The position and prospects of chemical research in Great Britain : presidential address delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Chemical Society, March 22nd, 1907 / by Raphael Meldola.

  • Meldola, Raphael, 1849-1915.
Date:
[1907]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The position and prospects of chemical research in Great Britain : presidential address delivered at the Annual General Meeting of the Chemical Society, March 22nd, 1907 / by Raphael Meldola. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

    5/38
    PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSfX”r V*o \ ?/•:- Delivered at the Annual General Meeting-March 22nd, 1907. K - SfJ.' 11 - -'r By Raphael Meldola, F.Tfc’S-. J : i ^ 1 • The Position and Prospects of Chemical Research -in Great Britain. The Status of Original Research. I have taken for the subject of this year’s address a theme which appeals to us all in various ways, and which I propose to discuss under the above heading. According to our Charter we exist as a society “for the general advancement of Chemical Science.” This is tantamount to a declaration that our primary object is the promotion of original research because, although there are many ways of promoting a science, original investigation is unquestion- ably the most important. Our publications bear testimony to the fact that our Society has well carried out and is still actively pro- moting the object for which it was founded sixty-six years ago. A critical examination of our publications will further show that the output of original work is, on the whole, increasing both in quality and in quantity. In order to bring out this point our Assistant Secretary, Mr. Carr, has at my request compiled a table dealing with the period from 1895 to 1906 inclusive, and giving under different columns the number of papers contributed to the Transactions and Proceedings, the number of contributing authors, and other useful information. The table itself may be consulted for details,* but just to give an idea of the rate of progress I may state that, in 1895, 109 authors contributed 116 papers to the Transactions and 132 authors contributed 157 abstracts or papers to the Proceedings. In 1906, 183 authors contributed 186 papers to the Transactions and 215 authors contributed 236 abstracts or papers to the Proceedings. It is impossible to contemplate these figures without coming to the conclusion that a generation of active workers is springing up of which we have every reason to be proud, and in whose keeping we, whose period of activity cannot in the order of nature last vei’y many years, may feel assured that the reputation of our Society will be honourably maintained. Taking advantage of my present position for addressing this newer band of workers, I would ven- * Sec Appendix A., p. 65.