June 18, 1915] 



SCIENCE 



897 



Dr. a. E. Boycott, F.E.S., has been ap- 

 pointed director of the Graham Eesearch Labo- 

 ratory, the University of London, in succession 

 to Dr. Charles Bolton. 



Dr. a. Castellani, distinguished for his re- 

 searches on pathogenic bacteria, has been 

 elected to a newly established professorship of 

 tropical diseases at the University of Naples. 



DISCUSSION AND COBBESFONDENCE 

 THE HALL OF FAME 



The most accurate expression of opinion of 

 the people of the United States regarding 



plorers, with missionaries; surgeons, with 

 physicians; architects, with engineers. Musi- 

 cians, painters, sculptors, etc., are designated 

 as artists. The order is that of the number of 

 members elected and of votes received. Three 

 elections have been held, in 1900, 1905 and 

 1910. The number of candidates elected in 

 each and all of these elections, the number of 

 candidates who have received votes, and the 

 percentage of the votes for each class are given 

 in the later columns. A few scattering votes 

 are not included. The last column gives the 

 three highest votes cast in 1910 for candidates 

 not yet elected. 



Sail of Fame 



Authors 



Statesmen 



Soldiers, sailors, 



Preachers 



Lawyers 



Inventors 



Scientists 



Philanthropists. 



Educators 



Artists 



Missionaries 



Physicians 



Engineers 



Business men.... 

 Others 



All 



Percentages 



45 38 35 



44 42 41 

 33 25 25 

 20 19 11 

 28 13 13 

 28 18 16 

 39 26 11 



45 19 10 

 30 28 7 

 42 15 13 

 36 21 14 

 16 15 6 



6 5 4 

 16 1 ... 



41 134 129 130 166 100 100 100 100 



famous Americans is to be found in the 

 elections of the Hall of Fame. This institu- 

 tion has been organized with the greatest care, 

 and, although it is probable that some worthy 

 names are omitted, no unworthy person is 

 likely to be elected. It appears, however, from 

 the following table, that equal prominence is 

 not given to different departments of human 

 knowledge. Steps are being taken in the elec- 

 tion of 1915 to remedy this difficulty. It is 

 hoped that it will be successful. The urgent 

 need of the change is the object of this paper. 

 The class is given in the first column of the 

 table. Eulers are included with statesmen; 

 theologians, with preachers; judges, with 

 lawyers; reformers, with philanthropists; ex- 



The disparity in the numbers elected from 

 the different classes is very marked. It is hard 

 to believe that there are more famous authors 

 and statesmen than in all other walks of life, 

 or that there are twelve authors more famous 

 than any American missionary, physician, 

 engineer or business man. Apparently, the 

 only reason that the number of statesmen 

 elected was not greater than that of authors, 

 was owing to the greater number of candi- 

 dates. Among so many, the votes were 

 scattered. The low position in the table of 

 the physicians is noteworthy, and the absence 

 of votes for the philanthropists after two 

 were elected. Under the past system few men 

 could be elected unless they were authors or 



