80 BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 



of Cambridge, of Bards comet in 1846, of the satellite Hyperion 

 in 1848, of the third ring of Saturn in 1850, the discovery by 

 Herrick and Bradley, in 1846, of the bi-partition of Belas comet, 

 and the application of the telegraph to longitude determination 

 after Locke had constructed, in 1848, his clock for the registra 

 tion of time observations by means of electro-magnetism. 



It is almost ludicrous at this day to observe the grateful senti 

 ments with which our men of science welcomed the adoption of 

 this American method in the observatory at Greenwich. 



Americans were still writhing under the sting of Sidney 

 Smith's demand " Who reads an American book?" and the nar 

 rations of those critical observers of national customs, Dickens, 

 Basil Hall, and Mrs. Trollope. 



The continental approval of American science was like balsam 

 to the sensitive spirits of our countrymen. 



John William Draper's versatile and original researches in 

 physics were also yielding weighty results, and as early as 1847 

 he had already laid the foundations of the science of spectroscopy 

 which ,KirchhofT so boldly appropriated many years later. 



Most important of all, by reason of its breadth of scope, was 

 the foundation of the Smithsonian Institution, which was organ 

 ized in 1846 by the election of Joseph Henry to its secretaryship. 

 Who can attempt to say what the conditions of science in the 

 United States would be to-day, but for the bequest of Smithson? 

 In the words of John Quincy Adams, " Of all the foundations 

 or establishments for pious or charitable uses which ever signal 

 ized the spirit of the age or the comprehensive beneficence of the 

 founder, none can be named more deserving the approbation of 

 mankind." 



Among the leaders of this new enterprise and of the scientific 

 activities of the day may be named : Silliman, Hare, Henry, 

 Bache, Maury, Alexander, Locke, Mitchel, Peirce, Walker, 

 Draper, Dana, Wyman, Agassiz, Gray, Torrey, Haldeman, 



