Dr. Bowditch, President of the American Academy. _ lix 
established, that he had, for many years before his death, been a 
member of various foreign Academies of Sciences ; and, but for his 
death, would, doubtless, have soon been admitted into the Royal 
Institute of France. * 
I have thus endeavoured to give you a brief, but, I fear, a 
very imperfect sketch of the scientific character and works of our 
lamented President. The particulars of his private life have already 
been fully exhibited in the interesting publications before referred 
to, and it is only necessary on the present occasion to add a few 
general remarks upon that subject. 
In social life Dr. Bowditch was distinguished for great integrity, 
extraordinary energy of character, and unremitting zeal and _perse- 
verance in whatever he undertook to accomplish. His manner was 
ardent, and indicative of that warm heart, which has now ceased to 
throb for those friends who enjoyed the happiness of his society. 
His deportment was, to an extraordinary degree, unaffected and 
simple ; and, in the expression of his opinions, he had an une 
measured frankness, which a heartless age of artificial civility would 
hardly consent to rank among the virtues. His reverence for truth, 
and for probity of character, was as deep-rooted, as his indigna- 
tion was inexorable on the discovery of fraud or duplicity. 
With a strong intellect, which was never unemployed, and a 
sensitive moral principle always in full exercise in the community 
around him, he may be justly said to have had a long life, though 
he did not attain to what we usually call old age, having hardly 
reached the close of his sixty-fifth year; which, however, as we 
are informed, was a greater age than had fallen to the lot of any of 
his lineal ancestors for several generations. 
The fatal termination of his last illness was not anticipated by 
* See Note K, at the end. 
