THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN' K. D. C. VERNON Librarian, The Royal Institution, London, England
INALBEMARLE Street, a short road which runs parallel with Bond Street in London's West End, stands a long building fronted by heavy Corinthian columns. It is the house of the Royal Institution of Great Britian where for over 150 years famous men have come to give and to listen to lectures intended to diffuse a knowledge of science, and where much scientific research of the utmost importance has been carried out. It has been the home of a succession of eminent scientists from Sir Humphry Davy t o Sir Lawrence Bragg, the present Resident Professor, and it is within its walls that events and discoveries, which are landmarks in the history of science, have taken place. This historic Institution still flourishes today and energetically pursues its original aims, which are the "promotion of science and the diffusion and extension of useful knowledge." Such broad aims could mean much or little, but in 1799, when the Royal Institution was founded, scientific and technical education was almost non-existent in England. There were no means of spreading a knowledge of science such as we have today in our highly organized society. There were few, if any, scientific laboratories which were not owned bv nrivate individuals. The famous Cavendish ~ a b o r a t o r y a tCambridge and the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford were not founded until the 1870's. Physics, which was then known as natural philosophy, was still to a certain extent a subject for the philosophers; while chemistry, to most people, remained a rather mysterious subject vaguely associated with old alchemists. The experimental method in science, although then 150 years old, was only appreciated by scientists and there was no general understanding of it. Thus, there was a vacuum waiting t o he filled and how could i t be filled better in 1799 than by the formation of an institution in the heart of London dedicated to the "promotion of science and the diffusion and extension of useful knowledge?" FOUNDED BY COUNT RUMFORD
It was that remarkable man, Count Rumford (Figure I), who appreciated the situation, and with dynamic
energy he planned and started the Royal Institution on its illustrious career. Rnmford, who was born in Massachusetts in 1753, had led an eventful life as a soldier, statesman, philanthropist, and scientist in America, Bavaria, and in England. The year 1798 found him in England without a job. He had been sent by the Elector of Bavaria to he his Minister and representative in England, but he was unacceptable to the government in
' EDITOR'SNOTE: This is another in the series of papers being solicited by Dr. Ralph E. Oesper to give those of our redem who may be crossing the Atlantic a preview of'places of notable scientific interest. See also J. CHEM.EDUC.,34, 283(1957). VOLUME 34, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1957
Figurn 1.
T h e Comforts of e Rumford Stove. Caricature of Benjmmin Thornpaon. Count Rumford, by Gxllray 18W
this diplomatic office because his family was of English descent and so he could not represent a foreign country. This a t least was the official reason, but perhaps his dubious exploits in the War of Independence in America had some bearing on the decision not t o accept him. However, instead of politics, he found another outlet for his energiesthe formation of the Royal Institution-and with typical vigor he threw himself into this task. He collected support and money from influential and wealthy people for his proposals "for forming by subscription, in the Metropolis of the British Empire, a Public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, and for teaching by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments the applica, tion of science to the common purposes of life." This institution was formally constituted a t a meeting presided over by Sir Joseph Banks at his house in Soho Square on March 7,1799. Rumford was the author and driving forre of the new foundation. The house in Albemarle Street was then on the market. Its previous owner, Mr. John Mellish, had died after being shot by highwaymen on Hounslow Heath-and it was purchased within two months of that first meeting (Figure 2). Rumford with great speed had the house adapted to the Institution's pur-
jects today. The record of research and the fame and influence of the lectures have pro3ed the wisdom of this policy. It was the remarkable Thomas Young and the brilliant, youthful Davy who held the stage in 1802. Young delivered his renowned series of lectures on natural philosophy and then gave up his position as professor at the Institution in 1803. Davy took London by storm and went on from strength to strength. His biographer, J. A. Paris, said, The enthusiastic admiration which his lectures obtained is srmely to be imagined. Men of the first rank and talent, the litemry and the scientific, the practical, the theoretical, blue stockings and women of fanhion, the old, the young, all crowded, eagerly crowded, the lecture room. Figure 2.
