LORD RUTHERFORD

Southland Times, Issue 21285, 5 January 1931, Page 4

LORD RUTHERFORD

DISTINGUISHED NEW ZEALANDER. AUTHORITY ON RADIO ACTIVITY. Sir Ernest Rutherford, who has been raised to the peerage, was born in Nelson, New Zealand, and educated at Nelson College, Canterbury College, and finally at Cambridge University. He is now Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge, and Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution. One of the world’s leading physicists, Lord Rutherford is a high authority on radio activity. He has played a predominant part in the development of the atomic theory, and an American appreciation appeared in the syndicate of newspapers owned in the United States by the Scripps-Howard publishers. The article, written by David Dietz, science eiditor of the newspaper syndicate, says: “Sir Ernest Rutherford has been reelected president of the Royal Society, Great Britain’s oldest scientific society, and one of the oldest scientific organizations in the world. Election to its presidency is the greatest honour which British scientists can confer upon one of their colleagues. Sir Ernest, who has held the office since 1925, is well deserving of the honour. Professor A. S. Eddington, famous astronomer and authority upon relativity, expresses the opinion that Sir Ernest has brought about a greater change in our view of the universe than any scientist alive, not even excepting Professor Albert Einstein. The two great revolutions which modern science has brought about in our view of the universe, according to Eddington, are relativity and the knowledge of the internal structure of the atom. Eddington believes that the atomic theory is really more revolutionary than relativity. Relativity, of course, was received with far greater commotion. This may be due to the fact that relativity made "a rather sudden dramatic entrance into the layman’s world, whereas knowledge of atomic theory spread slowly and by degrees.” In the view of some authorities, Sir Ernest played a role more important, than that, of any other one person in the development of the atomic theory. The distinguished New Zealander was knighted in 1914, and in 1919 he succeeded Sir J. J. Thomson as Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge and Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution. He received an enormous number of honorary degrees and other distinctions at. Home and abroad. These include tl->» Rumford medal of the Royal Society, the Barnard medal, the Bressa prize, the Copley medal (1922), the Franklin medal (1924), the Albert medal (Royal Society of- Arts), 1928. In 1908 he was awarded the. Nobel Chemistry Prize, and in 1925 the Order of Merit. He was president, of the British Association in 1923, and of the Royal Society in 1923. His writings include works on radio-activity and numerous papers in the Royal Society’s Transactions, and in other scientific journals.