Page:History of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923).djvu/200

 172 HISTORY OF THE [1870-80 purpose, and Airy consequently wrote a letter to the Council on 1872 January 12 informing them of this refusal and asking for financial help from the Society for his scheme. The Council resolved that the account should be published as a Memoir of the Society. This was eventually done, the preparation being confided to Mr. Ranyard, who at first worked under the direction of Sir George Airy. Later on, the entire work devolved upon him, and the scheme of the volume was enlarged. Consent was obtained from the British Association to include the results of the eclipse of 1871, and those of earlier eclipses were added, so that finally it became a record of all observed eclipses up to 1878. The volume was completed after a delay, which caused occasional remark, and was published in 1879. No medal was awarded in the year 1871, and the reasons for this are of interest. At the Council Meeting in 1870 November, it was proposed by Mr. Dunkin, Mr. De la Rue seconding, that Mr. Lockyer should receive the medal for his researches in Solar Physics. Other recipients were proposed, and lastly it was proposed by Mr. Browning, Professor Pritchard seconding, that Mr. Lockyer and Dr. Frankland should receive the medal for their joint researches in Solar Physics. At the Council Meeting in 1870 December the ballot was taken and Mr. Lockyer's was the name chosen to be submitted for confirmation at the meeting in January. But at that meeting, after considerable discussion, the choice was not confirmed. At the Annual General Meeting in 1871 February the President stated, as may be read in the account of the meeting in the Monthly Notices, that the non-award was due to the fact that by the Bye-laws the Council had not the power to bestow a joint medal, and that the Council had " found it impossible to select any individual so pre- eminently distinguished by his own independent researches that they could recommend the Society to bestow its award upon him, with- out danger of doing injustice to others." But it is not difficult to infer from the discussions at the Council Meetings, and from sub- sequent events, that there was a feeling inimical to Mr. Lockyer. At a Special General Meeting of the Society held on 1871 June 9, a new Bye-law was proposed by the Council and passed, to the effect that " where two or more persons have been jointly concerned in the production of any scientific treatise, or the carrying out of any research work or discovery, or have been the simultaneous but independent authors of any such treatise, work, research, or discovery," the Council have power to award a medal to each of such joint authors. It will be remembered that the medal had been awarded to Mr. Huggins and Professor Miller jointly in 1867. As to the award of the medal in 1872, at the meeting of the