50 Years Ago

In the course of two recent geophysical traverses across the Gulf of Guinea, H.M.S. Hecla has discovered a number of marked elevations of the ocean bed approximately on a line between St. Helena and the islands of the Bight of Biafra ... The continuous graphical traces made by the precision depth recorder during the traverses indicate that these are rugged topographical features, trending north-east and south-west ... Measured from the abyssal depths from which they rise (2,600 fathoms in the north-west to 3,100 fathoms in the south-east) these features have an elevation exceeding that of the Alps ... The seamounts are near and may form part of the submerged feature, shown on certain American bathymetric charts as “The Guinea Ridge”.

From Nature 24 December 1966

100 Years Ago

Soon after the outbreak of the war, my father, Lord Roberts, asked the public to lend their glasses for the use of the Army. After two years I think your readers may be glad to have some particulars of the result of his request ... Upwards of 26,000 glasses have been received ... The instruments sent comprise every type, and have been classified and issued according to the needs of different units. Particularly useful have been the fine prismatic glasses sent, which have been allocated to artillery and machine-gun units, according to their power; large mounted telescopes for batteries, deer-stalking telescopes for gunners and snipers, and good old-fashioned non-prismatic racing glasses for detection of the nationality of aircraft, locating snipers signalling by disc, collecting wounded, and musketry instruction.

From Nature 21 December 1916 Footnote 1