[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 157 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                            H. CON. RES. 157

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

     Recognizing and honoring Joseph Henry for his significant and 
 distinguished role in the development and advancement of science and 
                              electricity.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 157

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas Joseph Henry was born December 17, 1797, in Albany, New York, the son of 
        William and Ann Henry;
Whereas Joseph Henry served as an apprentice to John Doty, a watchmaker and 
        jeweler, in preparation for attendance at the Albany Academy;
Whereas from 1819 to 1822, Joseph Henry attended advanced classes at the Albany 
        Academy and, in the spring of 1826, was elected to the professorship of 
        Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the Albany Academy;
Whereas Joseph Henry revolutionized scientific education by using experiment-
        based teaching methods at the Albany Academy, and in 1829 was awarded an 
        honorary Masters degree by Union College, despite having no formal 
        college education;
Whereas Joseph Henry conducted many experiments with electromagnets, which led 
        to his successful design and construction of an electromagnet capable of 
        lifting 750 pounds;
Whereas Joseph Henry continued to improve upon the development of the 
        electromagnet, building an electromagnet for Yale University in 1831 
        that was capable of lifting 2,300 pounds, and another electromagnet, 
        known as ``Big Ben'', that was capable of lifting 3,500 pounds, which 
        was, at the time that it was built in 1833, the most powerful 
        electromagnet ever built;
Whereas in January 1831, Joseph Henry helped lay the groundwork for the 
        development of the electromagnetic telegraph by distinguishing between 
        quantity and intensity magnets and by publishing those findings in the 
        American Journal of Science;
Whereas the modern practical unit of induction is commonly referred to as the 
        ``Henry'' in honor of Joseph Henry's research and discoveries regarding 
        self-induction;
Whereas Joseph Henry, while conducting research at the Albany Academy, invented 
        an electromagnetic motor made of a horizontally poised bar electromagnet 
        that would rock back and forth as the current through it was 
        automatically reversed;
Whereas Joseph Henry, while serving as Professor of Natural Philosophy in the 
        College of New Jersey at Princeton (currently known as ``Princeton 
        University''), conducted experiments from 1838 to 1842 which laid the 
        theoretical groundwork for modern step-up and step-down transformers;
Whereas, on December 14, 1846, Joseph Henry was selected as the first Secretary 
        and Director of the Smithsonian Institution;
Whereas, in his first report to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian 
        Institution, Joseph Henry proclaimed that the purpose of the Smithsonian 
        Institution, the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men, would be 
        best achieved by supporting original research and providing for the wide 
        distribution of the most recent findings in the various fields of 
        natural sciences;
Whereas in 1850 Joseph Henry, as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 
        established the system of receiving weather reports by telegraph and 
        utilizing such reports to predict weather conditions and issue storm 
        warnings;
Whereas in 1869 Congress established a national weather bureau upon the 
        recommendation of Joseph Henry;
Whereas Joseph Henry was appointed as a member of the Light House Board in 1852, 
        and served as its president from 1871 until his death in 1878;
Whereas Joseph Henry was an original member of the National Academy of Sciences, 
        its vice-president in 1866, and its president from 1868 until his death 
        in 1878;
Whereas Joseph Henry died in the District of Columbia on May 13, 1878;
Whereas a memorial service was held in honor of Joseph Henry on January 16, 
        1879, in the Hall of the House of Representatives, and was attended by 
        the President, Vice President, members of the President's Cabinet, 
        Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of Congress, and members of the 
        Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution; and
Whereas the memory of Joseph Henry was honored at the opening of the Library of 
        Congress in 1890 by including a statue of Joseph Henry among the 16 
        bronze portrait statues on display which represent human development and 
        civilization: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress recognizes and honors Joseph Henry for his significant 
and distinguished role in the development and advancement of science 
and electricity.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 27, 2001.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.