SKETCH OF MR. J. N. LOCKYER, F.R. S. 109 



SKETCH OF ME. J. N. LOCKYEE, F. E. S. 



THE subject of this notice, Mr. Joseph Norman Lockyer, is a 

 young astronomer who has cultivated his science assiduously, 

 and made his mark as an investigator in the field of solar physics. 

 He was born on the 17th of May, 1836, at Eugby, in Warwickshire, 

 England. He inherited from his father a predilection for scientific 

 studies ; for, if the elder Lockyer had not the honor of being the first, 

 he was one of the first who contrived methods of telegraphing by elec- 

 tricity. 



At a very early age, young Lockyer was deprived of his parents, and, 

 after attending one or two private schools in England, where he picked 

 up the first rudiments of his education, the orphan boy went abroad, 

 and there continued his studies for several years. Upon his return to 

 England, he obtained a position under government, in the War-office, 

 the duties of which have occupied him regularly for the past sixteen 

 years ; his astronomical and literary work having been performed in 

 the intervals of time snatched from the government service. In 1858, 

 he married an accomplished and intelligent lady, who not only sym- 

 pathized with him in his scientific pursuits, but has also shared his 

 work and rendered the most valuable assistance in various of his un- 

 dertakings. 



In 1862, he contributed a very important paper to the me- 

 moirs of the Eoyal Astronomical Society, on the planet Mars, giving 

 the results of his telescopic observations on the physical conditions 

 and configuration of its surface. In 1865, in conjunction with Thomas 

 Hughes, the popular author of " Tom Brown at Eugby," he was appoint- 

 ed editor of the army regulations, and placed upon an improved basis 

 the system of War-office legislation. In 1865, in recognition of his 

 services as an astronomical observer, he was elected a Fellow of the 

 Eoyal Astronomical Society. 



Solar observations had for some time attracted much of Mr. Lock- 

 yer's attention, and in that year he propounded his method for ob- 

 serving the grand solar phenomena of the red flames with the spectro- 

 scope at any time when the sun is visible, whereas previously it had 

 been impossible to see them except under the obscuration of a total 

 or annular eclipse. A more powerful spectroscope than any then 

 available was needed to solve this problem, and, at Mr. Lockyer's 

 solicitation, the Eoyal Society made a grant for this purpose. Vexa- 

 tious delays occurred in the construction of the instrument, and he did 

 not get it until two years later. The idea, however, proved successful, 

 and Mr. Lockyer made the brilliant discovery in which he had been 

 so long baffled for lack of means. He sent the account of it to the 

 French Academy, and his note had been hardly read, when news came 



