THE DARWIN CELEBRATION AT CAMBRIDGE 23 



THE DARWIN CELEBRATION AT CAMBRIDGE 



Br Professor T. D. A. COCKERELL 



UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO 



THE Darwin Celebration, held by the University of Cambridge in 

 June, was in every way a great success. So much has been 

 printed concerning it that it hardly seems necessary in this place to go 

 into many details; yet a brief account may be sufficiently interesting. 

 The university did its part in the most magnificent way; indeed, so 

 much entertainment was crowded into three days that the writer, who 

 is not used to this sort of thing, was left rather bewildered. To see 

 and meet some hundreds of people, any one of whom, encountered 

 separately, would have furnished enough interest for the day, was like 

 arriving in a strange country, where the fauna is all new and the pur- 

 suit of each rare object is interrupted by the sight of two or three 

 others. This, however, was inevitable, and in spite of the complexity 

 of the whole affair, there was apparently no serious hitch anywhere. 



The delegates were both numerous and distinguished. According 

 to the final list, which is understood to include only those actually 

 present, there were twenty-five from the United States, not counting a 

 couple of guests. Some of these were not biologists, but the list in- 

 cluded many prominent workers, such as J. Mark Baldwin, J. Loeb, 

 C. B. Davenport, E. L. Mark, E. B. Wilson, H. F. Osborn, W. 

 B. Scott, C. D. Walcott, L. 0. Howard, etc. Philadelphia did not 

 send a single delegate of its own, though Professor Osborn, of New 

 York, represented the American Philosophical Society. Harvard Uni- 

 versity and the Boston Society of Natural History had only one dele- 

 gate between them. In general, however, the response from this country 

 was highly creditable, considering the difficulty and expense involved, 

 and the later, though in a certain sense rival, meeting at Winnipeg. 

 Practically every country which makes any pretense to do biological 

 work was represented, but some much better than others. Sweden sent 

 eight delegates, including Nathorst and Arrhenius; Switzerland five, 

 Holland six; but Norway only one, while Spain and Greece were 

 represented solely by Englishmen. Germany, France and Austria had 

 ■of course numerous and distinguished representatives. At the great 

 reception by the chancellor of the university in the Fitzwilliam 

 Museum, and again at the presentation of addresses, we marveled to 

 see the splendor of the various academic gowns and hats, the men on 

 these occasions really outshining the other sex in the conspicuousness, 



