24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



adopted in early manhood, and matured and ripened with the reflec- 

 tion of advancing years, — a faith which bore fruit in Christian labors 

 and a Christian example ; which gave a hallowed tone to his influence 

 on all around him, and at the last sustained him calmly as his end ap- 

 proached. 



" The man who consecrates his hours 

 By vigorous effort, and an honest aim, 

 At once he draws the sting of life and death." 



Francis Peabody, late President of the Essex Institute, was born 

 in Salem, December 7, 1801, and died at his residence in that city, 

 October 31, 1867. 



He was son of Joseph Peabody, an eminent merchant of Salem dur- 

 ing the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. Soon 

 after leaving school he travelled in Russia and Northern Europe, and 

 on his return settled in Salem, where he continued to reside until his 

 decease. In early life he exhibited a taste for Chemistry and the 

 kindred sciences and their application to the useful arts, which was 

 nurtured and developed by the literary and scientific activity of the 

 community in which he lived, as well as by its commercial enterprise 

 and the elevated and permanent character of its society. 



When, in the year 1827, the Essex Lodge of Freemasons, of which 

 he was a member, and the Mechanics Charitable Association, each 

 voted to provide courses of literary and scientific lectures, Mr. Pea- 

 body entered zealously into their plans, and delivered before both of 

 these institutions a number of lectures on the Steam-Engine, Electri- 

 city, Galvanism, Heat, and other scientific subjects. Three years later 

 he took a leading part in the organization of the Salem Lyceum, was 

 one of its first managers, and one of the earliest of its lecturers. For 

 his zeal in promoting the efforts of his townsmen in this new direction 

 he is to be ranked among the prominent founders of that system of 

 popular or lyceum lectures, which has since become so universal in this 

 country, and which has grown to be an influential, if not a permanent, 

 feature of our social economy. 



His taste for applied science early led him to engage in chemical 

 and other manufactures, in which and commercial pursuits he continued 

 to be interested until his decease. 



Mr. Peabody was the first President of the Board of Trustees of 

 the fund given by Mr. George Peabody, of London, for the promo- 

 tion of science and useful knowledge in the county of Essex, which 



