BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH lxxili 
siderations. He had the courage of his convictions and rarely, 
if ever, avoided an issue, turned from an opponent, or shunned 
a fight. 
Although Professor Whitman published relatively few papers, 
he nevertheless occupied a commanding position in science. 
Some of the reasons have already been indicated. His ‘‘eye was 
single and his whole body was therefore full of light;’’ his devotion 
to scholarship was never open to the slightest shadow of suspicion. 
He was continuously engaged in his personal research which dealt 
with the most fundamental problems of biology, and he had 
accumulated vast stores of data, which we hoped he would live to 
publish himself. But apparently he could never satisfy himself 
with reference to the fundamental problems on which his mind was 
fixed; the grand consummation of his work had not come, and he 
could not reconcile himself to the publication of more or less frag- 
mentary pieces of work. His published papers, mostly short, 
are models of condensed thought, written in a fine, polished, 
characteristic style. No less care was devoted to the form than 
to the substance, and some of his papers will certainly endure as 
classics of the biology of his time 
It was, however, not only his publications, but also his work 
with his journal, his laboratory and his students, his constant 
helpful association with other workers, and the example of his 
austere and studious life that brought him recognition. He never 
permitted himself to be distracted by the confusion of modern 
life, social or academic, nor diverted from his steadfast purpose 
by clamor for quick results. 
SICKNESS, DEATH AND BURIAL 
For several years before his death Professor Whitman suffered 
considerably from indigestion, and lost much flesh. He was, 
however, in better health than usual in the fall of 1910. A sudden 
cold wave came on about December 1, 1910, and Whitman spent 
the entire afternoon in his yard putting his birds into their winter 
quarters. In his zeal for his pigeons he forgot about himself. 
The next morning he was found in a state of coma, and pneumonia 
