50 Years Ago

In a written answer in the House of Commons on June 24, the Minister of Technology, Mr. F. Cousins, gave the names of 17 research associations which actively encouraged the use of computers in their respective industries; of 18 research associations which had access to computers on their premises, at universities or at member firms ... In another written answer on June 24, Mr. Cousins stated that of 4,064 non-industrial Civil Servants employed by his Department ... 1,400 had university degrees or equivalent qualifications in scientific or technological subjects, and about another 1,400 had other scientific or technological qualifications. In a third written answer, Mr Cousins stated ... action was in hand ... to promote the greater use of technological subjects in television and radio programmes, and to produce special booklets and films for wide distribution among young people.

From Nature 10 July 1965

100 Years Ago

Among the recent additions to the zoological department at South Kensington are some specimens which are surely destined to possess historical interest for posterity. They consist only of two or three examples of harvest-mice and one house-mouse, but they were caught in the trenches in northern France, in that part of the trenches, in fact, occupied by some of our Indian troops. These specimens were collected and presented to the museum by one of the officers of an Indian regiment, whose keenness for his favourite pursuit of natural history allowed him in the intervals of being heavily shelled by the enemy a little relaxation in the way of trapping and skinning any animals for the national museum in London.

From Nature 8 July 1915 Footnote 1