"
The Christmas Lectures at the
Royal Institution are, by
a time-honoured custom, invariably addressed to a "
juvenile audience." This term, however, has always been held to be an elastic one, and to include those who are young in spirit as well as those who are young in years. The conditions, therefore, necessarily impose on the Lecturer the duty of treating some subject in such a manner that, whilst not beyond the reach of youthful minds, it may yet posses some elements of interest for those of maturer years." Thus began the preface to
Waves and Ripples in Water, Air and Æther (alt. link:
Google books), the published version of the 1901 lecture given by
J.A. Fleming, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S., providing a good overview of the lecture series that
started in 1825 (
list in PDF).
The Royal Institution of Great Britain was founded in 1799 as "
a public Institution for diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for teaching, by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life," by
Sir Benjamin Thompson (who was also known as
Count Rumford, after being made a Count of the
Holy Roman Empire). The institution was one of many such scientific organizations of its day, but in 1825 it became unique with its first of what would become an Christmas Lecture series, aimed specifically at a juvenile audience.
That first lecture was given by
John Millington (bio in Google books edition of
A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland), who was a student of
Sir Humphry Davy and
Michael Faraday. Faraday was the mind behind the Christmas Lectures, and over the following decades he would give a total of 19 Christmas lectures, including an uninterrupted run from 1851 to 1860. The next most prominent names in terms of number of lectures given are the physicist John Tyndall (12), chemist and physicist Sir James Dewar (9), and the chemist William Thomas Brande (7). The majority of the lecturers would host one lecture each, with very few hosting as many as 5.
The Royal Institute Christmas Lectures were limited in time and location to a local attendance, with some lectures followed by publication of material delivered on the annual topic. The lectures spread further in 1966 with the first presentation, broadcast annually on BBC Two until 1999, then
onto Channel 4 from 2000-2004, Channel Five from 2005-2008 and
More4 in 2009. This year, the Christmas Lectures
returned to BBC (Four), but
now scaled down from five to three days of lectures.
And now, without further ado, the grand overview:
(linked sources are ideally based on the Christmas lecture given, and if not found online, then similar topics by the same author are provided instead)
1825 - John Millington -
Natural Philosophy
-- Related:
An Epitome of the Elementary Principles of Natural and Experimental Philosophy (Part the First) (1832) Google books scan; alt:
multi-format at Archive.org
1826 - J. Wallis -
Astronomy
-- J. Wallis is not to be confused with the earlier mathematician,
John Wallis. Mr. Wallis is largely unknown amongst internet resources, beyond his probable work as an
observer,
writer and
lecturer on astronomy
1827 - Michael Faraday -
Chemistry
-- The
letters of Faraday provide insight into the origin of the Christmas Lectures, including that
he wrote down 80 experiments for his first lecture
1828 - J. Wood -
Architecture
-- Another early lost lecturer
1829 - Michael Faraday -
Electricity
-- As with his personal letters,
early interviews, possibly starting from the 1820s, give insight into Faraday's thoughts on his Christmas lectures
1830 -
Thomas Webster -
Geology
-- Thomas Webster was a noted geologist, who, amongst other accolades,
is credited with discovering Aluminite, or Websterite
1831 -
James Rennie -
Zoology
-- related work:
The Domestic Habits of Birds (1833) Google books scan; alt:
multi-format at Archive.org)
1832 - Michael Faraday -
Chemistry
-- Faraday's 3rd lecture, and 2nd on Chemistry
1833 -
John Lindley -
Botany
-- Related work:
The Theory of Horticulture: or, An Attempt to Explain the Principal Operations of Gardening upon Physiological Principles (1841) Google books; alt versions on Archive.org:
1840 edition,
1859 American Edition
1834 -
William Thomas Brande -
Chemistry
-- Related work:
various editions and portions of the three-part volume on Chemistry, all from the 1820s to 1830s, available on Archive.org
1835 - Michael Faraday -
Electricity
-- Faraday's fourth Christmas lecture, and second on electricity; this was the same year that Faraday received his
first Royal Medal for
experimental research in electricity (Google books)
1836 - William Thomas Brande -
Chemistry of the Gases
