The Gold and Silver Medals, founded on the Donation of 
Benjamin Count Rumford, for the most important discovery, or 
useful improvement, made and published in any part of Europe 
during the two preceding years, on Light, or on Heat, were 
awarded by the Council, held Feb. 8th, 1827, to M. Fresnel, for 
his developement of the undulatory theory as applied to the 
phenomena of polarised light, and for his various important 
discoveries in Physical Optics. 
