PAUL DANIEL HAHN, 



M.A., I'li.l). 



(Born Jamury 5. iS4(j, Died March 9. iyi8.) 



The Uiiixersity of the Ca])e of (iood Hope was incor- 

 ])()rate(l l)y Act of I'arhament in 1873; on the 2nd April. 1918, 

 it will be resolved into three separate Universities. During 

 the 45 years of the j^arent university's existence its afTairs were 

 administered by seven successive Councils, and of the 31 mem- 

 l)ers of the hrst Council. l*aul Daniel Hahn alone survived to 

 < )ccupy a seat on the seventh. 



Prof. Hahn was a South African by birth ; he was born 

 while his father, the late Rew J. S. Hahn. of the Rhenish Mis- 

 sion, was stationed at Bethany, (ireat Naniaqualand : the mission 

 station is referred to in Frances Calton's " Narrative of an 

 Kx|)lorer in Tropical South Africa." .Vbout 1853 his parents 

 returned to Cierman\-. and so it happened that young'Hahn recei\ed 

 his early education in the (iymnasium of Soest, in Westphalia. 



In 1870 he passed his " Abiturienten '* examination, and pro- 

 ceeded to the L'nixersity of llalle, where he studied chemistry. 

 ])hysics. mineralogy, ancl mathematics, and subsequentlv acted as 

 assistant to Prof, (iirard. In March. 1874, he .g^raduated as 

 Master of Arts and Doctor o;f Philosophy, his thesis for the 

 doctorate comprisinjj^ two ])apers. which were subsec|uently pub- 

 lished in the Proceedin_s;s of the " Xaturwissenschaftlichen 

 tjesellschaft " of llalle, 1875. The pai)ers were entitled re- 

 spectively '■ The ])hos))horescence of minerals " and " The chemi- 

 cal constitution of natural silicates." During these years Hahn'> 

 studies were mainly devoted to the physics and chemistry of 

 minerals, and much original investigation was carried on by 

 him. Of this ])eriod a monument remains in the magnificent 

 collection of minerals — many of them South African — wdiich he 

 gathered together in the course of a long and strentious scientific 

 career, without doubt the finest private collection in the country. 



In October, 1874, Dr. Hahn passed the examination whereby 

 he ever afterwards set most store — the " Staats Examen " {fro 

 facilitate doccndi). which gave him the right of lecturing in any 

 German university. A month later he proceeded to London and 

 to Edinburgh for further study, and. in a remarkably short space 

 of time, not only ifamiliarized himself with the English system 

 ()f chemical nomenclature, 1>ut also widened his knowledge by 

 gaining a close practical acquaintance with British methods of 

 scientific work and research, and generally with imiversity institu- 

 tions in the United Kingdom. An incident is related of him 

 during his stay in Edinburgh which reveals the iimate kindliness 

 of his nature. W'hile attending a football match he witnessed 

 a fatal accident on the playing field ; this produced in him such 

 a revulsion of feeling that he ever afterwards felt a dislike for 

 the game. 



