Machine generated contents note: 1. Setting the Scene -- 1.1. Introduction -- 1.2. Some Eminent Visitors to Number 21 Albemarle Street in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries -- 1.3. The Unique Qualities of the RI -- 1.4. RI Christmas Lectures -- 1.5. RI Christmas Lectures in Japan -- 1.5.1. More Recent RI Christmas Lectures and their Influence -- 1.6. Mathematics at the RI -- 1.7. The Central Role of Mathematics in a Cosmic Context -- 1.8. The RI as Mecca -- 2. Count Rumford and his Remarkable Creation in Albemarle Street -- 2.1. Introduction -- 2.2. Early Life: Soldier, Statesman, and Scientist -- 2.3. Bavarian Adventures -- 2.4. West Point or Albemarle Street? -- 2.5. Madame Lavoisier -- 3. Sir Humphry Davy: Natural Philosopher, Discourser, Inventor, Poet, and Man of Action -- 3.1. Introduction -- 3.2. How Did Davy's Life Unfold? -- 3.3. Davy's Years at the RI -- 3.4. Davy's Poetic Interests -- 3.5. A Selection of Davy's Other Achievements -- 3.5.1. Agricultural Chemistry -- 3.6. The Miner's Safety Lamp -- 3.7. Marriage -- 4. Michael Faraday: Paragon -- 4.1. Introduction -- 4.2. A Few of Faraday's Greatest Discoveries -- 4.2.1. Electromagnetic Induction -- 4.2.2. The Laws of Electrolysis -- 4.2.3. Practical and Societal Consequences of Faraday's Laws of Electrolysis -- 4.2.4. A Dramatic Lecture-Demonstration -- 4.3. Faraday and Franklin: Parallels in their Work -- 4.4. How Did Faraday Get to the RI? -- 4.4.1. Field Theory -- 4.5. The Faraday Effect -- 4.6. Three Women with Whom He Interacted -- 4.7. Faraday's Visits to Wales -- 4.8. Concluding Remarks -- 4.8.1. An Assessment of Faraday and Davy -- 4.8.2. What was the Essence of Faraday's Genius? -- 4.8.3. Faraday's Skill in Coining Words -- Appendix: Excerpts from the Sermon by the Archbishop of York, Preached at Westminster Abbey at Faraday's Bicentenary Celebrations in September 1991 -- 5. The Incredible Lord Rayleigh -- 5.1. A Cruise up the Nile -- 5.2. Brief Outline of his Career -- 5.3. Professor at Cambridge -- 5.4. Rayleigh at the RI -- 5.4.1. Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters with Benjamin Franklin -- 5.4.2. Franklin's Monolayer -- 5.5. The Discovery of Argon -- 5.6. Conclusion -- Appendix 1 A Wager Involving the Age of the Earth -- Appendix 2 Rayleigh and Ramsay -- Appendix 3 Message from the Current Lord Rayleigh -- 6. The Fuel Cell: William Robert Grove's Discourse in 1843 and Francis Bacon's in 1960 -- 6.1. Introduction: The Threat of Climate Change -- 6.2. William Robert Grove at the London Institution -- 6.3. A Brief History of the Status of the Fuel Cell -- 6.4. William Robert Grove: The Man and Some of his Other Achievements -- 6.5. Conclusion -- 7. Molecular Biology and the Crucial Role Played by the Davy -- Faraday Research Laboratory in its Birth -- 7.1. Introduction -- 7.2. Crystals of the Living Body -- 7.3. The Contributions of Astbury and Bernal -- 7.4. Two Other Major Contributions to Molecular Biology Made at the DFRL: The First-Ever Structure of an Enzyme and the Study of Viruses -- 7.5. A Final Word about the Importance of Molecular Biology, its Links with the DFRL, and its Relevance to Modern Medicine -- Appendix 1 The Importance of a Workshop in a Centre of Research Excellence -- Appendix 2 What is Sir Lawrence Bragg Doing in your Garden? -- 8. Modern Diagnostic Medicine: Memorable Discourse in 1986 by Raymond Andrew on MRI -- 8.1. Introduction: How Untrammelled Curiosity Leads to Major Technological