HIGH TRIBUTES TO DEAD SCIENTIST

Southland Times, Issue 23337, 22 October 1937, Page 5

HIGH TRIBUTES TO DEAD SCIENTIST

LORD RUTHERFORD TO BE BURIED IN ABBEY (British Official Wireless) (Received October 21, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, October 20. Eminent scientists pay high tributes to the work of Lord Rutherford of Nelson, the famous New Zealand physicist, whose death occurred yesterday. Sir Oliver Lodge said his death was a terrible loss to New Zealand and the whole world. Sir Joseph Thomson, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, said his death was one of the greatest losses that had ever occurred to British science. Sir William Bragg, president of the Royal Society, said: “In every place where learning is honoured there will be sadness and a sense of heavy loss. His noble contributions to knowledge have been the inspiration of innumerable workers and the foundation for a vast series of researches.”

The burial will take place at Westminster Abbey on October 25. Members of Lord Rutherford’s family will visit the Abbey tomorrow to discuss the burial place. The likeliest spot is the north nave, near the organ screen, where the tombs of Newton and Darwin are placed. PIONEER IN WIRELESS EXPERIMENTS LABORATORY THE MECCA OF GREAT INTELLECTS (United Press Association) WELLINGTON, October 21. “With the passing of Lord Rutherford the world lost a pioneer on a new frontier in science,” said Dr E. Marsden, of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research today. “While I was working with him for six years he had representatives of almost all nationalities working in his laboratory, which was the Mecca of the greatest scientific intellects, and it can truthfully be said that his students occupy high positions in practically every country of the world. “To us in New Zealand interest naturally lies in the fact that while at Canterbury College, about 1893, Lord Rutherford made researches into wireless waves or, as they were then called, Hertzian waves. These experiments he afterwards continued at Cambridge, and they led to the construction of the first magnetic detector of wireless waves, afterwards completed and patented by the late Marchese Marconi. “Thanks to Lord Rutherford, therefore, New Zealand can justly claim the honour of being the country where some of the first experiments in wireless were carried out.” NEW ZEALAND’S SYMPATHY EXPRESSED (From Our Parliamentar Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 21. The sympathy of New Zealand in the death of Lord Rutherford of Nelson, has been conveyed to Lady Rutherford by the High Commissioner for New Zealand in London (Mr W. J. Jordan). A cable received from Mr Jordan today stated that he had conveyed to Lady Rutherford the sympathy of the Prime Minister (the Rt.

Hon. M. J. Savage), the Government, Parliament and the people of New Zealand. Mr Jordan also stated that a wreath had been sent on behalf of New Zealand and that he would represent the Dominion at Lord Rutherford’s funeral.

TRIBUTE BY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, October 21. A tribute to Lord Rutherford’s work and his influence on science was paid by the Minister of Agriculture (the Hon. W. Lee Martin) during the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives tonight. “Lord Rutherford was one of the greatest, if not the greatest of New Zealand’s sons, the Minister said, and his passing leaves the world much poorer. His contribution to the development and progress of the world will live on, however, and others in the same field will take up the work which he started and contributed to in such bountiful measure.”