1952–54, 1964, 1975
Report drawn up by a Committee of the Royal Society at the request of the Board of Trade.
Imperial Hotel, Barnstaple - Has just returned from an expedition and heard about Frazer's election to the Royal Society under special circumstances which enhance the honour; they are in Devonshire for the first holiday they've had in two years, as he was ill last summer.
Accompanied by the envelope.
Imperial Hotel, Barnstaple - Has just returned from an expedition and found her letter announcing Frazer's election to the Royal Society under special circumstances which enhance the honour; are in Devonshire for the first holiday they've had in two years; it will not be possible to meet her in Caius College and can't help her 'with the design you have in hand'.
Accompanied by the envelope.
The Royal Society - Subscribes to the bibliography; points out that it is normal practice for Fellows to present a copy of a book of importance to the advancement of scientific knowledge and asks for a copy of 'The Golden Bough'.
Has given her circular to their new secretary Maurice Goguel, believes they will subscribe; believes the S. R. [Royal Society?] cannot fail to associate itself with the bibliography.
Correspondence re personal news, career and research.
J//141: 1933–1939. Includes two letters from Humphrey to Synge's mother and two letters from Janet Rumney, daughter of A.V.Hill, whom Humphrey married in November 1939.
J/142: 1940-1941. Includes letter from Janet Humphrey.
J/143: 1944-1949
J/144: 1950–1953, 1955, 1957-1958
J/145: 1960, 1964–1965, 1971
J/146: 1985, 1988–1990. Includes the Times obituary of Humphrey (1987), order of memorial service at Trinity College Cambridge, and Synge's 'Recollections of John Humphrey as Schoolboy and Student (1929-1939)' written to aid Royal Society memorialists.
1 Brick Court, Temple, London, E.C.4. Dated 3 February 1921 - Reports on the meeting of the Royal Society: he is to speak on the 10th, there was an objection to inviting the Editor of the London Illustrated News; the balance of the funding should be used towards the expense of publishing the results, and discusses options.
Royal Society 1954
Royon, Betty 1961-62
A/163: Letter from A.C. Chibnall re nomination, 5 October 1949.
A/164-165: Letters of congratulation, 1950-1951, arranged in chronological order (two folders).
[Sent from London]:- Regrets that he must give up his research into the subject of Spiritualism, due to his work commitments, but hopes to take it up again sometime in the future; calls it 'a most perplexing subject', with 'so much crass imposture and foolish credulity mixed up in it' that it is not surprising that 'men of science' refuse to have anything to do with it. Refers approvingly to Crookes' articles in the Quarterly Journal of Science giving evidence in support of the phenomena, and reports that he [Crookes] 'is exhibiting before the Royal Society experiments of novel and great interest on the motive force of heat'.
Reports that they have had tremendous heat in London, which has made him almost unable to work. Announces that he is now going back to Cambridge for a few days to finish his book, which he hopes to have printed soon. States that it is too technical to give him any general reputation. Hopes that Miss Temple is better. Asks her, if she says anything to 'the Bishop [Frederick Temple]' about Spiritualism, to say that 'no one should pronounce on the prima facie case for serious investigation'. Announces that he is going to the Lakes in August, and that he shall try to see Mary early in September. Asks her to give his 'kind remembrances' to her hosts.
Synge wrote the biographical memoir of Marston (who died in 1965) for the Royal Society (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 13, 267). Synge visited Australia in 1967 in connexion with his preparation of the memoir.
J/182-J/183: Correspondence with Royal Society, correspondence with colleagues and others re information, recollections, 1965–1967.
J/184: Miscellaneous background material including copies of letters from M.L.E. Oliphant to Marston, 1964
J/185: List of names and addresses for presentation of reprints of memoir, letters of appreciation from recipients and other readers of memoir, some with further information and recollections, 1967–1968, 1983.
Royal Society, London - Printed letter completed in manuscript. The Royal Society thanks WW for his paper 'Tide Researches, 14th series'. Accompanied by a memorial supporting John Herschel's appointment to the Chair of the Society.
Devonshire Rd, Portland Place - Babbage received WW's thirty guineas and has paid 31 for his fees at the Royal Society. Three members of the Astronomical Society have donated 100 guineas toward the Cambridge Observatory (50 came from William Pearson). 'Sir J. B [Joseph Banks] is about to resign and has recommended Davies Gilbert. But all sorts of plans speculations and schemes are afloat, and all sorts of people proper and improper are penetrated with the desire of wielding the sceptre of science. Whether this elective throne shall be filled by a philosopher or peer a priest or prince is a problem pendent on the fortuitous course of events. The Society is in a position of unstable equilibrium or rather it is like a comet which has not made up its mind whether it shall soberly circulate round the light of truth or traverse boundless space through endless time frying and damning the predestined infidels of other systems until some starry giant shall fascinate to its destruction this erring ball which has "run a muck" through creation'.
Correspondence with Partridge, 1950, 1973.
Correspondence with Partridge's Royal Society memorialist, A. J. Bailey, after Partridge's death in 1992.
Includes letters from Paul Dirac, the Institute of Physics, Laser-Scan Laboratories Limited, R. Lüst, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, the Royal Society, and Lord Todd.
Correspondence, 1967-1970, 1980. Underwood was Director of the Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Perth. Synge declined an invitation to write the Royal Society memoir of Underwood.
Correspondence 1967-1969 relates to Synge's Royal Society memoir of H.R. Marston [see J/182-J/185].
Draft letter 1980 from Synge to K. L. Blaxter, the Royal Society memorialist of Underwood, discusses Marston and the 'cobalt story' and the New Zealand facial eczema project.
