The Seventh General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics was held at Washington D.C., September 4–15, 1939. The American Organizing Committee, through its numerous subcommittees, had made adequate preparations for the reception and entertainment of some 800 delegates and guests but, unfortunately, the war in Europe which broke out just before the Assembly convened prevented the attendance of a large number of foreign delegates and guests who had signified their intention of being present at the meetings. However, despite these adverse conditions, there was a total registration of 537 delegates and guests, including 116 from foreign countries, representing over 26 nations; thus the Assembly was one of the largest of the seven so far held. It was greatly regretted that there were no French or Italian delegates at the meetings, although several of the former came to Washington only to be recalled by their Government before the opening of the Assembly.
The Fifth General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics was held at Lisbon, Portugal, September 14 to 23, 1933. The Portuguese National Committee, under the able presidency of Professor Da Costa Lobo, had arranged a full program of receptions and excursions. There were receptions by the President of the Republic, by the Minister of Public Instruction, by the Municipality of Lisbon, and by the Ministers of Commerce and of the Navy. As the concluding session of the Assembly, an excursion was made to Coimbra where the congressists were the guests of the University and where a visit to the Geophysical Institute and the new magnetic observatory was arranged for those interested.
The Sixth General Assembly of the Union of Geodesy and Geophysics was held at Edinburgh, Scotland, September 16–26, 1936. The British National Committee, under the chairmanship of Professor S. Chapman, made excellent arrangements for the meetings of the Union and its seven associations. Social entertainment was provided by receptions by the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of Edinburgh, and by His Majesty's Government, as well as by a number of teas and minor social functions. Two general excursions, in which social and educational elements were happily blended, were arranged—an all‐day journey by railway to the Highlands and an excursion on the Firth of Forth in the steamer Fair Maid. Special excursions were arranged for the various associations. Thus on September 23 the Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity was given a memorable motor‐coach trip, under the efficient direction of Dr. J. M. Stagg, to Eskdalemuir, where the Observatory was inspected and opportunity for personal contacts was afforded the delegates. On the return journey, the imposing ruins of Melrose and Dryburgh abbies were visited.
The meeting of the Commission of Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity of the International Meteorological Organization was opened September 21, 1931, at Innsbruck, Austria, under the presidency of Professor Ch. Maurain. The following countries were represented: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Poland, and Sweden.
The President's report at the opening session briefly summarized the status of the principal items of the agenda2 as follows: (1) Concerning publication of the magnetic character‐numbers. (2) Relations between the Commission and the Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. In this connection, the President stated that the members common to both organizations naturally served as a liaison, that there was no other interest in either case except that of science, and that the harmonious functioning of the two bodies was well illustrated by the development of the question of the Polar Year, the most important item on the agenda. (3) The various questions pertaining to the work during the Polar Year in continuation of the actions taken by the International Association at Stockholm, by the Commission at Leningrad, and by the Commission's subcommittees at London. By a detailed examination of the magnetic and electric work which is desirable and through the preparation of resolutions, the Commission could furnish a basis which would assist the Polar Year Commission in organizing the work. (4) The study of the relations of the moon and the magnetic elements on which topic Dr. la Cour was to present a memorandum by himself and Professor Chapman. (5) The question of the location of new observatories for terrestrial magnetism and electricity, with special reference to the work of the special committee to study this matter appointed at the Stockholm meeting of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics. The questions of the agenda were then discussed in order by the Commission during five sessions, the concluding session being held September 23, 1931.
The participation of Belgium in the Second International Polar Year, 1932–33, was marked by the establishment of two magnetic observatories, one at Manhay (Province of Luxembourg, Belgium) and the other at Elisabethville (Belgian Congo). The site of Manhay, 45 km from Liège on the height of land between the valleys of the Ourthe and the Amblève and about 15 km distant from each stream (latitude 50° 17.′9 north, longitude 5° 40.′9 east) seemed very suitable for a permanent observatory destined to replace the observatories of Uccle and Cointe, long ago rendered useless by the encroachments of electric tram‐lines.
The construction of the building for the Manhay Observatory was completed at the end of July, 1932. The installation and adjustment of the variometers occupied the whole of the month of August. The station was ready for operation by September 1, but the absolute hourly values of the horizontal and vertical components could not, for various reasons, be satisfactorily obtained until towards the end of 1932. The magnetic results for Manhay for the International Polar Year 1932–33 were published in 1937.
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