106 Generating Economic Cycles 



But even then his work received no recognition. Not 

 until 1851, when Alexander Humboldt mentioned in 

 his Cosmos the discovery by Schwabe, did the theory 

 of periodicity in sunspots receive the attention of 

 professional astronomers. In 1857, the Royal Astro- 

 nomical Society made official recognition of Schwabe's 

 heroic courage, patience, and labor by bestowing upon 

 him its highest honor. 



In presenting the gold medal of the Astronomical 

 Society to Herr Schwabe, President Johnson called 

 attention to the discouraging atmosphere in which the 

 discoverer entered upon his observations. The opin- 

 ions of his predecessors who had studied the appearance 

 of sunspots were apparently unanimous as to the law- 

 lessness of their occurrence and as to the inutility of 

 observing them. According to the astronomer Long, 

 ''Solar spots observe no regularity in their shape, 

 magnitude, number, or in the time of their appearance 

 or continuance." Lalande corroborated this opinion, 

 ''Les apparitions des taches du Soleil n'ont rien de 

 regulier," and Delambre added the weight of his au- 

 thority to the prevailing view. "II est vrai qu'elles 

 (sunspots) sont plus curieuses que vraiment utiles." 



Mr. Johnson proceeded to characterize the discovery 

 in these words : 



''The result of his investigation . . . has been to 

 establish with a degree of probability almost amounting 

 to certainty, that the solar spots pass through the 

 phases of maximum and minimum frequency, and 

 vice versa, in a period not very different from ten years." 

 "Twelve years, as I have said, he spent to satisfy him- 

 self — six more to satisfy, and still thirteen more to 



