50 Years Ago

The Schizophrenia Research Fund has been established to support research into problems connected with mental illness in general and schizophrenia in particular ... Initial impetus has been given to the fund by a gift of £50,000 from the Rothschild family, and the establishment of a Schizophrenia Research Fellowship, to which Dr. D. Straughan has been appointed ... Dr. Straughan's contract is for seven years. His work ... has been concerned with pharmacological aspects of mammalian brain physiology, and he will concentrate on the biochemical basis of schizophrenia. It is hoped that this initial effort will attract interest in, and support for, work in the immense field of research bearing on the problems of mental health.

From Nature 9 January 1965

100 Years Ago

There is a widespread but erroneous belief in official circles, and among wealthy philanthropists, to the effect that you can hire a scientific discoverer and then say to him, “Discover me this” or “Discover me that” (naming to him a possible and greatly desired piece of new knowledge), and that he will thereupon proceed right away to make the discovery which you want ... But valuable and important scientific discovery cannot be produced directly in response to orders given and money expended. You cannot manufacture scientific discovery like soap. The great difficulty, in the first place, is to catch that rare and evasive creature — a scientific discoverer — and when you have found him you have to humour him and let him do as he fancies. Then he will discover things, but probably not the things which either you or he wanted or expected.

From Nature 7 January 1915