6 HENRY MARION HOWE— BURGESS 



Among the many honors conferred upon this greatly honored, yet modest man, a member 

 of almost every technical society having to do with iron and steel both here and abroad, he 

 received the degree of A.M. in 1872, and LL.D. in 1905, from Harvard; the degree of LL.D. also 

 from Lafayette in 1905; and that of Sc.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1915. He was 

 made a Knight of the Order of St. Stanislaus (Russian) and a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor 

 of France. For his work he received five gold medals from leading technical societies of the 

 world: The Bessemer medal of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, as mentioned 

 elsewhere in this biographical sketch; the John Fritz medal of the American Institute of Mining 

 Engineers; the Elliott Cresson medal of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia; that of the 

 Verein zur Befoerderung des Gewerbfleisses of Berlin; and the gold medal of the Societe 

 d'Encouragement pour l'lndustrie Nationale of France. He was elected president for one term 

 of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, and the International Association for Testing 

 Materials, and for four terms of the American Society for Testing Materials, being among 

 others an honorary member of the Russian Technical Society, Russian Metallurgical Society 

 and the Societe d'Encouragement, American Society for Testing Materials, American Society 



for Steel Treating. 



As a teacher, Doctor Howe gave one of his greatest services to humanity. Not only was he 

 the leader, he was also the comrade and friend. The student never felt restraint in asking advice 

 of this kindly gentleman, who in turn was most generous to the deserving, often helping in a 

 material way as well. In the laboratory, as well as in the classroom, he was most patient even 

 in cases where his suggestions had been taken amiss. Owing to his delightful clearness of 

 thought and expression, and simple, logical presentation, Professor Howe's courses were con- 

 sidered the easiest in school. He was endeared in the hearts of his students, and all who came in 

 contact with him, by his wonderful smile and sympathetic manner, and those receiving his 

 recognition considered themselves honored indeed. 



The inspiration of Doctor Howe's leadership, it has been the desire to perpetuate, and 

 two societies with which he was intimately associated have sought to commemorate his name. 

 The American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers have established "the Henry 

 Marion Howe lectureship," and very appropriately Prof. Albert Sauveur, a life long friend and 

 himself with Howe one of the pioneers and outstanding authorities in the subject of metal- 

 lography, is the first lecturer under this foundation. 



There has also been established, in honor of Doctor Howe, the ''Henry Marion Howe gold 

 medal," by the American Society for Steel Treating, the first medal being awarded in October, 

 1923, to Dr. Emanuel J. Janitzky, a replica in bronze being given to Mrs. Howe, in recognition 

 of her aid as a coworker of Doctor Howe, a most devoted friend and companion, accompanying 

 him in all his travels. It is of interest here to note the rules governing the award of this newly 

 established medal as follows: 



The board of directors of the American Society for Steel Treating has established a fund to be known as 

 the Henry Marion Howe medal fund, the proceeds of which shall be used annually to award a gold medal to be 

 known as the Henry Marion Howe medal. The award will be made as follows: 



(1) The medal will be awarded to the author of the paper which shall be judged to be of the highest merit. 

 All papers in order to be considered must be published originally in the transactions of the society during the 12 

 months ending August 1 of the year in which the medal is awarded. 



(2) The competition for the Henry Marion Howe medal shall be open to all. 



(3) The award shall be made by the board of directors. 



(4) The award may be withheld at the discretion of the board of directors. 



When Howe was elected to the National Academy, in 1917, he had been recognized for years 

 by his colleagues as the dean of American metallurgy. Howe's preeminent position'is strikingly 

 set forth at the presentation to him of the John Fritz medal in 1917 in the addresses of Dr. R. W. 

 Raymond, Pres. I. N. Hollis, and Prof. A. Sauveur. We have already quoted the estimate of 

 Sauveur and we are also indebted to much in Doctor Raymond's account of Howe's accom- 

 plishments. We may close by quoting from his student, associate, and successor at Columbia, 

 Prof. William Campbell: 



In short, we can say of him that he was a kindly gentleman, thoughtful of others; a great scientist, greatly 

 honored and yet most modest; a remarkably clear writer with a gift of simplicity of thought and diction; and 

 lastly he was undoubtedly the greatest of all the steel metallurgists. 



