Correspondence. The History of the Theory of Structures

THE PRESIDENT (Professor J. Husband, F.R,.C.Sc.T., M.Inst.C.E.), in calling upon Dr. Agatz to present his paper, said it was a very happy coincidence that the Institution was able to welcome a great engineering authority from Berlin so soon after British engineers had visited Germany in order to see the wonderful German autobahnen.

The newly-elected President of the Institution, Lt.-Colonel H. S. Rogers, C.M.G., D.S.O, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, France, is a Canadian and was born at Peterborough, Ontario, in 1869. Educated at the Royal Military College, Kingston, Canada, he graduated in 1889 winning, amongst other prizes, that for Civil Engineering, the Stanley Sword for the highest aggregate in Military Subjects and the Governor-General’s Gold Medal for general proficiency, the latter gaining him the only commission in the Royal Engineers granted to Canada that year.

My late chief, Mr. John Miller, Engineer, North Eastern Area of the L.N.E.R., decided in 1927 to enquire into the possibilities of making use of electric welding in connection with structural and permanent way work, and a considerable amount of welded work of various kinds was carried out by him, all of it based on independent research work and experiments, the results and conclusions arrived at being taken advantage of in the design of welded work of very diverse nature, mainly, however, in connection with bridges, steel structures and rail welding. H.J.L. Bruff