For a century the firm's core business was taking and publishing photographs of the Victorian public and social, artistic, scientific and political luminaries.

Previously, citing Louis Agassiz and other scientific luminaries, Protestant contributors to religious quarterlies dismissed Darwin's theories as unscientific.

The reason they and a long list of other scientific luminaries are not household names, explains Mr. Georgis, is simple.

Yet when it comes to money, even the nation's scientific luminaries are inextricably tethered to public and private largesse.

The 40 finalists, to be selected on Jan. 25, will be offered visits with scientific luminaries during a week in Washington and will receive scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $50,000.

In 1968, the year after the U.S. population reached 200 million, Linus Pauling, Jonas Salk and other scientific luminaries signed their names to a full-page advertisement.

He dined with scientific luminaries who patronized him.

The city has a history of scientific luminaries, including the 19th century chemist Sir Humphry Davy, who worked in Hotwells.

The fellowships are named after scientific and technical luminaries who have been associated with the laboratory, its predecessors and the University of Chicago since the 1940s.

- Mr President, various Nobel Prizes have been awarded recently to scientific and literary luminaries, but one in particular deserves a mention here.