Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-09-25

interchanging of ideas. Not only did
he show how ocean cables could be
made and worked, but he also designed
the instruments to be employed in their
operation. First came the mirror gall
vanometer whereby electric signals
sent over a cable could be received and
read by flashes of light on a large
scale. After this the siphon recorder
was perfected, by means of which ca
bic messages are written down instead
of being flashed. These inventions, to-
gether with his plan for storing and
paying out ocean cable, made the lay
ing of the first Atlantic cable possible,
and its operation commercially prac-
ticable.
These public services were quickly
rewarded, a knighthood being con-
ferred upon the worthy professor by
Queen Victoria in 1866. For thirty
years, as Sir William Thomson, he
continued his labors, adding constantly
to the fund of human knowledge and
frequently producing inventions that
contributed to the convenience and
comfort of mankind. His measuring
instruments have done more to make
electricity an exact science than the
work of any other investigator in that
field His mariners compass is the
most important of his inventions af-
fecting navigation, but there are many
others, any one of which would entitle
him to lasting fame. "He is the great
oct frio 0f 4Io
for in giving us his compass and
sounding line he has insured a safety
we never had BEFORE is the general
sentiment among the sailors.
OF late the utilization of garbage as
fuel in central stations for the produc-
ton of light and heat has received
much consideration at his hands. An
experimental furnace is in operation in
England, and it has been found prac-
ticable and economical to generate
electric current for public lighting and
heating at Shoreditch, the scene of the
experiments.
Few men have enjoyed the fruits of
their labor in the scientific world like
Lord Kelvin. Honors have been be-
slowed upon him in greater measure
than upon any of his contemporaries.
eliminating in peerage In 1892, which
OF itself was such an unusual favor as
to attract universal attention. For the
first time in the history Of the United
Kingdom peerage was bestowed upon
a subject solely in recognition of sci
entif1c attainments. In this connection
it is worthy of mention that the title
Baron Kelvin, which Sir William
Thomson assumed, is another indica-
ton of his attachment for Glasgow. as
1t will Identify him with the Univer-
s1ty of Glasgow, which dominates the
hill to the west of the city, at the foot
OF which runs the turbid stream, the
Kelvin. However, it was with a tinge
of regret that those who have followed
the course of Sir William Thomson re-
allied that the honors which history
will pay to the great scientist will be
assigned to Lord Kelvin.
In addition to governmental recog-
milton Lord Kelvin has been the recipi-
ent of many honorary degrees from
educational Institutions He is LII. d.
of the Universities of Edinburgh,
Cambridge, Dublin, Montreal and Bo-
logna; M. D. of Heidelberg; D, C. L.
of Oxford; F. r. S., P. R. S. E.; for
eign associate of the French Academy
of Sciences; a grand officer of the
French Legion of Honor; Knight of the
German order, Pour lie Merite, and
commander of the Belgian Order of
Leopold. In 1872 he was reelected a
fellow of St. Peters college, Cam
bridge; he was chosen president of the
Royal Society of Edinburg three times.
which is an unusual distinction; for
five years-from 1890 to 1895-he was
president of the Royal Society of Lon
don, and in 1871 he was president of
the British association