William Jerome Harrison

“ Here Barrett's dredging experience stood him in good service, and he began diligently to study the marine fauna of the coast of Jamaica. In spots where the water was deep he found many small shells which he had previously dredged up, both off the coast of Spain and in the northern seas; hence he was led to enunciate the opinion ‘that nine-tenths of the sea-bed, viz. the whole area beyond the hundred-fathom line, constitutes a single nearly uniform province all over the world.’
In 1862 Barrett was sent to England to act as commissioner for the colony at the International Exhibition. ”

“ Entering into partnership with the firm of Evans & Askin, nickel-smelters of Birmingham, Forbes went to South America in 1857 in search of the ores of nickel and cobalt. From 1857 to 1860 he traversed the greater part of Bolivia and Peru, and embodied his observations on the minerals and rock-structure of those countries in a classical paper, which is printed in the ‘Quarterly Journal’ of the Geological Society for 1860. He visited England in 1860, when it was proposed to appoint him as a representative of the English government in South America. ”

“ In addition to the practical construction of magic lanterns Childe learned, while still quite a young man, to paint on glass with great skill and effect. In this way he was able to prepare slides for his lantern, and the series illustrating astronomy, natural history, costumes of all nations, &c., which he painted and exhibited in his improved lantern, caused his name to stand high as a popular exhibitor during the early years of the present century. ”

“ In 1858 the high antiquity of man was first clearly proved by the discovery of flint implements in France and England. This doubtless led to Christy joining the Geological Society in 1868, and from this time his work was connected as much with geology as with archæology or ethnology. He now joined his friend the well-known French palæontologist M. Edouard Lartet, in the examination of the caves along the valley of the Vesere, a tributary of the Dordogne, in the south of France. ”

“ Griffin died at his residence, Park Road, Haverstock Hill, on 9 June 1877. He received his training in chemistry in early life at Paris and at Heidelberg. While still a young man he published a translation of Heinrich Rose's ‘Handbuch der analytischen Chemie.’ While in the publishing trade Griffin, who was a man of wide culture, partly edited the ‘Encyclopædia Metropolitana,’ of which his firm were the publishers. Griffin assisted in the foundation of the Chemical Society in 1840, and throughout his life he was earnest in his attempts to popularise the study of chemistry. ”

“ Eginton sent much of his painted glass abroad, and some of his finest work is believed to be in Amsterdam. In 1791 he completed what was then considered his masterpiece, the 'Conversion of St. Paul,' for the east window of St. Paul's Church, Birmingham, for which he received the 'very inadequate sum of four hundred guineas.' Eginton works were, in fact, transparencies on glass. He was obliged to render opaque a large portion of his glass, and thus missed the characteristic beauty of the old windows. Eginton's showroom was seen by all distinguished visitors of Birmingham. ”

“ Before 1807 he had determined barometrically the heights of the principal mountains of Ireland, had made excursions to Wales and to Cornwall to study their minerals and rocks, and had been arrested on suspicion as a rebel while engaged in collecting fossils in the neighbourhood of Dublin. In 1808 Fitton went to the university of Edinburgh, where he attended the lectures of Professor Jameson, through whose influence many able men were led to the study of geology. ”

“ In exhibiting pictures by the aid of a single lantern, the change from one picture to the next is made abruptly; and one slide is seen to push the other out of the way, or else there is an interval of darkness. To obviate these objections, Childe invented, in 1807, his famous method of ‘dissolving views,’ by which one picture appeared gradually to fade away, while another as gradually took its place. ”

“ He owned much property near Tunbridge, and successfully engaged in business there as a banker for many years, devoting his leisure to scientific pursuits. He lived at Ferox Hall, Tunbridge, and married the eldest daughter of Thomas Marshall Jordan, by whom he had an only son [see Children, John George] . In 1802 the news of the discovery of the galvanic pile by Professor Volta in Italy reached this country. It was at once seen that by enlarging the dimensions of the apparatus employed more powerful effects could be produced. Children and his son became much interested in the subject. ”

