818 CHARLES ROBERT SANGER. 



the quantitative determination of small amounts of fluorine, a beauti- 

 ful application of the general principle, that had proved so useful 

 in his work on arsenic. It is hoped that this (and some other papers) 

 can be brought into a state fit for publication, and, although shortly 

 before his death he told me it was far from ready, I feel sure that e\-en 

 then it had been tested as carefully, as most chemists think necessary 

 for their work; and this leads me to speak of Sanger's most marked 

 characteristic, admirable in itself, but developed to such an extent, 

 that it reduced the amount of his work very materially. This was an 

 accuracy and care truly phenomenal. Most chemists are satisfied, 

 when they have followed the work of their students closely, and tested 

 it at certain commanding points. A few think it necessary to repeat 

 all the work of their students, of these Hill was one, and in this single 

 respect I must feel his influence was unfortunate, as his precept and 

 example developed this side of Sanger's character to such an excess, 

 that he was never willing to publish, until he had repeated the work 

 of his students not once but many times. This is the principal reason 

 why the list of his papers is short, and does no justice to the amount 

 of work he did, or to his chemical ability; but on the other hand the 

 wonderful accuracy of every published statement of his gi\es his work 

 unusual authority. Other reasons for the comparatively small 

 number of his papers are, that much of his time was taken up by 

 work in industrial chemistry, which could not be published, and still 

 more the almost over-faithful performance of his duties as teacher and 

 Director of the Laboratory. In this last capacity he was always 

 ready to sacrifice at the expense of his own investigations unlimited 

 time for the purpose of advancing the researches of his colleagues by 

 providing special apparatus, or material for them. 



Apart from his chemical work Sanger's life, like those of most scien- 

 tific men, was barren in striking events. He was born in Boston, 

 August 31, 1860, but early in his boyhood his father moved to Cam- 

 bridge, where he was fitted for college at the High School. He soon 

 became an important member of the Class of 1881 at Harvard, partly 

 because of his prominence in the societies, and as a member of his 

 class nine, still more because his warm aft'ectionate nature endeared 

 him to his classmates, and enriched him with many lasting friendships. 

 In his senior year he was elected Class Secretary — the important 

 permanent officer of the class — and he met the duties of this office 

 with the same enthusiasm he showed in his chemical work, while his 

 characteristic methodical thoroughness and devotion made his work 

 a model for all class secretaries. 



