The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-06
SIR WIN. CROOKES
IS DEAD IN LONDON
Noted Scientist Who Paved
Way for Roentgen's X-Ray
Discoveries Was SO.
LONDON. April Sir wrinsrn Crookes'
famous scientist. died here yesterday
He was in. his eiehty-seventh year.

By perfecting the mercury air pump
Sir williarn-then plain Prof. Wilinm-
| Crookes was able to obtain an almost
perfect vacuum within glass vessel. Tnis
FASTENED the invention by Edison OF tne
incandescent lamp.
BY passing electricity through the Ves-
sal by means Of metal coneuce0s IN
troduced at either end the Ensiishrnan
completed the Crookes tube. twenty
years later German Investigator,
Roentgen, noted the penetrating quanty
of a radiation proceeding from the Crookoe
tube. He called this the x. or unknown
| ray II IA now the familiar but still mys-
trious Roentsen ray, Crookess expert
nents with high vacuum tubes maoe
Roentgen's discoveries possible
To Crooke's reasearches the scientino
| world owes the electronic theory nvoN-
ing radiant matter. The scope OF nus
| activities ia also indicated by his author
ship of a book on the physical phenom-
ena OF spirttualism and his having been
/, an authority on such diverse subjects as
precious stones, especially diamonds. ano
city sewage disposal 80.
| He was born in London June II, 1889.
and studied at the Royal college OF
Chemistry, where no became an assist
ant In 1851 to Prof. A. w. Won HOY
mann. Three years later he pecame
superintendent of the meteorolosicai oe-
partment of the Radcliffe Observatory,
Oxford he founded the Chemical Netos
in 1859 and in 1864 also became eoitot
of the Quarterly journal Of Science.
In 1861, while spectasoopically cram
lining the residue left in the manufacture
of suiphuric acid, he discovered orien'
green line, and by following this inoica-
ton isolated q new metal nahum
| While investigating the metal and III
properties he found that II appeared
| heavier when hot than when cold. he
called this phenomenon "repulsion from
radiation" and expressed his discovery
in the statement that in vacuum q
body tends 70 move away from another
body hotter than itself. In 1859 ~
discovered the sodium amalgamatior
process for eepar ating silver ana gold
from their ores. Later he developed the
ctheoscope. q greatly improved form Of
radiorneter.
In 1866, when England was excited by
the spread of a cattle plague, Crooke'
was appointed by the Government to re-
port on the application OF disinfectant'
in arresting the spread Of the disease. lr
1871 he went to Oran as a member of q
British expedition to study n total eclipse
of the sun. He read his FIRST paper or
"Repulsion Resulting from Radiation
before the Royal Society December IL
1873.
For several years thereafter he was q
student OF Spiritualisn. He put his OBJ
servations into a book, and for the mrs
time the scientific world paid no atten
ton to his writinga Meanwhile he con
tinued his other experiments. and In 1877
reported that he had obtained a vacuum
so nearly perfect that the pressure in 1
was only four-tenths of a millionth par
OF one atmosphere. He found that II
such an airless space gases pass into al
ultra gaseous state and form radian
matter. .....
The Royal Society gave him q media
In 1878 for services to science In tn
fields of chemistry and physics, and tive
years later made him a member OF tn
Council and appointed him Bakerian lee
turer. In 1880 the French Academy o
7 Sciences gave him the extraordinar.
prize OF 1000 francs and gold medal
After 1888 he devoted much time to tn
nature and constitution OF rare earths
and among his many discoveries wa
that OF a new memper. monium or vic
torium. He was knighted In 1897.
In 1898 he opened a new field 70
chemical exploration by showing tina