he had no trace of intellectual 

 pride ; he never put himself forward, and ^ad^np desire 

 for fame ; he was content to do his duty. 'And lie took 

 this to be the task of helping others to do t,heirs. ' This 

 was happily expressed by the President of^the. Royal 

 Society in awarding him one of the Royal Medals, when 

 he alluded to the great influence exercised oh the pro- 

 gress of science, due to FitzGerald's placing his services 