-- Brande's second Christmas lecture
1837 - Michael Faraday -
Chemistry
-- Faraday's fifth lecture, and the fourth Christmas lecture on the general topic of Chemistry
1838 - J. Wallis -
Astronomy
-- Wallis' second lecture on astronomy
1839 - William Thomas Brande -
The Chemistry of the Atmosphere and the Ocean
-- vaguely related:
The Chemistry of Creation: Being a Sketch of the Chemical Phenomena of the Earth, ohe Air, the Ocean, written by Robert Ellis, F.L.S. (Archive.org, multi-format; alt:
Google books)
1840 -
John Frederic Daniell -
The First Principles of Franklinic Electricity
-- vaguely related:
Franklinic or Static Electricity: Its Absolute and Relative Value, an article by
A.D. Rockwell,, A.M., M.D., Electro-therapeutist to the New York State Women's Hospital
1841 - Michael Faraday -
The Rudiments of Chemistry
-- related:
The Rudiments of Chemistry (1836), by
D.B. Reid, M.D. F.R.S.E. (Google books; alt:
multi-format at Archive.org)
1842 - William Thomas Brande - The Chemistry of the Non-Metallic Elements
-- related: Chemical Lecture Experiments: Non-metallic Elements (1892),
George Samuel Newth (multi-format at Archive.org)
1843 - Michael Faraday -
First Principles of Electricity
-- A lecture which may have included a three-legged frog, according to
Faraday's letter #1544
1844 - William Thomas Brande -
The Chemistry of the Gases
-- related:
Metalloids and Metals - Properties of Gases and Vapors, a chapter from Brande's 1863 book on Chemistry, written with
Alfred Swaine Taylor, M.D., F.R.S.
1845 - Michael Faraday -
The Rudiments of Chemistry
-- related:
The Rudiments of Chemistry, fourth edition (1851), by D.B. Reid, M.D. F.R.S.E. (multi-format at Archive.org)
1846 - J. Wallis -
The Rudiments of Astronomy
-- Wallis' third and final Christmas Lecture
1847 - William Thomas Brande -
The Elements of Organic Chemistry
-- related:
Organic Chemistry chapter from Brande's 1863 book on Chemistry
1848 - Michael Faraday -
The Chemical History of a Candle
-- the first presentation by Faraday on this topic as a Christmas Lecture, later
written up following the 1860-1 lecture series
1849 - Robert Walker -
The Properties of Matter and the Laws of Motion
-- Another lecturer without much widely distributed history, who
gave eight lectures on light and colors in the same year that he was the Christmas lecturer
1850 - William Thomas Brande -
The Chemistry of Coal
-- related:
Bitumens, coal, &c., a section from the Manual of Chemistry by Brande (1821) (Google books; alt. source:
multi-format at Archive.org, where there are also
other editions available)
1851 - Michael Faraday -
Attractive Forces
1852 - Michael Faraday -
Chemistry
1853 - Michael Faraday -
Voltaic Electricity
-- related:
Galvanism, or Voltaic Electricity, from the
The American Cyclopaedia. Vol 7 (1873), written by
George Ripley And
Charles A. Dana
1854 - Michael Faraday -
The Chemistry of Combustion
--
modern collection of articles on the topic
1855 - Michael Faraday -
The Distinctive Properties of the Common Metals (
illustration of the lecturewhich was the inspiration for part of the design of
the £20 note that was
first put into circulation in 1992)
1856 - Michael Faraday -
Attractive Forces
1857 - Michael Faraday -
Static Electricity
1858 - Michael Faraday -
The Metallic Properties
1859 - Michael Faraday -
The Various Forces of Matter and their Relations to Each Other
--
Course of Six Lectures on the Various Forces of Matter, and their Relations to Each Other, delivered before a Juvenile Auditory at the Royal Institute of Great Britain during the Christmas Holidays of 1859-60 (Multi-format at Archive.org)
1860 - Michael Faraday -
The Chemical History of a Candle
--
A Course of Six Lectures on the Chemical History of a Candle, delivered before a Juvenile Auditory at the Royal Institute of Great Britain during the Christmas Holidays of 1860-1 (Google books; alt:
five different copies on Archive.org)
1861 - John Tyndall -
Light
-- related:
Six Lectures on Light: Delivered in America in 1872-1873, by Tyndall (first American Edition, 1873; more editions
available on Archive.org)
1862 - Edward Frankland -
Air and Water
-- related:
short discussion of Franklin's Lecture Courses at The Royal Institution up to 1867, in the Google books edition of the biography of Edward Franklin (
Chemistry, Controversy and Conspiracy in Victorian England)
1863 - John Tyndall -
Electricity at Rest and Electricity in Motion
-- modern article:
What's the Difference Between Electric Current and Net Electric Charge?, by
William J. Beaty (1999)
1864 - Edward Frankland -
The Chemistry of a Coal
-- related:
Coal; Its History and Uses (1878), Green, Miall, Thorpe, Rücker, and Marshall
1865 - John Tyndall -
Sound
