Atinual Report of tJic Council. xxxvii 



that the spans of this bridge are nearly twice as great as the 

 Eiffel tower is high, viz., 1,710 ft. against 984 ft. His other 

 monumental work, the Assuan Dam, is not so original in 

 design as the previous mentioned one, but here, too, material 

 had to be dispensed with wherever possible in order not to 

 overburden the structure. Some men, with less theoretical 

 and practical knowledge than Sir Benjamin Baker had, 

 might not have seen all the possible dangers and might 

 have hoped to guard themselves against risks by piling on 

 material ; others, again, although quite aware of the seriousness 

 of the problem, might have feared to recommend what had 

 never been done before. Sir Benjamin's forte was that he 

 clearly saw the nature of the problem in hand and had the 

 courage to face the risks. 



He was repeatedly honoured both at home and abroad ; he 

 became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1890, received several 

 decorations and honorary degrees, and was elected an Honorary 

 Member of this Society in 1886. He was intimately associated 

 with the Royal Institution, the British Association, and the 

 Institutions of Mechanical Engineers and of Civil Engineers. 

 Of the latter Institution he was President in 1895. 



Alexander Buchan was born at Kinnesswood, Kinross, 

 on April nth, 1829, and received his early training in the Free 

 Church Normal School, Edinburgh. He proceeded to the 

 University, and subsequently graduated as M.A. He decided 

 to follow a scholastic career, and held ofifice as a teacher at 

 Banchory, Blackford, and Dunkeld. Owing, however, to a con- 

 stitutional weakness of the throat, he abandoned this profession, 

 and in i860 accepted the office of Secretary of the Scottish 

 Meteorological Society. Henceforth his energies were devoted 

 to the furtherance of his favourite science with a consistent 

 enthusiasm which won the respect and admiration of all his 

 friends and colleagues. His clearness as an expositor is shown 

 in his " Handy Book of Meteorology," which was published in 



