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CHAPTER III BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE INCORPORATORS THE tumultuous days of a great war would hardly seem a propitious time for the formation of an association to promote the arts of peace. Men of science, like men from every other department of life, were engaged directly or indirectly in the struggle, and it seems unlikely that any of them, and especially those in prominent positions, would find the leisure, or be in a mood, to consider the qualifications of their confreres for membership in an academy. The peculiar circum- stances of the time must have greatly increased the difficulties of this delicate task. It has been suggested that the exigencies of the day account for the large number of men connected with the military and naval branches of the Government that were included among the incorporators. This may be true, as the founders of the Academy undoubtedly had the idea that it would be a help to the Government, but a more just view is, perhaps, that so many men of high scientific attainments were connected with the Army and Navy that the choice naturally lay in that · - c erection. It would be interesting to know how the selection of incor- porators was guided, but no records at present available reveal the facts. A clew is, perhaps, to be found by a study of the mem- bership of scientific organizations already in existence when the Academy was founded. There were three general societies, the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science. From a comparison of the lists of those who were members between ~860 and ~863', it appears that from two-thirds to nearly three-fourths of the incorporators of the The meetings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science were sus- pended during the Civil War. log i

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I 04 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES National Academy were connected with one or the other of these societies, and that of the whole number of incorporators only four were not members of any of them. It would seem almost certain that the little group of men that guided the Academy movement had these lists before them when engaged in the selection of incorporators. Doubtless there were good reasons why the fifty original members, or some of them, were not notified of their inclusion in the list in advance of the passage of the Act of Incorporation, but it is significant that only two declined membership, or resigned in the months immediately following that event. The Academy has published sketches of the lives of nearly all the incorporators in the series known as the Biographical Memoirs, of which seven volumes have been issued. It has not seemed necessary or desirable to gather the same information again from original sources, but an attempt has been made to summarize, in the pages which follow, the principal events in the lives of the original members. The matter has been derived in the majority of cases from the Biographical Memoirs, and in each instance the authority is cited. The original list of incorporators as it appears in the Act of ~863 is as follows: Louts AGASSIZ, Massachusetts. I. H. ALEXANDER, Maryland. S. ALEXANDER, New Jersey. A. D. BACHE, at large. F. A. P. BARNARD, at large. I. G. BARNARD, United States Army, Massachusetts. W. H. C. BARTLETT, United States Military Academy, Missouri. U. A. BORDEN, Massachusetts. A~Ex~s CASWELL, Rhode Island. WILLIAM CHAUVENET, Missouri. T. H. C. COFFIN, United States Naval Academy, Maine. J. A. DAHEGREN, United States Navy, Pennsylvania. lo J. D. DANA, Connecticut. CHARLES H. DAVIS, United States Navy, Massachusetts. GEORGE ENGELMANN, St. Louis, Mis- sour~. T. F. FRAZER, Pennsylvania. WOLCOTT GIBBS, New York. J. M. G1I LISS, United States Navy, Kentucky. A. A. GOULD, Massachusetts. B. A. GOULD, Massachusetts. ASA GRAY, Massachusetts. ARNOLD GUYOT, New Jersey. JAMES HALL, New York. JOSEPH HENRY, at large. J. E. HIEGARD, at large, Illinois.

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THE INCORPORATORS EDWARD HITCHCOCK, Massachusetts. I. S. HUBBARD, United States Naval Observatory, Connecticut. A. A. HUMPHREYS, United States Army, Pennsylvania. I. L. LE CONTE, United States Army, Pennsylvania. T. LEIDY, Pennsylvania. T. P. LESLEY, Pennsylvania. M. F. LONGSTRETH, Pennsylvania. D. H. MAHAN, United States Mili- tary Academy, Virginia. T. S. NEWBERRY, Ohio. H. A. NEWTON, Connecticut. BENJAMIN PEIRCE, Massachusetts. JOHN RODGERS, United States Navy, Indiana. IOS FAIRMAN ROGERS, Pennsylvania. R. E. ROGERS, Pennsylvania. W. B. ROGERS, 3/Iassachusetts. L. M. RUTHERFORD, New York. JOSEPH SAXTON, at large. BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Connecticut. BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, JR., Connec- ticut. THEODORE STRONG, New Jersey. lOHN TORREY, New York. J. G. TOTTED, United States Army, Connecticut. JOSEPH WINLOCK, United States Nau- tical Almanac, Kentucky. JEFFRIES WYMAN, Massachusetts. [. D. WHITNEY, California. LOUIS AGASSIZ Born, May 28, I 807; died, December I 4, I 873 Arnold Guyot remarked of Agassiz in 1878: " Agassiz, in more senses than one, is a unique figure in the history of the scientific progress of our day. In Europe he already occupied among men of science a position in some manner exceptional, I may say privileged, which no other scientific man of equal or even superior merit has enjoyed. In this country, during the last quarter of a century, he has been in the popular mind, more than any other man, the representative of the faithful, unflinching devotee of natural science. " In both hemispheres he found crowds of enthusiastic admirers; in both he became the center of a marvelous scientific activity, the guide of numerous fol- lowers in the investigation of the mysteries of nature. Such facts reveal an individuality of uncommon poorer which deserves our special attention." Louis Agassiz was born at Motier, in the Swiss Canton of Vaud, on May 2~3, Box. He was the son of the pastor of the village church, and was descended from French Huguenots. His father accepted a call to the town of Orbe, at the foot of the Jura, and young Agassiz's boyhood was spent among those impressive surroundings, which doubtless first served to arouse in him an interest in the study of nature. He returned hither in

