LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LOJJ^DO^. 6^ 



Botanic Gardens at Jena in 1851, and in 1859 filled the office 

 of Prorector Magnificus of the University. 



For teaching-purposes he brought out his ' Grundrias der 

 Botanik,' ' Haudbuch der raedicinisch-pharmaeeutischeu Botanik,' 

 and ' Physiologie der Pflanzen und Thiere.' With Nageli he 

 started a ' Zeitschrift f iir wissenschaftliche Botanik,' of which, 

 however, only four parts appeared. After this time his pub- 

 lished works were almost entirely of a popular or else non- 

 scientific character. In the year 18G2 he abruptly resigned his 

 Chair at Jena, and settled as a private individual at Dresden. 

 The next year he was called to Dorpat as Professor of Botany, 

 but gave up the post the following year. After this he agaia 

 came forward as a popular writer, and, amongst other things, 

 published two volumes of lyrics under the pseudonym of 

 "Ernst." On his return from Dorpat he settled at Dresden; 

 after that he moved to Wiesbaden, and finally to Prankfort- 

 on-the-Main, where he died on the 23rd June last. 



It is hardly necessary to remind the Fellows present of the 

 great and lasting impulse given to vegetable physiology by the 

 earlier works of Schleiden. His mistakes are forgotten ; but the 

 impulse forward which he gave when he promulgated his views 

 on the life and functions of the cell, has not died out. For a full 

 account of the influence Schleiden has exerted on the science, 

 reference may be made to Sachs's ' Geschichte der Botanik,' 

 pp. 202-210. 



SiE Charles Wtvtlle Thomson was born at Bonsyde, near 

 Linlithgow, on the 5th March 1830. He went to school at 

 Merchiston Castle Academy ; and in 1845 he began his medical 

 studies in the University of Edinburgh. He joined the Botanical 

 Society there in 1847, and soon afterwards became Secretary of 

 the Eoyal Physical Society. In 1850 he was appointed Lec- 

 turer on Botany in King's College, Aberdeen, and the year 

 following Professor of Botany in Marischal College and Univer- 

 sity. In 1853 he was made Professor of Natural History in 

 Queen's College, Cork, and in 1854 was transferred to the Chair 

 of Mineralogy and Geology at Belfast. 



Elected F^E.S. in 1867, he took part in the ' Porcupine ' Expe- 

 dition the next year, publishing his results in the volume entitled 

 ' The Depths of the Sea.' On Prof. Allman resigning the Chair of 

 Natural History at Edinburgh in 1870, Mr. Thomson was chosen 

 his successor. In 1872 he was nominated chief of the scientific 

 stafl" on board H.M.S. ' Challenger,' obliging him to be absent 

 from Britain for upwards of three years. On his return he was 

 Knighted, and received one of the Gold Medals of the Eoyal 

 Society ; and on his visit to Upsala he was created Knight of the 

 Polar Star by the King of Sweden. 



The long sea-voyage, however, had not invigorated him ; but 

 in 1879 his condition first caused alarm to his friends. In June 

 of that year he was attacked by paralysis, and thenceforward only 



