Abstract
LORD BALFOUR held throughout his life a firm belief in the material as well as in the intellectual value of scientific knowledge. He lived to see his views shared by most public men. Largely through his influence, there has been brought about a complete change in the attitude of Parliament towards scientific matters, and the encouragement of research is now considered an essential duty of Government. Lord Balfour gradually and inevitably became the man to whom his political colleagues, and many of his political opponents, naturally turned to keep them in touch with scientific developments. It was remarkable how he managed to do it, busy man as he was. It is hard enough for the scientific worker to keep abreast of modern progress, and one would have thought it almost impossible for a man so fully occupied with other affairs. Lord Balfour succeeded partly by reading—one could usually find NATURE and a modern scientific book on the little table by his chair—but mainly through meeting and talking to the leaders of scientific thought of the day, for whom he had a profound admiration.
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By H. T. TIZARD, F.R.S., Rector of Imperial College of Science and Technology, formerly Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Nature 125, 502–503 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/125502a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/125502a0