696 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



state, in the university, during the 25th of Xovember, and, on the fol- 

 lowing day, with due honors and imposing ceremonies conducted by 

 his late colleagues, were reverently laid beneath the shade of Oakwood 

 Cemetery. 



Professor Watson possessed extraordinary intellectual endowments. 

 His quickness of perception nothing escaped. His mathematical intu- 

 itions scorned the ordinary processes of calculation, and gave him a 

 masterly command of mathematical logic and formulae, which made 

 so many portions of his work on " Theoretical Astronomy " strictly 

 original, and all parts virtually his owui. Yet he never mentions any 

 chiim to originality, but pursues his majestic intellectual march with 

 the dignity almost of an inspiration. His memory served him equally 

 well. It was both circumstantial and philosophical. Every new ob- 

 servation was immediately illuminated by all which he had previously 

 observed or known, and he saw instantly the proper conclusions. His 

 mechanical gifts gave him perfect command of instruments and their 

 construction, and the Washburne Observatory would have been 

 equipped with several of his inventions. His versatility extended to 

 matters of business. He was for years the actuary of the Michigan 

 Mutual Life Insurance Comj^any, and performed service pronounced 

 invaluable. He managed his private means Avith such success that he 

 died possessed of a considerable fortune, which his will secures to 

 the National Academy of Science. Physically, he was vigorous and 

 healthy, and reached, in the last years of his life, a weight of two 

 hundred and forty pounds. His religious nature held fast to the fun- 

 damental religious beliefs. He used to say it is impossible for a math- 

 ematician to be an atheist, and his works offer frequent recognition of 

 the being of the supreme Creator and Governor of the universe. 



The world was not slow to recognize his worth. He was elected a 

 member of the National Academy of Science in 1867, and of the Royal 

 Academy of Sciences in Italy in 1870. He received the degree of 

 Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Leipsic in 1870, and the 

 French Academy of Sciences conferred upon him the Lalande gold 

 medal for the discovery of six new planets in one year. Yale College 

 honored him with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1871. In 

 1875 the Khedive made him Knight Commander of the Imperial Order 

 of Medjidieli of Turkey and Egypt. He was elected member of the 

 American Philosophical Society in 1877, and received, the same year, 

 the degree of Doctor of Laws from Columbia College. American 

 Journal of Science. 