The Front of the Royal I n s t i t u t i o n as i t ~painting~b y T H O~ S ~ P
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poses, and a lecture theater, a library, a repository for the exhibition of mechanical inventions, workshops, kitchens, and a chemical laboratory were laid out. A school for mechanics was started, professors and lecturers were engaged, and a printing press was set up for t,he publication of a journal. There were benefits for all, both rich and poor, and Rumford personally supervised everything. From some of his early reports on the progress of the Institution it is obvious that he was very proud of his handiwork. It was not long, however, before difficulties became apparent. The scheme proved to be too expensive, and Rumford, who had an overbearing and dictatorial manner, soon began to have differences of opinion with the other officers of the Inst,itution. Thomas Garnett, the first professor, left in 1801 aft,er having crossed swords with the fiery Count. But about the same time Rumford did something for which the Institution and indeed t,he world has ever since been thankful: He engaged a young Cornishman, Humphry Davy, to be Assistant Lecturer in Chemistry, allowed him to occupy a room in the house, furnished him with coals and candles, and gave him a salary of 100 guineas a year. At Rumford's suggest,ion also, Dr. Thomas Young was engaged as Professor of Natural Philosophy in the same year. Thus, within two years of its birth, the Royal Institution, which had by this time been granted a Royal Charter, was being guided by two brilliant and remarkable scientist,~. The Inst,itution then stood on the threshold of an era which was to bring forth not only a scries of wonderful discoveries made within its walls, but also experimental scientific lectures such as had never been known before. Rumford, however, had shot his bolt. The troubles which began in 1801 grew worse until finally he left England in May, 1802, and never returned. His connection with the Institut,ion which he had created was finally broken and he spent the rest of his life in Paris uot,il his death in 1814. The need for economy and Rumford's departure heralded drastic changes in the Institution's affairs. Much of the philanthropic side of Rumford's scheme, such as the school for mechanics, was abolished, and henceforth the Institution devoted itself to scientific research in the laboratories and to lcctures illustrated by experiments. Research and exposition are the twin methods by which the Institution still pursues its ob-
That was the scene every time Davy lectured. Al~ bemarleI Street~was blocked by the carriages of his audience, and chemistry was exciting when he demonstrated and described with such clarity and vivacity his latest discoveries in galvanism, electrolysis, nitrous oxide, decomposition of the fixed alkalies, the nature of chlorineresearch which he was carrying out in the lahoratories of the Royal Institution. Nothing like it had been known before. In 1813, when he had a w o r l d - ~ ~ dreputation e and was loaded with honors, Davy accepted an application from Michael Faraday, who was then a young hookhinder's apprentice, and engaged him as his assistant in the laboratory a t a salary of 25 shillings a week and .allowed him to occupy rooms in the Royal Institution's house. There Faraday lived and worked for the next 45 years and became perhaps the greatest experimental scientist of all time. His fundamental discoveries are known to everybody. They are the foundation upon which the whole of the world's electrical industry is based. His famous electromagnetic ring, his manuscripts, and some of his other apparatus are treasured possessions a t the Inst,itution now.
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'FARADAY. THE BRILLIANT LEADER
Faraday lived humbly with his wife Sarah in the flat .on the second floor of 21 Alhemarle Street. He worked in his laboratory in the basement (only a small part of which remains today), he carefully prepared and delivered his lectures, he ran the day-to-day affairs of the Institution, and he cast aside his chance of making a fortune in industry. As a lecturer he was unrivaled and, like Davy, he filled the lecture theater with enthusiastic audiences every time he gave his brilliant experimental discourses. A feminine comment was published in Punch in 1857 as a letter supposedly written by a fashionable young lady: D o you know Dr. Faraday? Isn't he tt dear? We went to the Royal Institution the other night, and Dr. Fareday gave a leoture. Prince Albert was there with his st,ar on, looking so grave and elegant. He listened with the utmost steadiness.. . . But the lecture was lovely. I t was quite a treat to look at dear Dr. Faraday's earnest face and silvery hair, not that he is an old man, far from it, and he is far more light and itct,ive than many a smoking stupid all-round collar man thaz I know. Here was Dr. Farsday, a really great man, diving into the wonderful secrets of nature, and explaining them in the ablest manner. Where were all the great. men and stateamen, and the M.P.s and all those who pretend to lead the world? Listening to him 88 he unfolded these mighty things? Not they!
Fmaday was appointed the first Fullerian Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Institution in 1833. This apJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
pointment was made after a certain Mr. John Fuller had left a legacy which was sufficient to bring in a modest income for the Fullerian Professor. It is said t,hat Fuller, whose feeble constitution frequently prevented him from sleeping, could always find repose at the lectures of the Royal Institution. The Institution still benefits from his geuerosity today, and eminent men who have held the same office since Faraday have all been such inspiring lecturers that they have compelled a rapt at~tentionfrom their audiences. The famous Christmas Lectures for juveniles were started by Faraday in 1826 and every year a course of six lectures, all fully illustrated by experiments, is still given today. Faraday gave the course on nineteen occasions, and his well-known series on the "chemical history of a candle" is still referred to as a masterpiece of exposition. Although he never had any children himself, he was never happier than when lecturing t o young people, and the tradition he started so well and so enthusiastically is still carried on each Christmas when the lecture theater is crowded with an eager young audience who come to hear t.he lectures which are given by some eminent scientist. The months of careful preparatiou which always precede these lectures are found to be well worth while when t.he demonstrations are finally staged at the historic lecture bench where so many experiments, famous in the history of scienre, have been performed. A CONTINUING TRADITION OF RESEARCH AND EXPOSITION