“ While young he began to study the rocks of his native district, and published a useful and trustworthy little treatise on the ‘Geology of South Staffordshire.’ Jones was secretary of the South Staffordshire Ironmasters' Association from an early age until 1866, when he was appointed secretary to the Cleveland Ironmasters' Association, and removed to Middlesbrough. In his new position Jones took an active part in the formation of the board of arbitration and conciliation for the iron trade of the north of England. ”

“ Murchison, Ramsay, and Geikie have in turn occupied the post of director-general of the geological survey since the death of De la Beche. In his 'Life of Edward Forbes' Professor Geikie has described his predecessor as 'a man who for many a long year, with unwearied energy, spent time and toil and money in the service of his country and in the cause of science. ”

“ He married early in life, and had a large family, of whom his son John [q. v.] , born in 1791, attained eminence as a civil engineer. The elder Farey died at his house in Rowland Street, London, in 1826, Farey's profession necessitated his visiting most parts of England, and required attentive examination of soils, minerals, and rocks. To these matters Farey applied the new principles of geology of William Smith, the 'father of English geology.' Farey collected minerals and rocks from all the places he visited. ”

“ Returning to South America he traversed the mining districts of the Cordilleras, and increased the large collection of minerals already formed in Norway. From South America Forbes made an expedition to the South Sea Islands, studying more especially their volcanic phenomena. In 1866 he travelled in Europe and in Africa. He had a talent for learning languages, and a remarkable power of securing the confidence of the half-savage miners of America. Forbes settled in England, and became foreign secretary to the Iron and Steel Institute. ”

“ During his later years Forbes was so entirely absorbed in his literary and scientific pursuits that he neglected to take sufficient exercise; the death of his wife, to whom he was profoundly attached, caused him to suffer severe mental trouble; his constitution, already enfeebled by a recurrent fever caught in South America, gave way, and he died on 5 Dec. 1876. Many representative men of science attended his funeral at Kensal Green cemetery, London, on 12 Dec. 1876. Forbes joined the Geological Society in 1853, and had been one of the secretaries since 1871. ”

“ The post secured him a livelihood, and permitted him to engage in original research. After seven years of hard labour at his Glasgow post, Graham became professor of chemistry at University College, London (succeeding Dr. Edward Turner in 1837) , and he held that chair with great distinction until 1855, when the government appointed him master of the Mint in succession to Sir John Herschel. He had for many years acted as non-resident assayer. Graham continued to preside at the Mint until his death at his residence in Gordon Square, London, 11 Sept. 1869. He was never married. ”

“ In 1852 Evans was appointed a clerk in the chancery pay office, a post which he held until 1882, when his health enforced his retirement. He never married; his residence was at Hampstead, where he lived with his brother and sisters.
Evans commenced the study of geology by attending lectures delivered in 1855 by Professor Owen and Dr. Melville. In 1858 he began to collect fossils from the tertiary formations of the south of England, and formed during the next twenty-five years very complete sets illustrating the strata of the London district. ”

“ He studied at the university of Pennsylvania, where he took the degree of doctor of medicine in 1836, presenting as his thesis an essay on ‘The Crystallisation of Camphor under the Influence of Light.’ Draper contributed several papers on physiological problems to the ‘American Journal of Medical Sciences,’ which led to his appointment in 1836 as professor of chemistry and physiology at Hampden Sidney College, Virginia. ”

“ His teaching was always eminently experimental and practical; and he had but slight respect for the work of mathematical as distinguished from experimental physicists. Guthrie was a good French and German scholar, and his literary abilities were considerable. He published two poems, written in early life, and exhibiting genuine poetical power and considerable metrical skill: 'The Jew. A Poem,' by Frederick Cerny, 1863; and in 1877, and under the same pseudonym, 'Logroño, a Metric Drama in two Acts.' His scientific books were, 'Elements of Heat and Non-Metallic Chemistry,' 1868 ”

“ A simple account of the same subject was issued by Evans in 1870 as an ‘Elementary Manual for Deviations of the Compass.’ These have become standard textbooks, having been translated and adopted by all the great maritime nations.
At a later date Evans devoted much attention to terrestrial magnetism. He compiled the magnetical instructions for the observers on board the Challenger in 1872, and delivered a lecture on the ‘Magnetism of the Earth’ to the Royal Geographical Society in 1878. Evans was made a staff-commander in 1863, staff-captain in 1867, and full captain in 1872. ”

