54 Obituary notice of Sir George Stokes. [Mar. 



Among the more recent of his important works were his text and trans- 

 lation of the M Buddhacarita " (1893-4), a publication which has created 

 great interest amongst critical scholars abroad. Most characteristic, 

 too, was his work for and Avith others. He more than once accepted 

 the task, at times ungrateful, of finishing works of deceased scholars. 

 Such were Wilson's version of the " Rigveda " (finally completed by his 

 pupil, Mr. W. F. Webster), and the huge work of Madhava left incom- 

 plete by Goldstiicker. His chief works done with others were : "The 

 Black Yajuiveda " (edited partly with Dr. Roer), 1858-64 ; Catalogue 

 of Buddhist Sanskrit MSS. (with Dr. Eggeling), 1875 ; "Divyavadana," 

 edited with the late R. A. Neil, 1886 ; " Harsacarita," translated with 

 Mr. F. W. Thomas, 1897. Lastly, let it never be forgotten that it was 

 he, the scholar, known to the few, who introduced Omar Khayyam to 

 FitzGcrald, whose version is known wherever English literature is 

 known.. 



Sir G-eorge Gabriel Stokes. 



Sir George Gabriel Stokes was born on the 13th August, 1819, at 

 Skrccn, Sligo, of which parish his father was Rector. At the age of six- 

 teen, he was placed in Bristol College, of which Dr. Jerrard was Princi- 

 pal. He entered Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1837, graduated in 

 1841 as Senior Wrangler and First Smith's Prizeman, became Fellow of 

 his College in the same year, and in 1849, succeeded King as Lucasian 

 Professor of Mathematics in the University of Cambridge. He contin- 

 ued to occupy Newton's chair till the day of his death which took place 

 on the 1st February, 1903. Stokes was elected a Fellow of the Royal 

 Society in 1851, acted as its Secretary from J 854 to 1885, as its Presi- 

 dent from 1885 to 1890, and as its Vice-President down to 1892. The 

 Royal Society awarded him the Rumford Medal in 1852 and the Copley 

 Medal in 1893. The Cambridge Philosophical Society awarded him its 

 first Hopkins Prize, in 1867. He represented the University of Cam- 

 bridge in Parliament from 1887-91. 



It would be impossible within the limits of a brief obituary notice to 

 give any adequate account of the scientific work of Sir George Stokes and 

 its far-reaching consequences. There was no department of physical science, 

 except electricity, which was not enriched by his brilliant original investi- 

 gations. Students of hydro-dynamics can scarcely realize what advance 

 was made by his great paper on the viscosity of fluids, published just 

 sixty years ago. This was followed seven years later, by the paper on 

 the effect of the internal friction of fluids on the motion of pendulums, 

 which illustrates the wonderful mathematical resources of the author 

 and his capacity for their application to the problems of physical science. 

 Between these two papers came the epoch-making paper on the theory 