-- related:
Sound. A Course of Eight Lectures delivered at The Royal Institution of Great Britain, by John Tyndall (1867) (Google books)
1866 - Edward Frankland -
The Chemistry of Gases
1867 - John Tyndall -
Heat and Cold
-- related:
Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion, a course of twelve lectures, originally presented at the Royal Institute in 1862 (published in 1866). See also:
various editions available at Archive.org
1868 - William Odling -
The Chemical Changes of Carbon
--
A Course of Six Lectures on the Chemical Changes of Carbon (Google books; also
available on Archive.org)
1869 - John Tyndall -
Light
1870 - William Odling -
Burning and Unburning
--
Notes of Professor Odling's Juvenile Lectures, Christmas, 1870-71. Burning and Unburning. From a collection of abstracts of lectures delivered at the Royal Institute (1874) (Google books)
1871 - John Tyndall -
Ice, Water, Vapour and Air
-- related:
The Forms of Water in Clouds & Rivers, Ice & Glaciers (1873) Tyndall (Archive.org, with
a number of other editions available, though some are incorrectly labeled; alt.sources:
Google books, 1972, American edition, and
Google docs quickview of
the PDF of
Christmas at the Royal Institution)
1872 - William Odling -
Air and Gas
1873 - John Tyndall -
The Motion and Sensation of Sound
1874 - John Hall Gladstone -
The Voltaic Battery
-- related:
Modern discussion of the history of the Voltaic Pile
1875 - John Tyndall -
Experimental Electricity
--
Lessons in Electricity at the Royal Institute, adapted from the 1875-6 Christmas Lectures
1876 - John Hall Gladstone -
The Chemistry of Fire
-- related:
Chemistry of Fire, (1893) by Matthew Moncrieff Pattison Muir (Archive.org; alt. source:
Google books)
1877 - John Tyndall -
Heat, Visible and Invisible
-- related:
New York Times article from a lecture in the United States
1878 -
James Dewar -
A Soap Bubble
-- related:
The Science of Soap Films and Soap Bubbles (limited Google books preview), first published by
Cyril Isenberg in 1978; also,
Bubbles, a modern collection of short pages on the science behind bubbles, by
Ron Hipschman
1879 - John Tyndall -
Water and Air
1880 - James Dewar -
Atoms
1881 - Robert Stawell Ball -
The Sun, the Moon and the Planets
-- related:
The Story of the Heavens (1885)
1882 - John Tyndall -
Light and the Eye
-- related:
modern discussion of light and the eye
1883 - James Dewar -
Alchemy in Relation to Modern Science
-- related:
a passing note on Dewar's lectures in the book
Modern Alchemy: Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory (2007), by
Mark Morrison
1884 - John Tyndall -
The Sources of Electricity
--
Tyndall displayed, by striking the back of a man's jacket repeatedly with a catskin, sufficient electricity can be generated to attract different objects.
1885 - James Dewar -
The Story of a Meteorite
1886 - James Dewar -
The Chemistry of Light and Photography
-- related:
The Chemistry of Light and Photography (1875), by
Hermann Wilhelm Vogel (Archive.org; alt.source:
Google books)
1887 - Robert Stawell Ball -
Astronomy
-- related:
Star-Land (1892)
1888 - James Dewar -
Clouds and Cloudland
-- related:
Cloudland (1894), by Rev. William Clement Ley (Google books; alt:
Archive.org)
1889 - Arthur Rücker -
Electricity
1890 - James Dewar -
Frost and Fire
1891 -
John Gray McKendrick -
Life in Motion; or the Animal Machine
--
Life in motion; or, Muscle and nerve; a course of six lectures delivered before a juvenile auditory at the Royal institution of Great Britain during the Christmas holidays of 1891-92 (1892) (Archive.org; see also:
the second edition, from 1893; alt:
Google books)
1892 - Robert Stawell Ball -
Astronomy
-- related:
The Story of The Sun (1893)
1893 - James Dewar -
Air: Gaseous and Liquid
-- related:
modern write-up on the "Development of Air Liquefaction and Separation", by the company founded by
Carl von Linde
1894 - John Ambrose Fleming -
The Work of an Electric Current
-- related:
modern explanation of an electric motor
1895 - John Gray McKendrick -
Sound, Hearing and Speech
1896 - Sylvanus Phillips Thompson -
Light, Visible and Invisible
--
Light Visible and Invisible : a series of lectures delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, at Christmas, 1896 (1897) (Archive.org, one of
a number of editions; alt:
Google books)
1897 -
Oliver Lodge -
The Principles of the Electric Telegraph
-- related:
The Principles of Electric Wave Telegraphy (1906), by J. A. Fleming, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.m (Google books; alt.source:
Archive.org)
1898 -
Robert Stawell Ball (modern bio;
period bio) -
Astronomy
-- related:
Atoms and Sunbeams, an essay in the 1900 volume
Essays in Astronomy.
