50 Years Ago

Les Néanderthaliens. Par Étienne Patte — At the time of the original discovery in 1856, the Neanderthal skull aroused controversies which to-day seem to have been unnecessarily acrimonious, but then such controversies always do seem (and, because of the hidden emotions engendered, perhaps always will be) the fate of discoveries of early man or his progenitors... Perhaps more has been written and speculated about Neanderthal man than any other Palæolithic type, and there is no reason to suppose that the last word on his origin and fate has been pronounced... it is commonly accepted that he represents a separate species, Homo neanderthalensis. Whether this specific distinction is really warranted will probably only be determined with the accumulation of still more skeletal remains.

W. E. Le Gros Clark

From Nature 9 March 1957.

100 Years Ago

In a letter in NATURE (August 2, 1906) I gave an account of some experiments which I considered proved that the α particle as initially expelled is not charged... But it is clear that if, as Rutherford considers probable, the α particle carries a multiple charge, the results I published do not by themselves suffice... I had hoped long ere this to submit this point to an experimental test, which is simple enough to do by varying the strength of the field. But I very much regret I have no longer the essential facilities necessary to carry on the investigation, particularly the means of obtaining a steady supply of liquid-air, and there does not appear to be any immediate prospect of my being in a position to repeat the experiments. The question at issue is a somewhat fundamental one in the relations of electricity and matter...so nothing remains but to withdraw what I have already published.

Frederick Soddy

From Nature 7 March 1907.