Abstract
A GREAT figure of the War has passed away with the death on February 17 of Albert I, King of the Belgians, at the early age of fifty-eight years. For nearly twenty-five years he guided his people faithfully, carrying them with him through the War years, urging them on and directing their progress during the not less uncertain years following the Peace of Versailles. His work in the political field has been set forth in many places. We are concerned here with his interest in science and scientific research, of which he was a convincing advocate. He played an active part in the development of scientific institutions in Belgium. The protection of flora and fauna, particularly of tropical regions, early attracted his attention, and in 1909, after a visit to the Congo, he put forward a plea for protective measures which culminated with the creation, in 1929, of the Pare National Albert, a nature reserve of nearly 1,400 square miles. So recently as 1932, King Albert visited the Kivu Park with Prof. V. Van Strælen in order to see for himself the effectiveness of the protective measures.
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The King of the Belgians and Progressive Science. Nature 133, 284 (1934). https://doi.org/10.1038/133284a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/133284a0