THE INCORPORATORS 133 
library, with the contents of which he was so well acquainted 
that, on a great variety of subjects, he could turn to the exact 
pages of works rarely referred to, and give the desired infor- 
mation. 
Ill health obliged him in 1867 to seek rest and recreation by 
journeying to Europe. He was so much benefited thereby that 
he was able to carry on his work again, which he did until his 
sudden death on October 12, 1872. This occurred on the day 
following the inauguration of the new University building, 
while superintending the transfer of his apparatus and scientific 
library to the shelves in his department. 
(From JoHn L. LEConTE, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy 
of Sciences, vol. 1, 1877, pp. 245-256.) 
WOLCOTT GIBBS 
Born, February 21, 1822; died, December 9, 1908 
Wolcott Gibbs belonged to a family in which scientific tastes 
were strongly manifested. His father, Colonel George Gibbs, 
wrote several memoirs upon mineralogical subjects, and his 
name was given to the mineral Gibbsite. His brother also 
attained some reputation as a geologist. On his mother’s side, 
several of the Wolcott family held important positions under 
the Government, her father having been Secretary of the 
Treasury, a Justice of the U.S. Circuit Court, and finally 
Governor of Connecticut. An earlier representative of the 
family, another Oliver Wolcott, was one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. The early childhood of Wolcott 
Gibbs was spent on the estate at Sunswick, Long Island. His 
father’s death, when he was only 11 years old, left him to the 
care of his mother, who impressed on him the influence of her 
superior character. At a very early age, he showed a fondness 
for minerals and flowers. He was sent to a private school in 
Boston when seven years old, and his summers were spent near 
Newport at the home of Dr. Channing, who was a connection 
by marriage. Returning to New York, young Gibbs prepared 
for college, and entered Columbia, from which he was graduated 