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IO6 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES later years to verify his geological deductions and to find mate- rials for his work on echinoderms. At the age of As, Agassiz engaged in classical studies at the College of Bienne, and afterwards was a student for two years at the Academy of Lausanne. In ~824 he entered the Medical School of Zurich where two additional years were spent. Hav- ing been encouraged in his natural history studies by the zoologist Schinz, according to the custom of the time he left Zurich and entered the University of Heidelberg, where he studied physiology and anatomy under Tiedeman, zoology under Leuckart, and botany under Bischoff. At this time Alexander Braun was studying at Heidelberg, and an intimate friendship was formed between the two young men, Braun inviting Agassiz to his home during the summer vacations. To this charming home, most delightfully situated at Carisruhe, many naturalists and other men of learning were attracted, and by the intimate intercourse with those who like himself were engaged in the study of nature, and by comparison of investigations made, Agassiz broadened his own views, and laid the foundations for his future work. Edith Braun and Schimper, Agassiz spent the years from ~7 to Also at the University of Munich, continuing his medical studies and mainly occupied with zoological investi- gations. These three men formed the nucleus of a company of young scientists who organized a society called the " Little Academy of Sciences," where each gave lectures on his favorite topic. In these years were finished those preliminary studies which formed the basis of his life work. With Oken he dis- cusse(1 classification; with Dollinger, embryology; Von Martins instructed him in the geographical distribution of plants; and Schelling in philosophy. He published his first work at this time and prepared two others. Owing to the death of Spix, Agassiz was chosen by Von Martins, the Brazilian explorer, to describe the fishes collected during his expedition. So Crest was this done by Agassiz, then but twenty-one years of age, that it gave him rank among the best naturalists of the time.

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THE INCORPORATORS IO7 Previous to the accomplishment of this work, Agassiz had taken the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Eriangen in ~829, and Doctor of Medicine at Munich in ~830. While continuing his preparations for the publication of a natural history of the fresh-water fishes of Europe and a treatise on fossil fishes, Agassiz visited Vienna and Paris, where he examined the collections in the museums, and received help from various sources, as well as offers of attractive positions. He became acquainted with Fitzinger in Vienna and in Paris Humboldt introduced him to Cuvier, who generously placed in his hands the whole of the material which he himself had in- tended to use as the basis of a work on fossil fishes. By the advice of Humboldt, Agassiz refused the various offers of positions that were made to him, but at last in the autumn of ~832 was appointed to the recently-established chair of natural history in the College of Neuchatel, where for ~~ years he labored assiduously and published extensively. His " Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles," and his " Systeme Glaciaire," " those of his works which have made the deepest impress on progressing science," were written during this period. Always enthusiastic, he carried out his ideals in the publication of his books, and though often in pecuniary difficulties, aid came to him from many sources on account of his reputation for accurate scholar- ship and faithful devotion to research. Other important works published by Agassiz while at Neu- chate! were a prodromus of the echinoderms and a treatise on the fossil echinoderms of Switzerland, Critical studies of fossil Mollusks, " Iconography of the tertiary shells believed to be identical with living ones," the " NomencIator Zoologicus," and the " Bibliotheca Zoologica et Geological" In ~836 Agassiz's attention was directed to the subject of glaciers by his friend lean de Charpentier, and he spent some months with him at Bex, near the mouth of the Rhone. As a result of his studies and reflections, he conceived the idea of an universal glacial epoch at the end of the Tertiary Age. He pre- sented this before the Heivetic Society of Natural Science at

