44 PllOCEEDINGS OF THE 



family iiii<;i;ited. The subject of tliis notice first went to a day- 

 school in London, and hiter to a boarding-scliool at Berkhanisted. 

 Here it was, when 15 years old, he began to show a bent towards 

 science, amongst other things collecting plants, and displayintr so 

 keen a liking for botany, tliat wlw^n some years afterwards his old 

 schoolmaster was about lo leave Eni^land he gave his herbarium, 

 containing many specimens collected by the liev. C. A. Johns, ta 

 his fonm-r pu|)il. 



In 186(», at the age of IG, John llopkinson passed direct from 

 school to his father's business, and remained in its active prose- 

 cution for 53 years; dui-ing this long period his evenings wera 

 given up to scientific pursuits. The first society he joined was 

 that of the Geologists' Association in 18(55; two vears later the 

 Eoyal Microscopical Society, and in ISGl) the Geological Society 

 of London. It was in 18(38 that he read his first paper on 

 British Graptolites before the Quekett Club ; the subject took 

 up much of his attention for several years, until the claims of 

 administration of a local society obliged liim to concentrate his 

 attention u|ion the latter. In 1874 he removed to Watford, and 

 in tlie late autumn of tiiat yeai-, in conjunction with Dr. Alfred T. 

 Bretr and Mr. Arthur T. Cottani, a preliminary meeting of local 

 naturalists ^^ils held, leading in January 1875 to the establishment 

 of the Watford Natural History Society, with Mr. John Evans 

 (afterwards knighted) as the first president and Mr. Hopkinson as 

 secretary, librarian, and editor; the last-named oHice he retained 

 to the closing day of his life. 



He was elected into the Linnean Society on the IStli February, 

 1875, and served on the Council from "l908 till 1911. As tlie 

 years passed on, he came to use the li'Drary moi-e extensively, and 

 in recent times he was in our rooms several times each week, 

 largely for the volumes issued by the Kay Society. 



in 1877, he married Miss Kathei-ine Willshiu, of St. Albans, 

 who survives him, with two married daughters. 



In 1879 the Watford Natural History Society enlarged its 

 scope and chang^-d its name to the present one, The Hertfordshire 

 Natural History Societv', of which renamed society Mr. Plopkinson 

 '•emained the active and energetic officer to the end of his life. 

 In the sam^ yt^'ir, at the British Association meeting at Sbeifield, 

 lie urged that an annual conference of delegates of various 

 provincial societies should take place, and the originatt^r of the 

 plan presidetl over the first conference, which was held at Swansea 

 the following year. These gatherings were at first nut officially 

 recognist d, but they now form a part of the progranune at each 

 meeting of the Association. 



Another suggestion which took some years to develop was 

 that of a local museum at St. Albans; in 18iM) a temporary 

 building was o])ened and the new permanent one tiie next vear. 

 In 19U0 Mr. Hopkinson transferred the greater number of his 

 meteorological instruments to the museum, together with his her- 

 barium (previously mentioned), his local collection of mollusca and 



