Historical Annotation

IN THE CONTEXT of history scientistsoften share the fate of artists, for the final judgment of their work is subject to the whims of later generations.Even a great scientist may fade into obscurity as later investigators incorporate his ideas into their own and forget their origin.Such a fate seems to have befallen John Scott Burdon-Sanderson.Working in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Burdon-Sanderson and his assistant F. J. M. Page performed a series of brilliant experiments which laid the founda- tion of cardiac electrophysiology.The signifi- cance of this pioneering work by Burdon-Sanderson and Page is alluded to in a passing tribute paid to them by Brian Hoffman and