1899 -
Charles Vernon Boys (
obit)-
Fluids in Motion and at Rest
-- another publication by C. V. Boys, F.R.S.:
Soap Bubbles, Their Colours, and the Forces which Mould Them (1896)
1900 - Robert Stawell Ball -
Great Chapters from the Book of Nature (
illustration of the lecture)
-- that lecture was written up "with some omissions and additions" as
The Earth's Beginnings (1901) (Archive.org; alt.source:
Google books). An excerpt appered in
The National Geographic Magazine, Volume 13 (Google books)
1901 - John Ambrose Fleming -
Waves and Ripples in Water, Air and Aether
--
Waves and ripples in water, air, and aether, Being a course of Christmas lectures delivered at the Royal institution of Great Britain (1902) (Archive.org; alt.source:
Google books)
1902 - Henry Selby Hele-Shaw -
Locomotion : On the Earth, Through the Water, in the Air
-- related:
Animal Mechanics (1902), by
Sir Charles Bell and
Jeffries Wyman (Archive.org; alt.source:
Google books)
1903 - Edwin Ray Lankester -
Extinct Animals
-- the "correct shorthand report" of the Christmas Lectures was published as
Extinct Animals (1905, also
1906; both from Archive.org; alt.source:
Google books)
1904 - Henry Cunynghame -
Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring Time
-- related:
Time and Clocks: a Description of Ancient and Modern Methods of Measuring Time (1906), by H.H. Cunynghame M.A. C.B. M.I.E.E. (Google books)
1905 - Herbert Hall Turner -
Astronomy
-- related:
Astronomical Discovery (1904) (Archive.org, alt.source:
Google books)
1906 -
William Duddell -
Signalling to a Distance: "From Primitave Man to Radio-Telegraphy"
-- related:
modern overview of the history of human communications
1907 - David Gill -
Astronomy, Old and New
-- Gill was not fond of giving popular lectures, but did so for "filthy lucre," according to
his memoirs (Archive.org)
1908 - W. Stirling -
The Wheel of Life
1909 - William Duddell -
Modern Electricity
-- related:
a correction to the material given in the lecture, presented to the Royal Institution, including an illustration (Google books); also:
timeline of Electricity and Magnetism:
1900-1909
1910 - Sylvanus Phillips Thompson -
Sound: Musical and Non-Musical
--
small notes by Thompson on the lecture, from
Silvanus Phillips Thompson, D.SC., LL.D., F.R.S.: His Life and Letters (1920), by Jane Smeal Henderson Thompson and Helen Gertrude Thompson (Archive.org)
1911 - Peter Chalmers Mitchell -
The Childhood of Animals
-- Mitchell put together "the same story in a different fashion" from the Christmas Lectures as
The Childhood of Animals (1912) (Archive.org)
1912 - James Dewar -
Christmas Lecture Epilogues
1913 - Herbert Hall Turner -
A Voyage in Space
--
A voyage in space; a course of six lectures "adapted to a juvenile auditory" delivered at the Royal Institution at Xmas 1913 (1915) (Archive.org)
1914 - Charles Vernon Boys -
Science in the Home
-- related:
Civic Science in the Home (1921), by George W. Hunter, Ph.D. and Walter G. Whitman, A.M.
1915 - Herbert Hall Turner -
Wireless Messages from the Stars
--
the title of the individual lectures are intriguing, but are hard to track down online. In place, here is possibly related material:
Cipher Messages from the Stars, an article by J.H. Moore, from the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 33 (1921)
(further below)
posted by wheelieman at 12:16 AM on January 1, 2011