British Museum - Sends WW a list of proposed foreign members to fill the vacancies at the Royal Society.
British Museum - JC has been commanded by the President of the Royal Society to inquire as to the progress of WW's Bridgewater Treatise.
Refers to a letter to the Royal Society from Lord Dillon on behalf of several interested gentlemen, including Arthur Balfour, James Bryce, Lord Acton, HS, Professor Jebb, W.E. Lecky, Leslie Stephen, and others, in relation to the formation of a British Academy.
Also refers to Henry Sidgwick's plan for the the institution of a new academy or section. Lays out plan, including the ways in which the Royal Society might aid in the project. Refers to its proposed scope in terms of subject-related sections. Refers to the participation of the Royal Society in the foundation of an International Association of the principal Scientific and Literary Academies of the world, and to a scheme drawn up for the organisation of the Association, which provides for the division of the Association into two sections - ' "Scientific" ' and ' "Literary" '. Points out that there is no existing institution 'competent to represent the United Kingdom in the Philosophico-Historical [Literary] section', and this fact is used as an argument for the foundation of a new Academy.
Includes proposals 'submitted to the Committee' on ways in which the demand for the representation of Philosophico-Historical studies in an Academy might be dealt with, including the creations of an organisation independent of the Royal Society; the creation of two ' "Academies" ' within the Royal Society; the creation of two or three ' "Sections" ' of the Royal Society; and the creation of twenty-five to fifty Fellows 'representing the Philosophico-Historical subjects, to serve as a nucleus, and creation of three or four committees, similar to those already existing, viz., one for Ethnography and Archaeology, one for Philology, one for Statistics and Political Economy, and one for Psychology...'.
Reports that the above schemes were discussed at an interview with a number of representatives of the Philosophico-Historical Sciences, and that the general opinion of these gentlemen was in favour of the creation of two or three sections of the Royal Society. Refers to the issue of whether the Royal Society 'will be more useful if the area of its interests is enlarged.' Discusses the divisions between the Natural Sciences and the Philosophico-Historical group of sciences, and the manner in which each group is treated in other European countries. Raises the question of Government grants, and suggests that if new subjects were to share in these grants it might have the effect of dividing the Royal Society into sections with comparatively weak common interests. Refers also to the effect of the scheme on expenditure and on the organisation of the staff.
J/431: 1951, 1954-1956
J/432: 1964, 1970-1972
J/433: 1965-1969
J/434: 1967, 1970, 1973, 1978
J/435: 1980-1985
Mechanically reproduced letter signed by Lord Acton and R. C. Jebb addressing the question of founding a new Society or an additional section of the existing Royal Society of 'Literary Science'; with three enclosures: a mechanically reproduced copy of a letter from the Secretaries of the Royal Society dated 21 Nov. 1899 (Item 47), a printed proposal of statutes for an International Association of Academies (Item 46), and a printed letter from Dillon on behalf of a committee considering the proposal (Item 46).
Research material, draft, proofs, and correspondence with the Royal Society and Mabel Bright of the Rockefeller Institute seeking Gasser's next-of-kin. The printed material consists of an offprint from The Journal of General Physiology, March 20, 1956, Vol. 39, No. 4, titled "Olfactory Nerve Fibers" and an obituary of Gasser in The Lancet 25 May 1963. This is accompanied by a photograph of Gasser by Bachrach.
Sin títuloShelford.—Discusses arrangements for a forthcoming dinner of the Royal Society.
(Dated Monday.)
—————
Transcript
Shelford. Monday. Ev.
My dear President,
Telegram to hand—This is very annoying; it was such a real good toast list.
I think now it will be best to ask Lord Salisbury to propose the toast instead of replying to it—& to “couple” your “name” with it. Your response as being that of an official of the Society can be quite brief & without sitting down you can go on to propose the Medalists†—this will save us a speech and we have a quite long enough list {1}
But Harcourt’s failing puts us in another corner—With the Lord Chancellor & Harcourt both speaking the way was clear to ask Ld Ashbourne—this from your telegram you have done. But it will look onesided to have Salisbury & Ashbourne as against Chancellor.
If he falls out we certainly ought to ask Shaw Fevre {2}—in fact we ought even if he accepts, & Rhodes fails—perhaps even if Rhodes does not fail. Let me know what you think.
I go up to Burlington House on Wednesday to finally arrange table—shall be there from mid-day onwards—Please write to me there your opinion of the above & if you have to wire on Wednes. wire me there—Perhaps you will authorize me to write in your name if necessary. On Wednesday we shall know more definitely who is coming, & what answers you have had—& we must then do our best & I will write to whom we may decide on, if there is need. If may be desirable for me to wire you on Wednes. aft, & get an immediate reply—perhaps you will arrange for this
Ever yours
M. Foster
—————
Letter-head of the Royal Society, Burlington House, London, W. Kelvin was President of the Society from 1890 to 1895, and Foster was Secretary from 1881 to 1903. The letter concerns arrangements for the Society’s annual anniversary dinner on Friday, 30 Nov. 1894, at which the Lord Chancellor (Lord Herschell), the Marquess of Salisbury, and Lord Ashbourne, all mentioned in the letter, were present (see The Times, 1 Dec. 1894, p. 10).
{1} Foster’s suggestions were adopted. See the Times article cited above.
{2} G. J. Shaw-Lefevre, who had attended the dinner in 1892 (The Times, 1 Dec. 1892, p. 6).
† Sic.
Letters from Royal Society informing Davenport of the award, inviting him to attend Anniversary Meeting to receive medal and to Anniversary Dinner; invitation cards.
Menu and seating plan of Anniversary Dinner.