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. I08 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Neuchatel in ~ 837 and produced a sensation throughout the scien- tific world. It was combated and ridiculed, but in course of time it has found universal acceptance, though in a modified form. Agassiz never lost interest in the subject, and made extensive and important contributions to it in later years. He intended to publish a comprehensive work on the results obtained through the researches of himself and his associates, but the enterprise was frustrated by the revolution of ~848, after the publication of the first volume. " If to Venetz and Charpentier belongs the honor of having first proved the transportation of the Swiss erratic boulders bv the agency of ice. and the existence of , O , ~ · ~ . . · ~ ~ ~ . great glaciers formerly extending lo tne aura, to Gassy we must award the merit of having given to these facts their full geological significance, of having brought them before the world at large and having made the glacial question, as it were, the order of the day." (Guyot.) Important as were these glacial researches of Agassiz, his friend Humboldt thought it unfortunate that he should be diverted from natural history investigations, and on that account induced the King of Prussia to send him on a scientific mission for the comparison of the faunas of temperate Europe and America. At the same time Agassiz received an invitation to lecture before the Lowell Institute in Boston. He came to America in ~846, and, as is well known, made an extraordinary impression in scientific circles and on the public at large. " Be- fore him America had had many able representatives of the science of nature, fully appreciated abroad, but too much i~n`~re(1 hv the mass of the neoole at home. who had not Yet ,~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , . ~ ~ .~ ~ ~ · . · 1 1 1 1 , espoused the cause. Sympathy and event ald had been want- ~ ~ , ~~ ~ · ~ r ~ · 1 1 _ 1 .1~ ing. l he stirring appeals of Agasslz were heard and the nation nobly responded.' ( Guyot. ) Professor Bache, Superintendent of the Coast Survey, gave him opportunities for investigations of marine life on the Atlantic Coast and among the Florida Reefs. Means were found for an expedition to Brazil and the Amazon, and for the publication of his " Contributions to the Natural History of the

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THE INCORPORATORS IO9 United States," for the establishment of a biological laboratory and school on Penikese Island, and many other enterprises. Greatest of all was the organization of the Scientific School and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard. In the latter, Agassiz's ideas on zoology were embodied in concrete form in the zoological, geographical, and embryological series which were there displayed. " By his large contributions to Science in America, by his power of developing a true scientific spirit, to excite and popularize the taste for scientific researches, by his vast influence on the American mind, and his universal popularity, which he kept to the very last, Agassiz had become emphatically a rzatio?zai mar'." (Guyot.) He died on December ~4, x873. It was probably Agassiz who induced Senator Wilson to introduce and urge the bill incorporating the National Academy of Sciences, and when established he became its first Foreign Secretary. (From ARNOLD GUYOT, in Biographical Memoirs of fee National Academy of Sciences, vol. 2, ~ 886, pp. 39-73. See also ELIZABETH C. AGASSIZ, Louis Agassiz; His Life and Correspondence," Boston, 1893; JULES MARCOU, " Life and Letters of Louis Agassiz, ' Boston, 1895.) JOHN H. ALEXANDER Born, June 26, I8I2; died, March a, 1867 Dr. Alexander was a man of remarkable versatility. A mathematician and a physicist, he was also a linguist and a poet. He was a successful man of affairs and a deeply-read student of theology and church history. ~ ~ . . . ~ . . .A ~ His father, who be- longed to a ~cotch-lr1sh tam1ly, came to America before the Revolution and settled at Annapolis, Maryland. Here John H. Alexander was born in 32. He was graduated from St. John's College in his native town when fourteen years old and entered upon the study of law. His attention being attracted, however, to the great possibilities of steam transportation and the utiliza- tion of the natural resources in iron and coal, he turned his energies in the direction of practical pursuits. He was at first connected with surveys for the Susquehanna Railroad (now