Since Faraday's time, the affairs of the Institution have been mainly directed first by John Tyndall, then by Sir James Dewar, and then by Sir William Bragg. The great contributions which these three men made to scientific knowledge is well known, and their research work in the Institution's laboratories added much to the fame which the discoveries of Davy and Faraday had brought to the Institution. But, in addition, Tyndall, Dewar, and Bragg were probably each in turn the most brilliant lecturers of their day, and so research and exposition of the highest standard continued to be the method by which the objects of the Institution were pursued. Each of these three men lived in succession in the flat on the second floor where Faraday had lived before them. Sir Henry Dale, during the second wcrld war, Sir Eric Rideal, Professor E. N. daC. Andrade and now Sir Lawrence Bragg have followed in the same tradition and have all added to the record of research in the laboratories and to the continuat,ion of the experimental discourses in the lecture theater. The building is worthy of the events which have taken place within its walls. Many alterations have been carried out during the past 158 years, but the famous semicircular lecture theater, of which Count Rumford was so proud, is e~sent~ially the same as it originally was. The associations which this lovely room has with so many of the greatest events in the development of science and the imposing list of great men who have lectured in it is stillan inspirationtolecturers today. I t was Faraday who started the Friday Evening D i s courses in 1825, and they are still today one of the Institution's main fonns of activity. They are delivered at a level which can he understood by the average iutelligent person, although the audience always includes VOLUME 34, NO. 12, DECEMBER, 1957
many scientists and specialists. The Discourses have a certain characteristic formality which has been observed since the early days of the Institution. A few minutes before 9 P.M. the Managers of the Institution, headed by the President or a Vice-President, with the lecturer's lady on his arm, enter in procession and take their seats. Then, as the hour strikes, the lecturer, wearing evening dress, comes in through the swing doors, takes his place at the rostrum and begins his discourse without any introduction and without the usual "Ladies and Gentlemen." The discourse lasts for precisely one hour and the tradition is such that this time is very seldom exceeded. Clarity of exposition and well-staged demonstrations have given the Discourses their high reputation. Perhaps the lecturers today are conscious, while they are talking, of the standards set by Davy and Faraday. Halfway down the long corridor which leads from the anteroom outside the lecture theater, where Davy first interviewed Faraday, is a little room which is set aside for lecturers. In the corner of this room stand a long jar of barnacles and a large crystal. The legend is that Davy had these objects placed in a strategic position for lecturers to s e e t , h e barnacles t o remind the lecturer to stick to his subject and the crystal to remind him to be crystal clear. THE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
The library is situated in gracious rooms on the ground and first floors, and contains many rare and early scientific works, besides a fine collection of periodicals, many dating back to the early nineteenth century, a good reference collection of modern hooks on the physical sciences, and standard works on other branches of science, on history, topography, literature, and the fine arts. Many of the early books were presented by Rumford, Faraday, Tyndall, and others connected with the Institution and hear their inscriptions. Behind the lecture theat.er is a semioir~wlarambuls, tory where some of the Institution's historic apparatus is displayed. Here may be seen Davy's experimental miner's safety lamps, his electrolysis apparatus (Figure 3), his batteries which he used in decomposing the fixed alkalies; Faraday's famous electromagnetic ring and other electrical equipment; Rumford's cooking pots and model stoves; Dewar's first vacuum flasks, and other scientific apparatus famous in the history of science. Only a small portion of Faraday's laboratory exists in the basement, the rest having been reconstructed in the
Figure 3.
Davy's Battery Troughs a n d Eleetralyrir Apparatus
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Laboratories-the
X-ray an-
: alvsis of biological material. 1 chernicalproble& of molecular
structure, the mechanical properties of metals, and work on ; radio-carbon datine. " In addit,ion to the Friday ! Evening Discourses which are 1 given between November and 1 .June each year and the Christmas Lectures for juveniles (Figure 4), a big program of lectures for school children has recently been started by Sir Lawrence Rragg. The lecture theater is admirably equipped for demonst,rat,ions which cannot easily be shown in schools, and these lectures. which are eiven on fundaI mental subjects such as electricity or the properties of matter, are all fully illusi trated by experiments and t designed to s,, Frank w h l t . l c . D~ ~ r n o n s t p ~ t i ooi n a S m a l l Liquid Furl l 3 u i n . ~Durinq O n e u i H r s C i r i i s t n ~ u s I-,,,.,,, $. ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ 4 - 5~ sa .n t h e tstolyof ~ P ~ ~ ~ ( ~ ~ ~ ~ ~b Iy ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~01~ shell d . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ t d )d iimpress ~ facts firmly ~ in iyoung ~ minds. This service to future scientists may well prove to be of great imporlate nineteenth century for new research needs. His tance to the country, and the appeal of these lectures great electromagnet and some of his laboratory glassis such that each has to be repeated three times, thus ware and chemical specimens are kept in this small, but historic room. enabling nearly 2000 children to attend each lecThere is much of interest to a11 who care for science ture. The Royal Institution stands for the promotion of in this famous old place. Rut the Inst,itution today, although very conscious and proud of its great tradiscience. By their labors such men as Davy and Farations, is still looking to the future. Under the direction day achieved mighty things. Today, in a changed world, the Institution is striving toward the same obof Sir Lawrence Bragg, an able and enthusiastic team of jective which Count Rumford set in 1799. research workers are studyingnumerous problems in the :
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