Anniversaries of other institutions

The royal Society of London sends warm greetings to the Societa Italiana di Fisica on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the electrical pile by Alessandro Volta, and gladly pays tribute to a noble scientific genius. The work of this great compatriot of Galileo, following on that of Galvani, is the foundation of modern electricity both in its experimental and in its theoretical aspects. It has led through the work of Faraday and others to the great developments of electrical engineering which have transformed, and are still transforming, the civilization of our age. It has also led through the work of a long line of physicists of many nations to a new and better understanding of the ultimate nature of matter. This understanding indeed is far from complete, and the discovery of Volta will in all probability have consequences in the future both for scientific thought and for the material progress of humanity fully as great as those which it has already had.