“ FOX, ROBERT WERE (1789–1877) , scientific writer, born at Falmouth in Cornwall on 26 April 1789, belonged to a quaker family. His father, a shipping agent, was also named Robert Were Fox; his mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Tregelles of Falmouth. He was privately educated, and showed a special taste for mathematics. His mother taught him to study natural phenomena. He married in 1814 Maria, fourth daughter of Robert Barclay of Bury Hill, Surrey, and during his wedding trip, taken that year on the continent, he formed lasting friendships with Humboldt and other foreign savants. ”

“ Concerning this trip Doubleday wrote three papers, ‘The Natural History of North America’ (‘Entom. Mag.’ 1838) ; ‘Lepidoptera of North America, being the result of Nineteen Months' Travel’ (‘Mag. Nat. Hist.’ 1840) ; and ‘On the Occurrence of Alligators in Florida’ (‘Zoologist,’ 1843) . Of the twenty-nine papers by Doubleday which are given in the ‘Catalogue of Scientific Papers’ published by the Royal Society, this ‘alligator’ paper is the only one not upon an entomological subject. Doubleday tried hard to secure an appointment as naturalist to the ill-fated Niger expedition in 1839. ”

“ At Cambridge he was highly esteemed, especially by Professor Sedgwick, whose place as a lecturer on geology he frequently took. One excellent piece of work executed by Barrett during his Cambridge residence was a geological map of Cambridgeshire, which passed through several editions. But a great advancement was awaiting our still youthful geologist. In 1859 he received the appointment of director of the geological survey of Jamaica, a post worth 700l. ”

“ The action of light upon plants formed the subject of another research (1843) , and Draper showed that it was the yellow rays which were chiefly instrumental in the production of chlorophyll. Besides these detached ‘Memoirs,’ Draper wrote two valued text-books of science, a ‘Text-book of Chemistry’ (1846) , and a ‘Human Physiology’ (1856) , each of which passed through several editions. ”

“ So important were the results obtained by these and other investigations, that in 1869 her majesty's ship Porcupine was detailed for deep-sea explorations; and with Jeffreys in charge of the scientific work, she dredged down to 1,476 fathoms off the west coast of Ireland (see Report in Proc. Royal Society, vol. xviii., 1869) . In 1870 Jeffreys went in the Porcupine to dredge the deep sea in the Bay of Biscay and off the Portuguese coast. Here one haul brought up from a depth of 994 fathoms 186 species of shells, of which Jeffreys found 71 to be new to science ”

“ But the firm failed, when Ross's foreman fortunately met him and begged him to return to his master's workshop. ‘Not as a workman,’ Dallmeyer replied. An interview with the great optician was soon arranged, and Dallmeyer was appointed scientific adviser to the firm, and entrusted with the testing and finishing of the highest class of optical apparatus. He so fully secured the confidence and approval of his employer that Mr. Ross gave his full consent to a marriage between Dallmeyer and his second daughter, Hannah Ross. In 1859 Andrew Ross died ”

“ In 1853 Fairlie was appointed superintendent and general manager of the Londonderry and Coleraine railway, a post which he soon changed for a more lucrative position on the Bombay and Baroda railway. Having thus gained much practical experience Fairlie established himself in business in Gracechurch Street, London, as a consulting engineer. It was here that in 1864 Fairlie patented the ‘double-bogie engine,’ intended to meet the difficulties which had prevented the extension of railways in hilly and thinly populated countries. ”

“ A hawk is on his wrist in the later portrait. Serious domestic quarrels troubled his career. About 1554 he married his first wife, Ann Basset, maid of honour to Queen Mary, and about 1558 his second wife, Anne, daughter of Sir William Dormer, of Ascot, by whom he had four children, a son, Edmund (d. 1587) , and three daughters. In 1570 he charged his second wife with attempts to poison him in 1564, and with committing adultery between 1560 and 1568 with William Darrell of Littlecote. Lady Hungerford was acquitted, and Hungerford, refusing to pay the heavy costs, was committed to the Fleet. ”