LIlJfXEAN- SOCIETY OF LOJfDON". 139 



the University of London in 1856; and during the twenty- three 

 years he held that office contributed largely to the great extension 

 of the work of the University. 



As an investigator and philosophical naturalist, Dr. Carpenter's 

 imperishable claim to be remembered lies in his important con- 

 tributions to the science of Pliysiulogy, a science which he was one 

 of the first to place on a true foundation, by marshalling, in oue 

 well-ordered scheme, the j^reviously isolated facts that represented 

 our-kuowledge of organic structure and function, wherein lay the 

 germ of that wider view of the scieuce of life which to-day is 

 known by the name of Biology. 



His graduation thesis in 1S89, on "The Physiological Inferences 

 to be Deduced from the Structure of the Nervous System of In- 

 vertebiated Animals," was a remarkable production, and already 

 indicated the bent of his mind. This was followed in the same 

 year by his first great work, ' The Principles of General and 

 Comparative Physiology,' which was succeeded by ' The Principles 

 of Human Physiology,' and later by 'The Principles of Mental 

 Physiology,' — a series of works which, alone sufiicient to establish 

 their author's position amongst the leaders of science, will stand 

 as a lasting memorial of his profound knowledge of nature, and 

 philosojihical grasp of detail. 



In addition to the above must be mentioned his well-known 

 work on ' The Microscope,' Avhich has probably contributed more 

 than any other to the popular understanding and advancement 

 of tliat important adjunct to research. 



In the midst of arduous ^professional and editorial duties, Dr. 

 Carpenter found tune to carry on important special iuvestigatiojis. 

 Amongst these his memoirs on the loramiuifera, on the structure 

 of the Molluscan shell, on the structure and development of 

 Comatula, and on Eozoon canadense — a subject with which his 

 name will always be asisociated — may be mentioned as the most 

 prominent. His attainments, however, were so varied and his 

 knowledge so many-sided, that it is impossible in the brief space of 

 an obituary notice to indicate even the subjects wiiich his busy 

 pen has contributed to the advancement of human knowledge. 



Another service rendered to Science — the importance ot which 

 it is impossible to overestimate — was the active part he took in 

 promoting the exploration of the deep sea. Indeed it was mainly 

 through his influence and energetic advocacy that systematic 

 investigations of that kind were first undertaken by the Govern- 

 ment of this country — an initiative that has been followed by 

 numerous foreign States, and has borne such remarkable fruits in 

 the increase of our know ledge of the forms of animal life, and of 

 the physical conditions of the ocean. In the earlier of these 

 Expeditions — the 'Lightning' and the 'Porcupine' — Dr. Car- 

 penter himself took a personal share, and the results attained by 

 these investigations led to the fitting-out of the now world- 

 renowned 'Challenger' Expedition. In connection with each of 

 these Expeditions, i)v. Carpenter has published valuable memoirs 