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I I O NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES part of the Northern Central Railroad) and soon afterward became interested in a topographical and geological survey of Maryland. In association with Professor Julius T. Ducatel, he prepared a plan for these surveys and in ~834 was appointed Topographical Engineer by the Maryland Legislature, Pro- fessor Ducate! at the same time becoming State Geologist As the result of a trigonometrical reconnaissance, Alexander was en- abled within four years to construct a map of the State on which geological data could be plotted, and was contemplating the preparation of a more accurate map, through the cooperation of the United States Coast Survey, when the Legislature withdrew its support from reasons of economy and the work was left in- complete. Alexander in the meantime formed the George's Creek Coal and Iron Company and served as president of that organization from ~836 to ~845. In ~839 he visited Europe for the purpose of obtaining funds for the support of the enterprise. In Also he published a work entitled " Contributions to a History of the Metallurgy of Iron" which was followed in ~842 by a supplement, and constituted a " complete treatise on the subject up to his day." (Hilgard.) To meet the needs of surveyors and engineers he then pre- pared a copiously annotated edition of " Simms' Treatise on Mathematical Instruments used in Surveying, Leveling, and Astronomy." After the copies of the United States standards of weight and measure, which had been authorized by Congress for the use of the several States, had been completed, Dr. Alexander induced the Maryland Legislature to provide similar copies for the counties of that State, and was in turn charged with their con- struction and verification. In that connection, he prepared a com- prehensive report " On the Standards of Weight and Measure for the State of Maryland," which included an account of the origin of Anglo-Saxon measures, and a resume of legislation in England and the United States.

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THE INCORPORATORS I I I In ~850 Dr. Alexander published a " Universal Dictionary of Weights and Measures, Ancient and Modern " which was " one of the most complete and exact works of the kind ever pub- lished." ~ Hilgard. ~ In ~855 he issued a pamphlet entitled " International Coinage for Great Britain and the United States," in which he explained his plan for equalizing the pound sterling and the half-eagle. He went to Europe in ~857 as the representative of the United States for the purpose of effecting arrangements for the unifica- tion of coinage, but his labors were unsuccessful, owing, as he believed, to the opposition of the bankers. At the request of the Lighthouse Board, Dr. Alexander re- ported on Babbage's numerical system of lighthouses, on steam whistles as fog signals, and on illuminating oils. At the outbreak of the Civil War he tendered his services to the Government and was appointed an engineer officer, in which constructing the defences of · ~ · "d ~ - capacity ne allied in planning and Baltimore. He also contributed largely from his own means for organizing and equipping a field battery of which his eldest son became the commander. He was about to be appointed Director of the Mint in Philadelphia in ~867, when he was attacked by pneumonia and died in his both year. Dr. A1exander's published works include, besides books and pamphlets on scientific subjects (the more important of which have been mentioned above), two volumes of religious poems; and he also left behind a considerable number of manuscripts, among which was " a Dictionary of English Surnames " in 12 volumes, and " a Dictionary of the Language of the Llenni- Lenape, or Delaware Indians." (From J. E. HILGARD, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. I, 1877, pp. 213-226. See also WM. PINKNEY, " Memoir of John H. Alexander," Maryland Historical Society, ~867. 8°. Pp. 3~.) ,, ~ . ~ . . _

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I I2 ~ .' ~ ~ 1 ~ 1 1 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STEPHEN ALEXANDER Born, September I, ~806; died, June z5, ~883 Stephen Alexander was born in Schenectady, New York? and resided there until after his graduation from college. His father, Alexander Alexander, was a successful business man in Schenectady. He died when in middle life, but left his widow and two young children with sufficient means to live in comfort. Stephen was graduated from Union College in ~824, with high honors, and immediately after began teaching. He first taught in the Academy at Chittenango, New York, and later Bras probably connected for some time with the Academy in Albany. In ~832 he went to Princeton with Joseph Henry, who became Professor of Natural Philosophy there in that year. Henry was Stephen A1exander's first cousin and, some years later, he married Harriet Alexander, Stephen's younger sister, thus mak- ing a double relationship, which doubtless influenced Alex- ander's life and fortunes to a considerable extent. Alexander's first idea in going to Princeton to study was to prepare himself for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, but in ~833 he was appointed to a tutorship in the college, and thus began his forty- three years' service as a member of the faculty. In ~83~, he was made Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, and in ~840 Professor of Astronomy, which position he held until ~ 876, when he retired as professor emeritus. In ~83~ Alexander went to Maryland to observe the annular eclipse of February Ida, and ever after that time he was intensely interested in such phenomena, never missing an opportunity to make similar observations. Between ~83~ and ~875, he observed many annular eclipses, and several total eclipses. He journeyed from Georgia to Labrador to view eclipses which occurred at different dates, making many observations which he published later in a paper entitled " Physical Phenomena Attendant upon Solar Eclipses." He was not, however, a prolific writer. In fact, so much of his time was taken up with the duties of his professorship, that not a great deal was left for writing and i

