192 



NA TURE 



[August 5, 1922 



The Norman Lockyer Observatory. 



Unveiling of a Portrait Medallion of the Founder. 





(")N Saturday, July 22, a portrait medallion of Sir 

 K ~' Norman Lockyer was unveiled by the Astro- 

 nomer Royal, Sir "Frank Dyson, at "the Norman 

 Lockyer Observatory, Salcombe Hill, Sidmouth, in 

 the presence of a large and distinguished company. 

 The medallion, which had been executed by Sir Hamo 

 Thornycroft, R.A., was erected in honour of the 

 late Sir Norman 

 Lockyer by his 

 relatives and 

 friends, and was 

 presented by them 

 to the Corpora- 

 tion of the Obser- 

 vatory. (A re- 

 production of the 

 medallion, with 

 the accompanying 

 inscription, is il- 

 lustrated in Fig. 

 1.) The. guests 

 were received on 

 behalf of the Ob- 

 servatory Cor- 

 poration by Sir 

 Richard Gregory 

 (chairman of the 

 council), Mr. 

 Robert Mond 

 (chairman of the 

 Corporation), and 

 by Lady Lockyer. 

 Much interest was 

 taken by the 

 guests in the ex- 

 hibits arranged in 

 connexion with 

 the work of the 

 observatory, the 

 McClean and Ken- 

 sington telescopes 

 and other instru- 

 ments. 



In opening the 

 proceedings Sir 

 Richard Gregory 

 remarked that 

 they had as- 

 sembled to take 

 part in a cere- 

 mony of high sig- 

 nificance both to 

 the county of 

 Devon and to 

 British science. 

 On the summit of 

 Salcombe Hill, 

 with its clear and 

 wide horizon, they had united to dedicate with affection 

 . and esteem a memorial to the great astronomer, Sir Nor- 

 man Lockyer, who had planted the observatory there. 

 The event was one in which they might all be proud to 

 participate, whether as Sir Norman's personal friends, 

 as admirers of his life and influence, or as scientific 

 students familiar with the remarkable advances of 

 astronomical physics originated by him or inspired 

 by his genius. His discoveries were inscribed upon 

 the tablets of the stars, and in this temple of the skies 



they now met to manifest in reverence the honour 

 in which they held him. 



Lt.-Col. F. K. McClean said that he regarded it as a 

 great honour to present, on behalf of relatives and 

 friends, the medallion, so faithfully executed by Sir 

 Hamo Thornycroft, to the observatorv. It was 

 his good fortune to have been associated with Sir 



Norman in the 

 foundation of the 

 observatory in 

 1912. Through 

 the energy and 

 enthusiasm of Sir 

 Norman the ob- 

 servatory has 

 proved a success- 

 ful enterprise, and 

 commencing as a 

 private institution 

 it has become a 

 Corporation and is 

 the first of its kind 

 in this country. 

 American obser- 

 vatories are more 

 useful now, but 

 the Norman Lock- 

 yer Observatory, 

 though at present 

 a baby, will grow 

 and develop ; and 

 what its future 

 may be can be 

 seen by looking at 

 the Mount Wilson, 

 Yerkes, and Lick 

 Observatories. So 

 long as the ob- 

 servatorv lasts, 

 the name which it 

 has the honour to. 

 bear will be the 

 watchword of ad- 



The Astronomer 

 Royal's Tri- 

 bute. 



Sir Frank Dy- 

 son, in unveiling 

 the memorial, 

 said : 



This portrait 

 medallion is a 

 pious tribute of 

 relatives and 

 friends to the 

 memory of a man 

 of genius. It recalls to our minds the features of a man 

 we have known and honoured, and preserves his likeness 

 for future generations. The name of Sir Norman 

 Lockyer will always be associated with the application 

 of the spectroscope to the study of the sun and stars. 

 In this beautiful medallion Sir Hamo Thornycroft has 

 given a true and striking portrait of a very earnest 

 worker and great pioneer. 



Like David Gill, another astronomer whom most 

 of us know, Lockyer began as an amateur with 



NO. 2753, VOL - I IO ] 



