LOCKYER,NORMAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE

Norman Lockyer began his scientific career as an amateur astronomer an d made spectroscopic observations of the Sun; in 1868 he developed a t echnique for observing prominences at times other than at eclipses, an d in 1870 he postulated the existence of helium in the Sun 25 years be fore it was discovered on the Earth. In 1869 he founded the journal Na ture, and under his editorship it became an internationally recognized journal for the publication of important discoveries in all branches of science. As secretary of the Devonshire Commission on 'Scientific i nstruction and the Advancement of Science' and later as a founder of t he British Science Guild he did much to stimulate interest in the teac hing; popularization and application of science. He became Professor o f Astronomy at the Royal College of Science at South Kensington; he or ganized many eclipse expeditions, developed a scheme for the spectral classification of stars, put forward a 'meteoritic' (accretion) hypoth esis for stellar evolution, and made pioneering investigations in arch eoastronomy. After retiring from the directorship of the Solar Physics Observatory at South Kensington, he founded in 1912 the Hill Observat ory near Sidmouth, Devon. After his death this was renamed the Norman Lockyer Observatory. The proceeds from the sale of the Observatory in 1986 have been used to set up the Sir Norman Lockyer Memorial Fund, wh ich will provide support for astronomy in a variety of ways.