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THE INCORPORATORS I I 3 research. He lectured almost entirely from notes, which, as a rule, were not afterwards elaborated for the press. His best and most important works, in addition to the paper mentioned above are, "The Fundamental Principles of Mathematics "; " The Origin of the Forms and the Present Condition of the Clusters of Stars and Several of the Nebula," and " Certain Harmonies of the Solar System." American astronomy owes much to the diligence with which he pursued his study of that branch of science and to his long-continued efforts in the train- ing of youth. Stephen Alexander had a scholarly interest in a great variety of sub jects. He was a linguist of more than common attainments and was well versed and deeply interested in literature, history, philosophy, theology, mathematics, and several other branches of learning. He also wrote very good poetry. He died in ~83. (From C. A. YOUNG, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 2, ~886, pp. 249-259.) ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE Born, July I 9, I 806; died, February I 7, I 867 Professor B ache was in every way a remarkable man. His scholarship was without a flaw, he had a deep sense of responsi- bility, and he possessed to an extraordinary degree that rare power of influencing his fellowmen, beating down their opposi- tion and molding them to his wishes, whereby he was enabled to carry out the plans which he conceived for the promotion of the welfare of mankind. He was a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, and was born in Philadelphia on July ~9, ~806. His mental abilities were conspicuous even when he was in the lower schools. At the early age of ~5 years he entered the U. S. Military Academy at West Point as a cadet, and was graduated in ~5 at the head of his class of which he was the youngest member. He was immediately appointed an assistant professor and afforded opportunities to extend his studies. At the end of a year he was at his own request detailed to assist Colonel Totten who was then engaged in the construction of Fort Adams at

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I9O NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES These botanical labors, as already mentioned, were supple- mentary to his regular duties as a teacher of chemistry and other branches of science, which he performed for more than thirty years. In ~857 Torrey entered upon the office of United States Assayer, and while thus engaged carried out many commissions of a confidential or especially difficult nature. In his last years, as professor emeritus in Columbia College, he continued to lecture at intervals. He also served as a trustee of the College and bequeathed to it his very valuable herbarium and his botanical library. Torrey was twice President of the New York Lyceum of Natural History and also presided over the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science. He was a member of the Order of the Cincinnati. (From ASA GRAY, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. I, ~ 877, PP. 265-276. ~ · — JOSEPH GILBERT TOTTEN Born, August 23, 1788; died, April 22, 1864 The lifetime of General Totten extended nearly from the close of the Revolution to the close of the Civil War, and his period of public service covered more than fifty years. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, August 23, ~788. His father, Peter G. Totten, was the son of Joseph Gotten who came to America from England before the Revolution. Totten's mother died when he was three years old and his father having been appointed consul of the United States at Santa Cruz, in the West Indies, he was placed in charge of his uncle Jared Mansfield, " a graduate of Yale College, ~777, and a learned mathe- matician." Upon the organization of the Military Academy at West Point in 1802, Mansfield was appointed a teacher in that institu- tion. Young Totten accompanied his uncle to West Point and afterwards was appointed a cadet. He remained in the Academy during the term of ~8o3, but in November of that year his uncle Captain Mansfield became Surveyor-General of Ohio l

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THE INCORPORATORS I9I and the Western Territories, and Totten accompanied him to his new station as an assistant. While in Ohio, his inborn curiosity regarding novel or unusual objects and phenomena led him to make a description and survey of the remains of the so- called "mound builders," particularly at CirclevilIe; probably the earliest observations on these singular works. In ~808 Totten re-entered the Army, was re-appointed Second :Lieutenant of Engineers, and began his career as military engineer. He was assigned to duty in connection with the construction of Castle Williams, and Castle Clinton, in New York harbor. During the War of ~8~z Totten served as Chief Engineer of the armies under command of Generals Van Rensselaer, Dear- born, lizard and Macomb. He obtained the rank of captain in ~8~2, and was brevetted major in ~8~3 for " meritorious service," and in ~8~4 lieutenant-colonel for " gallant conduct at the battle of Plattsburg." At the close of this war, Totten entered upon the most im- portant epoch of his career, in which he was engaged in the con- struction of coast defences. Congress in ~8~6 constituted a board of engineers whose duty was to formulate a system of defensive works. After some v~c~ss~tu~es, the permanent Doara, tnroug~' circumstances which cannot be detailed here, finally consisted of General Simon Bernard (an eminent French engineer who was invited to America to assist in this important undertaking) and Colonel Totten. The reports of this board, which were prepared by Colonel Totten, " exhibit in a masterly manner the principles of sea- coast and harbor defence, and their application to our own country." "They are themselves the best expressions of the life labors and services of the subject of our memoir." (Bar- nard.) These plans having been decided upon, Colonel Totten was assigned to the construction of Fort Adams in the harbor of Newport. This work, " the second in magnitude of the fortifi- cations of the United States, is one of the best monuments of genius as a military engineer." (Barnard.)

