94
THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB.
Ordinary Meeting, Saturday, March 26th, 1887.
The Seventy-sixth Ordinary Meeting was held at the Public Hall, Loughton, at
seven o'clock ; Mr. T. V. Holmes, President, in the chair.
Donations of books and pamphlets for the Library were announced from the
following :—Mr. W. Whitaker, F.G.S. ; Mr. T. V. Holmes, F.G.S. ; Miss E. A.
Ormerod, F.E.S.; and Mr. F. H. Varley, F.R.A.S. In addition, a large
number of "Transactions," periodicals, etc., had been received by exchange or
purchase.
The Rev. W. F. Evans, M.A., F.G.S., the Rev. F. H. Manley, M.A., and
Mr. G. E. Vaughn, were elected members of the Club,
Professor Sylvanus P. Thompson, D. Sc, etc (Principal of the City and Guilds
Technical College, Finsbury), then delivered a lecture upon "William Gilbert ;
Founder of the Science of Electricity." The lecture was illustrated with numerous
pictures and diagrams thrown upon the screen by the oxyhydrogen lantern, and
by experiments showing the results obtained by Gilbert in his attempts to inves-
tigate the phenomena of the magnet and of electrical attraction and repulsion.
Professor Thompson also exhibited a set of the editions of Gilbert's works. The
life of Gilbert, and his position in the history of science, are of interest to the
members of the Essex Field Club, inasmuch as he was a native of Colchester,
where his house is still standing, and where, in Holy Trinity Church, is his tomb,
erected by his brothers, Ambrose and William, in "memory of brotherly piety,"
and of the celebrated Court physician and philosopher. The substance of
Professor Thompson's lecture, from his own pen, will be given in a future number
of the Essex Naturalist. The lecturer suggested that some effort should be
made to bring Gilbert's claim for recognition as one of the great pioneers of science
prominently forward, and, as one means to that end, he proposed that an edition
of Gilbert's works, translated from the original Latin, should be published by
a committee or society established for that purpose.
The President heartily congratulated the members of the Club on the admirable
account of the life and work of an Essex worthy placed before them by Professor
Thompson.
In proposing and seconding a vote of thanks to the lecturer, Mr. A. P. Wire
and Mr. R. M. Christy pointed out sources of information where possibly some
additions to the very meagre details at present known of Gilbert's life and employ-
ments could be gathered.
Mr. F. H. Varley, F.R.A.S., Mem. Soc. Telegraph Engineers, etc., observed
that the subject of the lecture was one of the greatest interest, not only to the
members of the Essex Field Club, but also to all those engaged in the pursuit of
electrical or physical science. The loadstone, as well as the property of amber
to attract light substances when rubbed, had been known from the year B.C. 600,
or 2,200 years before Dr. Gilbert applied the methods of exact physical research
to the examination of the phenomena. Students of electrical science would
find in their text books not more than six or twelve lines devoted to Dr. Gilbert,
and therefore not only the members of the Essex Field Club, but all interested
in physical science, would acknowledge their deep debt of gratitude to Professor
Thompson for unearthing the results of Dr. Gilbert's labours, and placing before
them for the first time a complete biographical memoir, in which he has not only