ROYAL OBSERVATORY 134 ROYER-COLLARD ical inventions, and teach by lectures and experiments the application of sci- ence to the common purposes of life. It has, as a rule, had for its lecturers some of the first scientific men of the age: e. g., Thomas Young, Davy, Brande, Faraday, Tyndall, Frankland, and Ray- leigh. It maintains professors of nat- ural philosophy, chemistry and physiol- ogy, and has laboratories (including, since 1896, the Davy-Faraday research laboratory presented by Dr. Ludwig Mond). ROYAL OBSERVATORY, GREEN- WICH, the famous English observatory founded by Charles II. in 1675. The first observation was made Sept. 19, 1675. The Director of the Observatory is styled the Astronomer Royal, and is under the official control of the Admir- jtlty, but receives his appointment di- rectly from the Prime Minister, and holds office by warrant under the royal sign manual. Meridian observations of sun, moon, planets and stars constitute the fundamental work. Photographs of the sun are taken on every available day, and after being measured are care- fully stored for reference. Magnetic and meteorological observations, made con- tinuously, form an important branch of the works. The chronometers used in the English navy are purchased, and generally examined, at the Observatory. Hourly and daily time-signals are sent out from the Observatory through the post-office telegraphs giving Greenwich time to all parts of the country. ROYAL SOCIETY (LONDON), a so- ciety for prosecuting research in general and physico-mathematical science in par- ticular, founded in 1660. Its first jour- nal opened Nov. 28, 1660, and the members, in 1662, obtained a charter, and were incorporated as the Royai Society. The first number of the "Phil- osophical Transactions," recording the work of the society, appeared on March 6, 1665. After 1750 the annual volume took the place of occasional numbers. In 1709 a bequest from Sir Godfrey Copley led to the establishment of the Copley gold medal, and a donation from Count Rumford in 1796 resulted in the foun- dation of the Rumford gold and silver medals. Two more medals were estab- lished by George IV. in 1825. The Lin- nsean Society branched off from it in 1788, the Geological Society in 1807, and the Royal Astronomical Society in 1820. For a considerable time the number of the members stood at 600; latterly, however, only 15 members have been annually elected, so that the number of fellows will in a few years be reduced below 500. Many of the most important scientific achievements and discoveries have been due to its enlightened methods. It de- servedly enjoys an influential and semi- official position as the scientific adviser of the British Government, and not only administers the $20,000 annually voted by Parliament for scientific purposes, but has given suggestions and advice which have borne valuable fruit, from the voyage of Captain Cook in the "En- deavor" in 1768 down to the present time. The roll of the Royal Society con- tains practically all the great scientific names of its country since its founda- tion. Among its presidents have been Lord-Chancellor Somers, Samuel Pepys, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir J. Banks, Sir Hans Sloane, and Sir Humphry Davy. ROYAL SOCIETY OF LITERATURE, a society founded in England under the patronage of George IV., in 1823, and chartered in 1826. It awards gold medals. ROYCE, JOSIAH, an American edu- cator and author; born in Grass Valley, Cal., Nov. 20, 1855. He became Profes- sor of the History of Philosophy in Harvard in 1892, and published: "A Primer of Logical Analysis" (1881) ; "The Religious Aspect of Philosophy" (1885) ; "California" (1886) ; "The Feud of Oakfield Creek" (1887), a novel; "The Spirit of Modern Philosophy" (1892) "Studies of Good and Evil" (1898) "The World and the Individual" (1900) "The Conception of Immortality" (1900) "Herbert Spencer" (1904) ; "The Philos- ophy of Loyalty" (1908); "William James; and Other Essays" (1911); "Problems of Christianity" (1912) ; "War and Insurance" (1914) ; "The Hope of the Great Community" (1917). He died Sept. 14, 1916. ROYE, a village in the Department of the Somme, France, situated on the Avre, 26 miles S. E. of Amiens. The village was taken by the Germans soon after the invasion of France, in Septem- ber, 1914, but afterward was the scene of much of the heavy fighting in that region. Pop. about 4,500. ROYER-COLLARD, PIERRE PAUL, a French statesman; born in Sompuis, France, June 21, 1763. On the out- break of the Revolution he was elected a member of the municipality of Paris, and in 1790-1792 acted as joint-secre- tary. Having incurred the enmity of the Jacobins, he lived in hiding at Som- puis during the Reign of Terror. Three years afterward (1797) chosen to the Council of the Five Hundred, he took' an active part in the work of that as- sembly, till the 18th Fructidor. In 1811