Advance -- the Arrival of MRI and PET -- 8.2. The Principles of NMR -- 8.3. Raymond Andrew and the Magic Angle -- 8.4. The Discourse at the RI on MRI by Raymond Andrew in 1986 -- 8.5. A Word About Functional MRI -- 8.6. PET and Transformative Advances in Medicine -- 8.6.1. Clinical Research and Healthcare Applications -- Appendix: A Pictorial Analogue of CT -- 9. Egyptomania at the RI: Howard Carter's Discourse on the Tomb of Tut-Ank-Amun from Ante-Room to Burial Chamber -- 9.1. Introduction -- 9.2. The Colourful Piazzi Smyth -- 9.3. Howard Carter and his Discourse -- 9.3.1. The Chalice-Like Cup in Tut-Ankh-Amun's Tomb -- 9.4. Zaki Iskander and Cyril Aldred -- 9.5. Envoi -- Appendix 1 Piazzi Smyth and the Pyramid Inch -- Appendix 2 A Summary of How Ancient Egyptians Used Coloured Minerals -- 10. Peter Mark Roget: Facilitator of the Writing of Good English and Two of his Distinguished Successors as the Fullerian Professor of Physiology (Thomas Henry Huxley and Sir Peter Medawar) -- 10.1. Introduction -- 10.2. The Unusual Professor Roget -- 10.3. Roget's Thesaurus -- 10.4. Roget's Successors as Fullerian Professors of Physiology at the RI -- 10.5. Some Specific Contributions by Huxley and Medawar -- 10.5.1. Thomas Henry Huxley -- 10.5.2. Peter Medawar -- 10.5.3. Other Qualities Pertaining to Medawar -- 11. The Most Beautiful Experiment in Physics: Candidates from the RI and Elsewhere -- 11.1. Introduction -- 11.2. Thomas Young: Phenomenal Young -- 11.2.1. The Double-Slit Experiment -- 11.3. Faraday and Davy -- 11.4. Lawrence Bragg and Max von Laue -- 11.5. Eratosthenes and his Measurement of the Circumference of the Earth, Third Century BC -- 12. The Uniqueness of the RI: Some autobiographical reminiscences of my days as Director of the RI -- 12.1. Introduction -- 12.2. George Porter -- 12.2.1. Important Advice from George Porter -- 12.3. Kathleen Lonsdale -- 12.4. Michael Atiyah: Knots at the RI -- 12.4.1. The Responsibilities of Scientists at the Royal Society -- 12.5. Margaret Gowing -- 12.6. Some of my Activities and Duties During the Faraday Bicentenary -- 12.6.1. An Opportunity to write a Book on Faraday -- 12.7. Brian Pippard -- 12.8. My First Discourse Speakers -- 12.9. The Night of the Monarch Butterfly -- 12.9.1. A Human Being Weighing Nine Tons! -- 12.10. Neil MacGregor -- 12.11. Three Nobel Laureates -- 12.12. Officers, Professors, Calendars -- 12.13. Deputy Directors and Professorships of Natural Philosophy: 1986 -- 2007 -- 12.13.1. David Phillips -- 12.13.2. Richard Catlow -- 12.14. Discourse Entertainment -- 12.14.1. Sam Wanamaker, Jonathan Miller, and Oliver Sacks -- 12.15. CarlSagan -- 12.16. Kirill Zamaraev -- 12.17. Photographs and Portraits of Some Other Notable RI Performers -- Afterword -- A.1. Max Perutz's Eightieth Birthday Symposium -- A.2. Schools and Christmas Lectures -- A.3. The Enzyme Structure Breakthrough -- A.4. Reflections on the Role as Director of the RI in my career -- A.4.1. Leaving a Highly Effective Research School in Cambridge -- A.4.2. Could I Emulate What George Porter Did at the RI? -- A.5. Miss Irene James -- A.6. Spending Time with Bill Coates -- A.7. Undertaking Original Research at the Daresbury Synchrotron Facility -- A.7.1. Single-Site Heterogeneous Catalysts (2012) -- A.8. Other Pleasures and Privileges of Being Director of the RI -- A.8.1. Inviting Christmas Lecturers -- A.9. The Royal Family and the RI -- A.9.1. The Duke of Kent -- A.10. My Views on the Present Status of the RI.