PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 129 



and for many years an active member of the New York Lyceum 

 of Natural History. He died after an illness of several years' 

 duration in Brooklyn, N. Y., August 20, 1885. A convenient 

 bibliography of his papers was prepared by Mr. Arthur F. Gray 

 in 18S4, and his portrait is to be found in the American Journal 

 of Conchology, vol. ii, pt. 4, 1866. 



William Stimpson. 



In the case of William Stimpson we have a good instance of 

 how not merely disadvantageous circumstances may be defied 

 but positive opposition conquered by what may be called an in- 

 nate devotion to the study of nature. He was born in Roxbury, 

 now within the charter limits of Boston, Feb. 14, 1S32. His 

 parents were Herbert H. Stimpson, who, I am informed, was of 

 Virginian origin, and Mary Ann Brewster, of a good New Eng- 

 land family. Mr. Stimpson dealt in stoves and ranges, in part- 

 nership with his brother Frederick, at Congress and Water 

 streets, Boston, for many years. He was a successful business 

 man, though not liberally educated, and introduced certain im- 

 provements into cooking ranges, of which one kind was long 

 familiar to Boston housewives under the name of the •' Stimp- 

 son range." The early education of the son was in the com- 

 mon schools, and in his sixteenth year he seems to have 

 shown unusual mental powers, as we find him entering the 

 upper class of the Boston High School in September, 1S47, 

 from which he graduated the following July. Even before this 

 time he had become deeply interested in natural history. A 

 copy of Gould's Invertebrata of Massachusetts having fallen into 

 his hands his attention was directed towards these animals. He 

 presented himself to the author of the work to find out if it were 

 possible for a copy to be had for his very own. Dr. Gould, with 

 his never-varying kindness, gave him an order on the State libra- 

 rian for one of the books, and the exulting joy with which the 



