Belgian chemist, industrialist, and philanthropist (1838-1922) who created the famous 'Solvay conferences' where Einstein, Curie, Bohr, Heisenberg, Born, Pauli, Broglie and other physics luminaries would meet and exchange discoveries. Important ALS in French, signed “E. Solvay,” four pages on two adjoining sheets, 4.75 x 7.5, Chateau de La Hulpe letterhead, October 26, 1909. Letter to the director of a scientific review, in part (translated): "I thank you for your kind letter. I think there is a misunderstanding on the main point. The article that I expect to be able to offer you next year has no relation to psychology or biology or the physical chemical biology as we know them. It will regard exclusively physical chemistry itself but under a special light which I am convinced will fill lacunae and will allow us to merge in principle these two sciences. The article should contain experimental statements of high value both in physics and in chemistry and I work to prepare the experiences with great hope of success.
Regarding the present article, I cannot unfortunately prove it with experimental affirmations. They will be very difficult to establish as you can well understand. The institute of physiology that I founded in Brussels (and will publish an article a little later) has indeed discovered the appendages to the neurons that confirm my views (Miss Stephanowska) and have done interesting research but it has not, up to now, due to the lack of specialists with inventive spirits, they have not found the proofs to the mechanism. And that is the word physical, chemical, and psychological that I indicate. There is today still no material representation proposed for the fugitive and successive phenomena which sequence constitutes what we call thought.
While it is evident in itself that this representation really exists, this terrain is absolutely virgin and the question is very difficult to treat. The hypotheses and the multiple hypotheses do exist and imposes itself necessarily. Wouldn’t you present my article under this light to your readers? And in the form of a research program intended for specialist investigators that your prestigious reviews reaches? It would be very desirable I believe and very appropriate. I would even be ready to offer prizes for the solutions that would be obtained this way.
My absolute belief that has been confirmed over the years and that seems totally clear about discretion is similar to what I’ve seen in a different time of my life in the industries and innovative industrial expanses. And I believe your review will only receive praise in the future for the kind attention that you are giving me. In this particular case I have to use knowledge from abroad although I try normally to do things by myself. My idea of an article has been sent to Mr. Philippe A. Guye in Geneva and also to yourself and you could perhaps consult him." In fine condition. The intricacies of the brain were still being worked out at this point in time—Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramon y Cajal had recently shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their extensive observations, descriptions, and categorizations of neurons. A fascinating, early letter on neuroscience from a major figure of early 20th century science.
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