R
    Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.20065

    ‘Presentation of the Davy Medal’

    Date
    1903
    Sitter
    William Huggins (1824 - 1910, British) , Astronomer
    Pierre Curie (1859 - 1906, French) , Physicist
    Joseph Larmor (1857 - 1942, British) , Physicist, Theoretical physicist
    Creator
    Samuel Begg (1854 - 1936, New Zealander) , Illustrator
    Object type
    Image reference
    Material
    Technique
    Dimensions
    height (print): 188mm
    width (print): 280mm
    Subject
    Content object
    Description
    Group portrait, showing the Royal Society’s President, Sir William Huggins (centre left), handing the 1903 Davy Medal to Pierre Curie (centre right). Also present are Society Officers, including Joseph Larmor (right). The composition shows the Meeting Room in Burlington House, London, with regalia including the Royal Society’s mace, President’s chair with the coat of arms; the portrait of Sir Isaac Newton by John Vanderbank behind.

    Illustration from The Illustrated London News, 16 June 1903. Captioned below: ‘ENGLISH HONOUR FOR THE FRENCH DISCOVERES OF RADIUM: THE ROYAL SOCIETY’S PRESENTATION OF THE DAVY MEDAL TO M. AND MADAME CURIE. DRAWN BY S. BEGG, OUR ARTIST, WHO WAS PRESENT BY THE SPECIAL PERMISSION OF THE SOCIETY.’ Signed lower right ‘S. BEGG’.

    The text goes on to explain: ‘The Davy Medal is awarded for the greatest chemical discovery of the year. Madame Curie could not be present owing to the rules of the Society, but her name was associated with that of her husband by Sir William Huggins, who made the presentation on November 30.’

    Sir William Huggins (1824-1910), British astronomer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1865. He served as President of the Royal Society, 1900-1905.
    Pierre Curie (1859-1906) French physicist.
    Sir Joseph Larmor (1857-1942), British theoretical physicist, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1892. He served as Secretary of the Royal Society 1901-1912.
    Object history
    Purchased by the Royal Society, 2021.United
    Associated place
    <The World>
       > Europe
          > United Kingdom
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