Abstract
IN November last memorial tablets to Sir Joseph Hooker, Lord Lister, and Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace were unveiled in the north aisle of Westminster Abbey. By the courtesy of the Right Rev. the Dean of Westminster, Dr. H. E. Ryle, photographs of these memorials have been taken by the Dean's verger, Mr. D. Weller, and are here reproduced. The limited size of the tablets has prevented the employment of inscriptions other than those upon the accompanying illustrations. FIG. 1.-Sir Joseph Hooker tablet in Westminster Abbey. FIG. 2.-Lord Lister and Dr. A. R. Wallace medallions in Westminster A")bey. The memorials were unveiled without any public ceremony, but at the afternoon service of the same day the Dean of Westminster referred to them. He said that Hooker, Lister, and Wallace would always rank among the most eminent men of science of the nineteenth century; and they were all men of a singularly modest character, who worked without regard to recognition. It may be of interest here to mention some other memorials of men of science in Westminster Abbey. Sir John Herschel and Charles Darwin lie side by side in the nave (north aisle), where also rest the remains of John Hunter, John Woodward, and Sir Charles Lyell, of whom there is a bust. Near Darwin's memorial three other scientific workers are commemorated, J. P. Joule by a tablet, J. C. Adams by a medallion, and Sir George Stokes by a portrait-head. The grave of Newton is before the choir screen, one of the most conspicuous spots in the Abbey, and near it Lord Kelvin was buried. Close by is a memorial window erected to Kelvin. The great statue of James Watt is in the Chapel of St. Paul; and in St. Andrew's Chapel are memorials of Sir Humphry Davy, Thomas Young, and Sir James Simpson. The body of William Spottiswoode lies under the floor of the south transept of the Abbey.
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Memorials of Men of Science in Westminster Abbey . Nature 97, 58 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/097058a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/097058a0