AcAnf y 0F SciENCES l BIOGRAPHY 3 



bad. In the senior year I took analytical and celestial mechanics under Benj. Peirce, with a single other class- 

 mate. Peirce went too fast but he was inspiring and we were thus brought into contact with a really original 

 thinker. I came out at graduation well up in my class — thanks to high marks in mathematics and English. 

 At the close of that year (i. e., senior) my mother offered to let me study in Germany after graduating at 

 Harvard. I gratefully and eagerly accepted. In the winter of 1867-8 I had the benefit of intimate association 

 with Dr. Herman Hagen the well known entomologist. He had just come from Koenigsburg accompanied by 

 his wife to take a position in the Museum, and Agassiz, knowing of our plans to spend some years in Germany, 

 persuaded my mother to take them in for the winter. They had the task of wintering themselves in a new 

 country while I had more than plenty to learn from a German Savant. Hagen and I soon had a lingua franka 

 in which we could converse and we spent many of our evenings in high debate upon an endless variety of topics. 

 He was a somewhat eccentric but highminded scholar of enormous learning and the best standards. Dilet- 

 tantism and philistinism were to him anathema. His was just the companionship I needed and the opportunity 

 was not thrown away. Though he was no better scholar than other of the men mentioned above, he had a 

 greater effect upon me than they did because our intercourse was so constant and so familiar. My debt to 

 Hagen is a great one. But for his instructions I should have been ill prepared to grasp the spirit of the German 

 universities. By reason of his coaching I found myself at home in a very short time in German academic circles. 



That Becker was a diligent student while in Germany is shown by the following translation 

 of a certificate from the well-known chemist Bunsen : 



TRANSLATION OF PROF. BUNSEN's LETTER 



It gives me especial pleasure to certify that Mr. G. F. Becker, Dr. Phil., from America has taken part in 

 the practical chemical exercises in my laboratory with extraordinary zeal from Oct. 1868 to Nov. 1869; and has 

 not only acquired a thorough knowledge of analytical chemistry, but also especial skill in the exercises of ana- 

 lytic work. 



Inasmuch as I count Mr. Becker among my most active and most gifted pupils, I cannot suppress the wish 

 that he may right soon find a sphere of action corresponding to his wishes and to his remarkable abilities. 



Pride in his work and a determination to master its practical details led Becker to under- 

 take while in Germany the somewhat unusual task of a puddler in the royal iron works. With 

 what success he met is shown by the following : 



CERTIFICATE AS PRACTICAL PUDDLER 



It is herewith certified, that G. F. Becker of Boston has been at work in these works since Sept. 16 as puddler, 

 and during this time has performed the severe labours of this branch of industry with extraordinary industry 

 and most praiseworthy endurance. 



The trial charges, which Mr. Becker made, before leaving, without assistance, gave a most excellent result, 

 and furnished the proof of the practical thoroughness as well as of the intelligent grasp, of the whole puddling 

 process on the part of the aforenamed gentleman. 



He also took means to instruct himself with zeal and success in furnace construction, as far as the customs 



here present anything peculiar or unusual — put a helping hand in the building, repair and preservation of the 



furnaces, and made himself acquainted with the whole working of the shop. 



Konigshutte, Nov. 1, 1870. 



The Director, 



(Signed) Richter. 



During the Franco-Prussian war, Doctor Becker served as a correspondent for the New 

 York Herald, being attached to the Crown Prince's staff, but says of himself that he was not 

 very successful. He was present at the battle of Woerth and the siege of Strassburg, and was 

 once captured by the French and held prisoner for a few hours. Even at this time he foresaw 

 the coming of the great war, though anticipating its date. He wrote, "I bet a bottle of the 

 best champagne that Germany will be at war with Europe within 10 years." 



Returning to America, Doctor Becker was employed during 1872-73 as a construction 

 engineer by steel works at Joliet, 111. While here he invented, but did not patent, an improved 

 puddling process which is stated to have been in use both in Joliet and Youngstown, Ohio, up 

 to within the last five years (i. e., about 1918). Shortly after this he went to California, partly, 

 it is said, on account of his health, though it seems probable that the field seemed most inviting 

 to one of his profession. Here during 1875-1893 he was instructor in mining and metallurgy 

 in the State university. Among his pupils was the now well-known mining engineer, John 

 Hays Hammond. While here he fell under the influence of Clarence King, who was then 

 engaged upon the survey of the fortieth parallel. In 1879, when King became director of the 

 consolidated geological surveys, Becker was among the first to receive appointment, and it is 

 here that his scientific career as a physicist and geologist may well be said to have begun. 

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