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I92 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES In connection with the construction of this great work, Colonel Totten instituted extensive investigations into the qualities and strength of materials, the expansion and contraction of buildin.~- .~ ~ · . · ~ stone turougn variations in temperature, the composition of mortars, and many other matters of importance in engineering operations. While engaged in the construction of Fort Adams, Colonel Totten also served as a member, and for six years as President, of the Board of Engineers whose duty was to plan new works authorized by Congress. His advice was also sought in con- nection with various harbor improvements, chiefly on the Great Lakes. When Fort Adams approached completion in ~838, Totten was appointed Colonel of the Corps of Engineers and Chief Engineer, with headquarters in Washington. While occupying this high office he directed his energies topiary the development of the system of coast defences, especially in the South, and personally inspected every fort in the United States at intervals not exceeding two years. During the Mexican War, Colonel Totten directed the engineering works at the siege of Vera Cruz, and on March z9, ~847, was brevetted a brigadier-general for gallant and merito- rious conduct. In ~855 General Totten, Commander Charles H. Davis and Professor Bache, by invitation of the State of New York, served as an advisory commission on the preservation of the harbor of New York. The members of this commission had previously reported on Cape Fear River and harbor, and on the harbor of Portland, Maine, and later rendered similar service to the State of Massachusetts relative to the port and harbor of Boston. To General Totten is due the credit of perfecting the case- mated battery and casemate embrasures. He was a member of the first Lighthouse Board and while serving in this capacity induced the board to accept his views regarding the proper site for the Minot's Ledge lighthouse, prepared the plan for its construction, and selected the engineer to build it. He was a

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THE INCORPORATORS I93 member of the first Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Insti- tution and favored the plan of Joseph Henry for the organiza- tion of that establishment. General Totten was deeply interested in many branches of natural history, and particularly in mineralogy and conchology. While Fort Adams was under construction, he spent his spare hours in collecting shells in the vicinity of Newport and also about Provincetown, Massachusetts. He published descriptions of several new species, and a list of the shells of Massachusetts, and furnished much important information for Gould's " Inver- tebrata of Massachusetts." He presented his collection of rare shells to the Smithsonian Institution. (From T. G. BARNARD, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. I, ~ 877, pp. 35-97. ~ JOSIAH DWIGHT WHITNEY Born, November 23, I8I9; died, August I9, 1896 Josiah Dwight Whitney, the oldest of a family of thirteen chil- dren, was of English ancestry. Both the Dwight and Whitney families were descended from early New England settlers, who counted in their numbers graduates of Yale and Harvard, college presidents, able business men, missionaries, soldiers, and mem- bers of all the professions. Whitney was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, November 23, ~9, and at eight years of age left the district school in his native village and went to Plainfield, where according to the custom of the day, Rev. Moses Hallock took boys into his family for instruction. After further school- ing at Round Hill, Northampton, New Haven, and Andover, he entered Yale College as a sophomore in ~836. Returning to New Haven after graduation, young Whitney entered his father's bank, and for a time enjoyed the delights of a cultured home, where music played a prominent part. Art, science, music, law, and business attracted-him by turn, but finally in ~839 he yielded to his love for chemistry and entered the University of Pennsylvania to study under Dr. Robert Hare. The following year he made the acquaintance of Dr. Charles T. Jackson, and

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I94 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES under him assisted in the Geological Survey of the State of New Hampshire. Again uncertain as to a remunerative profession, Whitney turned to the law and was about to enter Harvard Law School, when, on the advice of Dr. Jackson, his father offered to send him to Europe, where three years were spent in travel and study. During this time he made a translation of Berzelius' work on blowpipe analysis. While yet at Giessen, Dr. Jackson offered Mr. Whitney the position of first assistant in the Government Survey of the Lake Superior Mines. From chemistry his atten- tion was now turned to geology which thenceforth became his special study. As assistant, or as the head of a division, several years were spent in the survey of the Lake Superior mines and by the knowledge thus acquired, added to his thorough German training, and his acquaintance with fossils, Whitney became an acknowledged mining expert. At this time he published his work on The Metallic Wealth of the United States. It was written at Clover Den in Cambridge, " an old bachelor hall," where Whitney kept his own extensive library, and returned after his excursions to enjoy the society of other scientists. This home was given up at his marriage in ~654. In ~855 Whitney became professor in the University of Iowa, his chief duties, however being in connection with the state geological survey. A Geological Survey of California was established in ~ 860 and Whitney was appointed to take charge of it. Accompanied by a corps of able assistants he left Northampton for California on October ~8, ~860, and entered upon this new work with enthusi- asm. Many important features of the geology and geography of the State were determined, but the Survey soon encountered diffi- culties, chiefly of a political and pecuniary character, and after a precarious existence extending over fourteen years, it was finally abandoned. Only a few volumes containing the results of the work were published. Whitney's contributions to geology were numerous and many reports of official work were published at his own expense. In ~875 he was re-appointed to the Sturges-Hooper Professorship of Geology at Harvard which had been founded ten years pre-

