628 JOHN CUMMINGS. 



with pleasure the dignified cordiality of his greeting, his kindly sympa- 

 thy in others' joys and sorrows, his tenderness of heart, and his wide- 

 spread interest in all that was going on about him. These traits 

 continued to the last, even gaining in intensity as his long life approached 



its end. 



Charles P. Bowditch. 



JOHN CUMMINGS. 



Hon. John Cummings of Woburn, Mass., was elected Resident 

 Fellow of the Academy, in Class III., Section 3, on the 12th of 

 October, 1881. He was at the time well known in this section of the 

 State as generously promoting the teaching of Natural Science in the 

 public schools, and as liberally aiding institutions and individuals in 

 the prosecution of more advanced scientific work. He was Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the Boston Society of Natural History, and had materially con- 

 tributed to its museum by the gift of valuable collections, while the 

 botanical specimens were being arranged and multiplied by his liberality. 



One of his noteworthy contributions was the entire financial support 

 he gave to the " Teachers' School of Science " for the first two years of 

 its existence. When he was elected to the Academy this school had 

 become of established value in the diffusion of scientific knowledge and 

 in advancing the true method of teaching from objects and natural 

 features. 



At the same time he was identified with those who were establishing 

 and building up the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was 

 early made a member of its Corporation and was serving as its Treasurer, 

 an office which he filled with great credit during a long period in the his- 

 tory of the institution when it most needed the services of a treasurer 

 who believed in it and who had the energy and the courage to struggle 

 with many difficulties and discouragements. To him the Institute of 

 Technology is deeply indebted for its present condition. 



He was filling many positions of confidence and responsibility and was 

 highly esteemed in business circles. He was President of the Shawmut 

 National Bank ; he had served as President of the Boston Board of 

 Trade and of the Shoe and Leather Association ; and he had held impor- 

 tant offices in the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society, and the Perkins Institution for the Blind; 

 he was State Director of the Boston and Albany Railroad, also a director 

 of the Eastern Railroad. He had rendered valuable service as a mem- 



