The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1146: Chapter 116: Everything I Have Was Given by Sir Arthur

According to the Royal Society, after weeks of thorough discussions among the members of the academic committee and compiling the votes from each department member, George Simon Ohm, the electromagnetism professor at the University of London, has been awarded the highest scientific honor in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland—the Copley Medal, by an overwhelming majority.

At the award ceremony held last weekend, Michael Faraday, Director of the Royal Society Laboratory and the 1832 Copley Medal recipient, personally awarded this honor to Professor Ohm. Meanwhile, Michael Faraday, Charles Wheatstone, and Charles Darwin jointly recommended George Simon Ohm to be elected as a new foreign fellow of the Royal Society.

It is reported that at the award ceremony, Professor Ohm expressed his gratitude for the tremendous support his colleagues in the scientific community have provided to his research in recent years and made special mention of Sir Arthur Hastings, a fellow researcher in electromagnetism. Professor Ohm stated that during the darkest days of his life, it was the helping hand of Sir Arthur Hastings that rescued him from the abyss.

When he proposed Ohm’s Law, the German scientific community, due to his identity as a high school teacher, only responded to him with ridicule and scorn. No one was willing to believe in his scientific achievements, and no authority was willing to endorse his academic results.

However, at that time, Sir Arthur Hastings, who was the Göttingen University Supervisor, went against everyone’s opposition, decisively inviting this high school teacher from Bavaria to Göttingen. Sir Arthur not only personally assisted him in experimental validation work but also did not covet academic fame, insisting that Professor Ohm independently publish his academic papers.

After vindicating Professor Ohm, Sir Arthur Hastings did not become jealous due to the scientific community’s accolades towards Ohm. He did not suppress Ohm despite both being in the electromagnetism field; instead, he made good use of him, entrusting him with the responsibility of hosting the teaching and research work of the electromagnetism department at Göttingen University.

Professor Ohm believes that in his lifetime, he has met many renowned academic figures, and in terms of magnanimity, Sir Arthur Hastings is undoubtedly among the foremost. Perhaps in recent years the name of Sir Arthur Hastings has rarely appeared in various scientific journals, but Ohm had no doubt that if Sir Hastings was willing, he could easily win the Copley Medal next year.

When reporters interviewed Sir Arthur Hastings, asking for his opinion on Professor Ohm’s remarks, the knight modestly stated: “In the field of electromagnetism, Ohm is a more outstanding researcher than I am. The Copley Medal is entirely deserved by him, and in the process of verification, I merely played a peripheral assisting role. As for jealousy, it is a common human emotion. I am not jealous of Ohm, not because I lack human feelings, but because I too was once treated with such kindness by Mr. Faraday. I am pleased that Ohm considers me a person of integrity; for me, this compliment far exceeds any honor in the world.”

—”The Times” June 21, 1841 issue “The Great Soul Behind George Ohm, Nurturer of the Copley Medal: Sir Arthur Hastings”

The heavy wooden doors were slowly pushed open, and scholars entered one after another, with the air filled with the scent of books. The ceiling soared high, with several dim oil lamps hanging, casting flickering shadows on the walls, which displayed various classical paintings.

The long oak conference table was laden with a few open books, alongside parchment rolls and ink bottles used for recording the meeting’s proceedings.

The academic committee members from various departments of the University of Göttingen took their seats one by one, and once seated, the teaching meeting commenced as usual, in a steady and solemn atmosphere.

Due to the current vacancy in the position of president, today’s teaching meeting was naturally presided over by the new Academic Director, Sir Arthur Hastings.

Arthur first stood up, cleared his throat softly, and his clear, deep voice resonated within the room.

The meeting’s content was not novel, as it involved assigning this semester’s teaching tasks, covering recent academic research achievements, planning external academic exchanges, and devising strategies for student development, requiring each department to report the research progress of their respective projects.

Before the meeting began, Assistant Director Professor Herbart had already organized the relevant content into a booklet and sent it to Arthur’s desk.

Arthur read through the meeting’s content and the teaching feedback received by the academic committee recently, verbatim. Some academic committee members nodded while others frowned slightly. A few elder professors occasionally removed their round glasses, gently massaging their temples with their fingers, uncertain whether they were tired from listening or contemplating the topics Arthur had raised.

But not all discussions on the agenda were completely harmonious; on academic matters, the academic committee with differing opinions often engaged in intense debates. Some professors proposed development plans for emerging disciplines, which received support from some members, but there were also conservatives who worried about the impact on the status of traditional disciplines.

Occasionally, one or two members would stand up, draw curves on the tabletop with their fingers, or wave their quill pens in the air, expressing their opinions in a more visual manner.