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THE INCORPORATORS I95 viously largely in his behalf, and also became a member of the faculty of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. These positions he retained until his death. His works on " The Climatic Changes of Later Geologic Times " and on the " Azoic System " were written during this period. For eight years Professor Whitney gave his spare time to assisting his brother William D. Whitney in connection with the scientific part of the Century Dictionary. After thirty-one years of teaching at Harvard, Professor Whitney died at Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire, August ~9, ~896. He was buried at Northampton and a glacial boulder of rose quartzite of the geological age of the lead district about Galena and the rocks of the Upper Michigan which border the " Azoic System," marks his grave. The highest peak of the Sierra Nevada bears his name. (See EDWIN T. BREWSTER, " Life and Letters of Josiah Dwight Whitney," Boston, agog.) JOSEPH WINLOCK Born, February 6, 1826; died, June I I, 1875 Though born in Kentucky, Joseph WinIock was of Virginia stock. His grandfather, after whom he was named, was a captain in the Revolution and in the War of T8~z held the rank of brigadier-general. In the latter war his son, Fielding Win- lock, served as his aid. Professor Joseph Winiock was educated at Shelby College, Kentucky, and was graduated from that institution in ~845. His abilities were already so manifest that he at once received an appointment as Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy from his Alma Mater. In ~85~ he became acquainted with " the chief of American mathematicians," who recognized his intel- lectual capacity, and induced him to join the corps of computers in the Nautical Almanac Once in Cambridge the following year. He served in this capacity until ~857, when he received an appointment as Professor of Mathematics in the Naval Ob- servatory at Washington. In this position he remained but a

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I96 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES short time, after which he was appointed Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac. Not long afterwards, in 1859, he was given charge of the mathematical department in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, but at the outbreak of the Civil War, he again re- sumed the office of Superintendent of the Nautical Almanac in Cambridge. During the years in which he was connected with this once he made many contributions to mathematics and astronomy, the most important of which was his series of tables of Mercury. In ~ 866 Professor Winiock was appointed Professor of Astronomy in Harvard College and Director of the Harvard Observatory.5 Here he exerted himself in strengthening the equipment of the observatory by the addition of many important instruments and aids to astronomical work. The transit circle of the observatory, a costly instrument, had proved unsatisfactory, and Winiock succeeded in obtaining funds from friends of the Observatory to replace it. To arrange for the construction of the new instrument, he visited the principal observatories in Europe in ~867. He also devised improvements which were afterwards adopted by other astronomers. Between ~87~ and ~87c. ~o.ooo , _, _ , observations were made With this Instrument, under Winiock's direction. In ~869, Professor WinIock was appointed head of a party to cooperate with the 'Coast Survey in observing the total eclipse of the sun in Kentucky. On this occasion he succeeded in making the first photograph of the solar corona made during any eclipse. At the request of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, he organized and led the party sent to Spain to observe the total eclipse of the sun occurring on December 22' ~870. During this eclipse a telescope of long focus, fixed horizontally, and without an eyepiece, which ' was devised by WinIock for photographic work, was used by all the observers. Winiock devised many improvements in spectroscopic instru- ments, and also in ~872 greatly improved and extended the time- 5 At a later date he also held the position of Professor of Geodesy in the Lawrence and Mining Schools of Harvard College. ~ ,

