Amherst College - Olio Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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6 THE AMHERST OLIO desirability of establishing standard time, he had the satisfaction of seeing his plan unanimously voted. Soon afterward his suggestion was also adopted by Chile, Panama, and other Latin American countries. Professor Todd originated automatic photography of eclipses, and his inventions along this line have been successfully carried out on many expeditions. He was first, too, in having careful Weather observations made along prospective paths of eclipses for several years in advance, that by comparison of results the position most likely to be clear might be selected. He has conducted nine expeditions, which, though they have not all had favorable weather for astronomical purposes, have nevertheless contributed materially to science. He lectures frequently, both at other colleges and before clubs and scientific societies. His published technical papers number over a hundred, and he also writes for magazines, both popular and scientific. He is greatly interested in aeronautics as the best means of studying the atmosphere. Since 1891 he has made many experiments with models of flying apparatus of all sorts, and has taken an active interest in ballooning, making several ascents, the last of which carried him all the way from North Adams to Montreal. He has contributed to many year-books, dictionaries, and encyclo- pedias. Among his books are Stars and Telescopes, and A New Astronomy, now in its 13th edition, which has been translated into many foreign languages, including Hungarian and Turkish. He is a member of many societies and clubs: Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, member of the Philosophical Society of Washington, the Astronomical and Astrophysical Society, the Aero Club of America, the Boston Authors' Club, the University Club of Boston, the Astronomische Gesellschaft of Germany, the Societe Nationale des Sciences Naturelles et Mathematiques of Cherbourg, the Geographical Society of Lima, the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of London, and others. For twenty years he served as Secretary of the Faculty, and of the General Alumni Association. Two of the most successful pupils of Professor Todd are Robert H. Baker, '04, and Raymond S. Dugan, '99, now professors at Brown and Princeton. The latter has discovered 16 planets, to three of which he has given Amherst names. This year he is revising his treatise on the planet Mars, and preparing, with the help of C. J. Hudson, '10, complete maps for all the total eclipses of the sun that happen during the next two and a half centuries. His sense of humor helps him to present a sometimes rather difficult subject in a most interesting manner, and makes the students feel that they have in him, not so much an Overseer as a very good friend. Much valuable knowledge is continually being garnered, thanks to Pro- fessor Todd, under the big dome of Observatory Hill. We wish him con- tinued success in his work, and many happy years in which to carry it out.

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8 THE AMHERST OLIO Preface OLLOWING the appearance of the 1911 OLIO, there were - directed against it certain criticisms which seemed hardly justified by the unusual quality of the book, but due, rather, to a growing dissatisfaction with certain regular features of fiifiifif 'mi' it, the feature most criticised being the so-called obituary, this in spite of the fact that the obituaries in the 1911 OLIO seemed unusually good. The editors of the 1912 volume decided that the fault lay not so much in the obituaries themselves as in the system of publication which made them necessary, and we determined, for this and for other reasons, to change the system. Our plan was to publish the book in 1912, at the time of graduation. This plan, if adopted, would make each OL1o a complete record of the class by which it was edited. Secondly, it would do away with the necessity for having another class book, which, if it is published at all, appears at the time we proposed to publish this, and which necessarily contains much of the subject matter of former or subsequent OL1os, thus involving needless repetition. Thirdly, it would enable us to change completely the character of the obituary by substituting facts for fiction. The college body, howeve1', for both partial and impartial reasons, were opposed to our making the change. The 1910 Scarab appointed a committee to look into the matter and to decide which was the better time for the OLIo to be published-Junior year or Senior year. The committee reported practically that there was much to be said on both sides. Opposition from the college body, however, grew so strong that we were obliged to give in, and the book appears in our Junior year. A slight change was made in postponing publication from December to May. WVe feel that this change not only is an improvement in itself, but that it will pave the way to a greater improvement in the near future. We present this volume of the OL1o with the ambitious hope that it may meet with general approval and admiration. ' The Editors.