Obituary notices of fellows deceased

Sir Norman Lockyer was the, last of the remarkable body of scientific men whose observations and discoveries in the past century provided the first steps to the present marvellous developments in physical astronomy. He was still a young man when Kirchhoff founded the science of astrophysics by his epoch-making experiment on the absorption of light by luminous gases, and he was one of the few who early realised what an enormous new field of investigation was thereby opened up. While still an amateur, he rapidly achieved a foremost place among the scientific men of his time, and for more than half a century devoted himself unceasingly to inquiries in which the spectroscope played a leading part. He was a keen observer and an imaginative thinker, and never hesitated in his speculations to run directly in opposition to the current ideas of his time if thereby he could explain more to his satisfaction the new facts which he was constantly bringing to light. He was a man of strong personality, and, apart from his own direct contributions to science, he exerted a powerful personal influence for the benefit of science in many ways. He was gifted also with the power of lucid expression, and both as a lecturer and as a writer he succeeded in conveying to the lay mind a real comprehension of some of the most intricate features of the new astronomy. Joseph Norman Lockyer was born at Rugby on May 17, 1836. He was educated in various private schools and on the Continent, and appears to have acquired a taste for scientific pursuits from his father, who founded a scientific and literary society in Rugby and took a practical interest in the development of the electric telegraph. At the age of 21 he obtained a modest appointment in the War Office, and in 1865 his marked ability secured him the office of Editor of the Army Regulations. In subsequent years he was largely instrumental in placing Army legislation upon a more satisfactory basis.