- Prix Guzman
The Prix Guzman (Guzman Prize) was a 100,000 franc prize announced in 1900 by the French
Académie des Sciences to "the person of whatever nation who will find the means within the next ten years of communicating with a star and of receiving a response." It was sponsored by Clara Gouget Guzman in honor of her son Pierre. Pierre Guzman had been interested in the work ofCamille Flammarion , the author of "La planète Mars et ses conditions d'habitabilité " (The Planet Mars and Its Conditions of Habitability, 1892). Communication with Mars was specifically exempted as many people believed that Mars was inhabited at the time and communication with that planet would not be a difficult enough challenge. [Camille Flammarion, "Dreams of an Astronomer", trans. E. E. Fournier D'Albe (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1923), p. 154.]Nikola Tesla claimed in 1937 that he should receive the prize for "his discovery relating to the interstellar transmission of energy." [" [http://www.tesla-coil-builder.com/Articles/july_11_1937.htm Sending of Messages to Planets Predicted by Dr. Tesla on Birthday] ," "New York Times", 11 July 1937, p. 13, c. 2.] The prize remains unclaimed.References
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