230 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1896. 



Dr. Ryder's death was unexpected, and expressions of regret were 

 universal. The daily papers published detailed accounts of his life 

 and services. Immediately after the death, theBoard of Trusteesof the 

 University held a meeting, at which Dr. S. Weir ^Mitchell made a feel- 

 ing announcement. The Board then passed the following resolution : 

 " The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania deplore the loss 

 sustained by it in tbe death of John A, Ryder, Ph. D., Professor of 

 Comparative Histology and Embryology. Called to that Chair in 

 1886, he quitted for it a congenial field of labor under the United 

 States Fish Commission, in which he had rendered great service to 

 the Government, and acquired for himself a world-wide reputation. 

 Thenceforth, he devoted himself equally, and with a fidelity and 

 effectiveness that ended only with his life, to the work of a teacher 

 and that of an investigator. His characteristic traits were modesty, 

 unselfishness, and sincerity in the search for truth. To these were 

 added a rare talent for investigation, strong intellectual capacity, 

 and unremitting industry ; and these inured not only to the benefit 

 of the school in which he taught, but to the distinct advancement, 

 both in theory and in application to the science of biology to which 

 his life was consecrated." 



The funeral services were conducted by Prof. George F. Fuller- 

 ton, Vice-Provost, and the Rev. Dr. H. C. McCook. His body was 

 cremated. 



A memorial meeting, held in the hall of the Academy of Natural 

 >Sciences of Philadelphia, April 10th, was participated in by mem- 

 bers of the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, representatives 

 of the American Philosophical Society, the United States Fish 

 Commission, and the Academy.' 



Dr. Ryder was elected a member of the Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences of Philadelphia, January 29, 1878, and of the Biological Section 

 of that body November 15, 1886. He was Director of the Section 

 from 1886 to 1888. He was elected a member of the American 

 Philosophical Society, December 17, 1886. The University of Penn- 

 sylvania conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 

 1886. He was also a member of the following societies: The 

 Zoological Society of Philadelphia (life member) ; the American 

 Morphological Society ; the American Society of Naturalists ; the 

 American Association for the Advancement of Science ; the Asso- 

 ciation of American Anatomists, and the Historical Society of Penn- 

 sylvania. 



' See note on page 222. 