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THE INCORPORATORS I97 signal service between Cambridge and Boston. In i874 he was appointed by the Secretary of the Navy chairman of a commis- sion established by Congress for the purpose of investigating the causes of the explosions of steam boilers and formulated plans for experiments which should test the truth or falsity of the accepted theories, but he was not destined to see them carried into execution. He died suddenly at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on June or, ~875. (FrOm lOSEPH LOVERING, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, VO1. I, 1877, PP. 329-343.) JEFFRIES WYMAN Born, August I I, I 8 I 4; died, September 4, I 874 Jefiries Wyman, the third son of Dr. Rufus Wyman, was born on August IT, ~8~4, at Chelmsford, near Lowell, Mas- sachusetts. In ~8~8, his father moved to Somerville where he was one of the physicians at the McLean Asylum. The early schooling of Jeffries Wyman began in Chariestown, Massachu- setts, and later he was sent to the Academy at Chelmsford. He became interested in natural history when very young, and often searched for objects of interest along the Charles River, near his home. His talent for drawing also developed early, and he afterwards used it to great advantage in the lecture-room. He entered Harvard in ~829, was graduated in ~833, and the next year took up the study of medicine with Dr. John C. Dalton. He received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in ~837, and began his work in Boston by acting as demonstrator of anatomy under a well-known comparative anatomist, Dr. J. C. Warren. This occupation was not very lucrative, and was often a source of discouragement, but Wyman pursued his scientific studies in connection with his medical work, and never entirely gave them up. At about this time the Lowell Institute was founded, and John A. :Lowell, who was then in charge of its affairs, offered Wyman

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I98 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES the curatorship. During the season of I840-4~, he delivered twelve lectures on comparative anatomy and physiology, and with the means thus procured went to Europe, where he came in contact with many prominent men of science, such as De Blainville, St. Hilaire, and Valenciennes. His sojourn was shortened by the illness and death of his father. In ~843, after . ~ _% ~ ~ ~ his return, he was made Professor ot Anatomy and Physiology at Hampton Sidney College in Richmond, Virginia. In 1847 he succeeded Dr. Warren to the Hersey chair of anatomy at Harvard College. While here he established and developed a museum of com- parative anatomy to which he devoted all of his spare time. On the many trips he made both North and South, he gathered great numbers of valuable specimens and added them to the ~ ~ . . . . ~ · 1 ,, , ~ ~ ~ , ~ 1 collections In hiS museum, when was a~e~aras tncorpuratcu with that of the Boston Society of Natural History. He spent the winter of ~852 in Florida on account of bad health, but in spite of his malady he was able at intervals to make investigations of the Indian shell-heaps, the results of which were afterwards published. Later, he made many trips to the coast of Maine and Massachusetts, any examined shell- heaps in as many as twenty-five localities, securing several thou- sand specimens. In ~856 he made an expedition to Surinam, and the same year was elected President of the Boston Society of Natural History, which office he held for fourteen years. In ~858-9, he went to the L`a Plata, and after ascending the Uruguay and Parana rivers crossed the continent to Santiago and Val- paraiso, with his friend G. A. Peabody, returning home by the Isthmus of Panama. In ~866 the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology was founded by George Peabody, and Wyman was appointed one of the seven trustees. By vote of the board, he was named as curator of the museum. In the duties of this office there was great scope for Wyman's ability and enthusiasm and though he worked at all times under the disadvantage of ill l

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; THE INCORPORATORS I99 health, he accomplished much for the museum. He was obliged, however, to spend his winters in Florida, and once or twice he visited Europe for the purpose of recuperating. Thus he con- tinued until the summer of ~874 when he unfortunately under- took an unusual amount of work in the museum, enough indeed to overtax the strength of a man physically sound. In the fall of the same year he went to the White Mountains for a short rest, but he was unable to regain his energies and died on September 4, quite suddenly, while in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. Dr. Wyman's lack of physical vigor was probably the prime rea- son why he was not a voluminous writer. His papers though numerous are generally brief. He often summarized in a few pages the conclusions to which he had come after months, per- haps, of painstaking experiments. He wrote on many different zoological subjects, and his published papers relate to numerous classes of animals both recent and fossil, and to physiology and teratology, as well as to anatomy. One of the most important and best known of his scientific papers is that on the Gorilla, of which he was the joint author with Dr. Savage, who sent him specimens for study. This great anthropoid ape was here first described under the name of Troglodytes gorilla, and Dr. Wyman gave a full account of the skeleton. It was this article which helped to establish his reputa- tion among comparative anatomists. He also published an elaborate essay on the anatomy of the blind fish of the Mammoth Cave, another on the homology of limbs, and a third on the rela- tionship between vertebrates and invertebrates, based on a study of the nervous system of the frog. His most original essay in physiology was one relating to experiments on vibrating cilia, published in ~87~. His anthropological writings were marked by care, ingenuity, judiciousness and extensive knowledge, and gave him rank among the principal anthropologists of his day. Besides the work on shell-heaps already referred to, he made numerous studies of human crania.

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200 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Wyman was one of the original members of the Association of American Geology and Natural History, and President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in ~857; also a member of the faculty of the Museum of Com- parative Zoology. (From A. S. PACKARD, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 2, ~886, pp. 75-~26.)