132 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
His companions spoke of him as having “ good spirits, good 
nature, and good fellowship.” 
(From CuHaries A. WuiTE, in Biographical Memoirs of the National 
Academy of Sciences, vol. 4, 1902, pp. I-21.) 
JOHN FRIES FRAZER 
Born, July 8, 1812; died, October 12, 1872 
The career of John Fries Frazer was largely connected with 
the city of Philadelphia. He was the son of Robert Frazer, an 
eminent lawyer, and was born on Chestnut Street, opposite Inde- 
pendence Hall, July 8, 1812. His grandfather was Lieutenant- 
Colonel Persifor Frazer, an officer in the Revolutionary War. 
He first attended a school in Philadelphia, where he took 
high rank in study and likewise in sports, and after spending a 
year at the military school of Captain Partridge, at Middle- 
town, Connecticut, became a pupil of Rev. S. B. Wylie. By him 
he was thoroughly drilled in the classics and in mathematics, as 
well as in ecclesiastical history. After graduation from the 
University of Pennsylvania, young Frazer served as laboratory 
assistant to Professor Bache. Later he held the position of 
assistant in the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, and also took 
up the study of law in the office of John M. Scott. In due 
course he was admitted to practice. The physical and chemical 
sciences, however, proved more attractive to Frazer, and after 
being professor in the High School of Philadelphia for some 
time, he accepted the professorship of chemistry and physics 
in the University of Pennsylvania. This position he held till 
his death, when, from being the youngest member of the faculty, 
he had become senior professor and Vice-Provost. 
As a teacher, Professor Frazer was most successful. His 
lectures were delivered with enthusiasm and enlivened by many 
anecdotes, and roused the deepest interest in the students. At 
the Franklin Institute, also, he carried on, with great satis- 
faction, the task of popularizing physical science. 
After his marriage in 1838, his house became a center of 
social and intellectual intercourse. He had assembled a large 
