ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



1921 



To the Trustees of Field Museum of Natural History : 



FREDERICK J. V. SKIFF 



November 5, 1851 February 24, 1921 



Appointed Director December 16, 1893 



Since the last issue of the Annual Report the Museum has sus- 

 tained an irreparable loss in the death of its Director, Frederick J. 

 V. Skiff, which took place suddenly at Chicago, February 24, 1921, 

 after two days' illness. On the Monday preceding his death, Dr. Skiff 

 attended the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees, and 

 assisted in the proceedings with his accustomed vigor and enthusiasm. 



On such an occasion as this attention is invited more especially 



to the sterling character of Dr. Skiff, rather than to his achievements. 



The story of what he accomplished has been told. The memory of 



what he was is both uplifting and inspiring — the most loyal of friends, 



a lover of all good and beautiful things; a strenuous worker, a 



lively and entertaining talker, a patient and inspiring administrator, 



who infused his associates with his own zeal — he leaves in the 



hearts of all who knew him a bright and imperishable image, an 



ideal of faithful efficient service, combined with most amiable personal 



traits. And nothing in his life became him better than his last painful 



years. For sometime before his death he suffered from a distressing 



affliction which no remedy could arrest. His last years were lived in 



constant and sometimes almost unendurable physical agony, and in the 



knowledge that his silent fight could hardly be other than hopeless. 



And yet his courage, his faith in the virtue there is in life, his perfect 



confidence that all things work together for good, were unfaltering. 



He labored so unceasingly and through consideration of others hid 



his suffering so carefully, that few suspected the ordeals of bodily pain 



through which he passed with a quiet indomitable courage that was a 



marvel to the few who knew the truth about his real condition. His 



interest in the many activities of the Museum and in the numerous 



educational and social projects of the Country was unabated. Greater 



fortitude could not have been displayed. No apparent sign warned his 



