Sir David Attenborough is appealing for help in order to find 31 missing episodes of The Royal Institute's scientific talks known as Christmas talks. The first of these talks were broadcasted by the BBC in 1936 and it is according to the Guardian (Source) was the first science show ever broadcasted. It isn't just Sir David Attenborough who is urging the people, other lectures are also involved. But, they have been regarded as national treasures from the golden age of broadcasting. These missing episodes were broadcasted between the years 1963 to 1973. This sadly includes some of Sir David Attenborough's works which haven't been seen for 50 years! Some also include Eric Laithwaite, John Napier and George Porter - a Nobel prize winning Chemist!
These Christmas Lectures have been delivered since the year 1825 - which makes them the longest running series of scientific lectures in the word. As well as making them the earliest. This year's lecture will be done by my favourite scientist at the moment - Professor Alice Roberts. Yes, the scientist that I heard at the Bioscience Outreach Symposium. She will take the talk on human's evolutionary past and the ethical challenges that we, as humans, will need to face. So that science that can benefit society... And I, for one, will be listening!
And you can see the incomplete list of episodes here.
However good these modern talks will be, I personally think that it would be a real shame if these episodes can't be found. It would be interesting to see how the topic of science was spoken about, to see how experts or news casters related the new science to people. Like the head of BBC's archives Sarah Hayes said to the guardian, 'I don't think the importance of finding these broadcasts, to make them available for new generations can be overstated. They are to science what the missing Doctor Who episodes (Which happened a few years ago...) were to science fiction'. Some of these episodes included really important scientists of the times and who have give get things to the science world. As well as society in general.
I mean, how annoyed would people be if clip of England's winning goal the World Cup final of 1966 went missing. Or the man on the moon clip vanished... Would there be more interest/outrage?
These Christmas Lectures have been delivered since the year 1825 - which makes them the longest running series of scientific lectures in the word. As well as making them the earliest. This year's lecture will be done by my favourite scientist at the moment - Professor Alice Roberts. Yes, the scientist that I heard at the Bioscience Outreach Symposium. She will take the talk on human's evolutionary past and the ethical challenges that we, as humans, will need to face. So that science that can benefit society... And I, for one, will be listening!
And you can see the incomplete list of episodes here.
However good these modern talks will be, I personally think that it would be a real shame if these episodes can't be found. It would be interesting to see how the topic of science was spoken about, to see how experts or news casters related the new science to people. Like the head of BBC's archives Sarah Hayes said to the guardian, 'I don't think the importance of finding these broadcasts, to make them available for new generations can be overstated. They are to science what the missing Doctor Who episodes (Which happened a few years ago...) were to science fiction'. Some of these episodes included really important scientists of the times and who have give get things to the science world. As well as society in general.
I mean, how annoyed would people be if clip of England's winning goal the World Cup final of 1966 went missing. Or the man on the moon clip vanished... Would there be more interest/outrage?
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