THE FIRST RECOGNITION. IO/ 



have an importance besides that which naturally belonged 

 to it. 



On August 23rd, 1847, there appeared in the " Comptes 

 Rendus " a memoir, entitled, " Experience sur Vldentite entre 

 le Calorique et la Force Me'caniqne. Determination de 

 V equivalent par la CJialeur degagee pendant la friction du 

 Mercure. Par M. J. P. Joule!' 



Joule adds a note, 1881 : — "The commissioners were Biot,. 

 Pouillet, and Regnault. I had the honour to present the 

 iron vessel, with its revolving paddle-wheel, to the last- 

 named eminent physicist." 



The Institute of France was therefore the first of any 

 national academy or institute to recognise the importance 

 of Joule's discoveries. 



On the 23rd of June, 1847, the British Association 

 assembled in Oxford, and the meeting will ever be 

 memorable as the occasion on which Joule's physical 

 discoveries received their first recognition ; just as the next 

 meeting in Oxford, i860 is memorable as the occasion at 

 which the tide of public opinion was turned in favour of 

 Darwin's theory of evolution, by Huxley's defence against 

 the attacks of Wilberforce. 



Writing in 1885 Joule thus describes what occurred : — 



" It was in the year 1843 that I read a paper ' On the 

 Calorific Effects of Magneto-Electricity and the Mechanical 

 Value of Heat ' to the Chemical Section of the British 

 Association assembled at Cork. With the exception of 

 some eminent men, among whom I recollect with pride, 

 Dr. Apjohn, the president of the section, the Earl of Rosse,. 

 Dr. Eaton Hodgkinson, and others, the subject did not 

 excite much general attention, so that when I brought it 

 forward again at the meeting in 1847 the chairman 



