THE PnOGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



189 



indicate tliat it is the pace of hard 

 tliinking that kills, all fell at tlie age 

 of fifty or less. 



Josiali Willard (itibbs was born at 

 New Haven, Connecticut, February 11, 

 1839, and he died at the same place 

 April 28, 1903. He was the son of 

 Josiah Willard Gibbs, professor of 

 sacred literal ire in Yale College from 

 1822 to 18G1, and Mary Anna (Van 

 Cleve) Gibbs. His preliminary acad- 

 emic studies were pursued at the Hop- 

 kins Grammar School, New Haven, 

 and he entered Yale College, at the 

 early age of fifteen years, in 1854. 

 As an undergraduate he easily won 

 distinction, and he took prizes for 

 meritorious work in Latin and in 

 matliematics. 



After graduation from Yale College, 

 in 1858, ne spent five years there as a 

 student of the mathematico-physical 

 sciences especially. From 1803 to 186G 

 he served as a tutor at Yale. The next 

 three years he spent in Europe, study- 

 ing at the universities of Paris, Berlin 

 and Heidelberg. In 1871 he was elected 

 to the professorship of mathenj,atical 

 physics at Yale, and he held this chair 

 up to the time of his death. 



Early in his scientific career Pro- 

 fessor Gibbs ajjpears to have concen- 

 trated attention on the field of thermo- 

 dynamics, and during the decade fol- 

 lowing his appointment to a professor- 

 ship he produced a series of papers 

 which placed him in the front rank of 

 workers in this field. Indeed, the most 

 important of these papers, ' On the 

 Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Sub- 

 stances,' is now regarded as marking 

 an epoch in the history of thermo- 

 dynamics and as furnishing the foun- 

 dation for the new science of physical 

 chemistry. The comprehensive knowl- 

 edge of mechanical pnilosophy which 

 made him a master in thermodynamics, 

 made him also an authority in electro- 

 magnetic science, and during the decade 

 from 1880 to 1890 he published several 

 noteworthy papers on the electromag- 

 netic theory of light anti kindred topics. 



He was likewise a profound student 

 of pure mathematics. ITis vice-presi- 

 dential address, ' On Multiple Algebra,' 

 read before the section of astronomy 

 and mathematics of the American As- 

 sociation for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence in 188G, is an original contribu- 

 tion of great merit in a domain already 

 well worked by Mobius, Hamilton, 

 Grassmann, Peirce, Tait and others. 

 His more recent contributions to sci- 

 ence are found in two volumes of the 

 Yale Bicentenial Publications, namely, 

 ' Vector Analysis,' edited by a pupil, 

 Dr. E. B. Wilson, and ' Elementary 

 Principles of Statistical Mechanics.' 

 The unpretentious title of the latter 

 work, though strikingly characteristic 

 of the author, is too modest; for it 

 appears destined to take rank among 

 the small number of fundamental con- 

 tributions to the science of mechanics. 

 Professor Gibbs was the recipient of 

 many honors from scientific societies 

 at home and abroad. He knew well 

 how to economize his time, however; 

 and although one of the most genial 

 and kindly of men, he mingled spar- 

 ingly with the world, and was thus, 

 alas! too little known and appreciated, 

 especially by the younger generation 

 of his fellow-countrymen interested in 

 science. 



THE SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM OF 



THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE 



EXPOSITION. 



The dedication of the Louisiana 

 Purchase Exposition on April 30 dem- 

 onstrated to a hundred thousand 

 visitors that the preparations are un- 

 usually far forward. Many of the 

 buildings are practically ready, and the 

 fencing, grading, road-making and the 

 like of the 1,200 acres are well ad- 

 vanced. Indeed, the exposition bids 

 fair to be bigger and more successful 

 than might have been anticipated. 

 Thanks to hitting upon the psycholog- 

 ical moment in international relations 

 and of domestic liberality, money is 

 being spent by the tens of millions. 



