Obituary Notice of William Bcvjamin Caiyenter, 303 



Obituary Notice of William Benjamin Cai^enter, C.B., 

 M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. By Andrew Taylor. 



William Benjamin Carpenter died from tlie result of 

 au accident, at the age of 72, on November 10, 1885, At 

 the meeting of the British Association in Aberdeen during 

 the previous autumn, some of our older members were 

 struck by the untiring energy he displayed, which, indeed, 

 was almost equal to that manifested during our Society's 

 first year of life, in 1836, when he was a conspicuous con- 

 tributor of papers. 



W. B. Carpenter, fourth cliild and eldest son of Dr Lant 

 Carpenter, an eminent Unitarian minister, was born at 

 Exeter in 1813. On removing to Bristol, the father added 

 to his pastoral duties the instruction of twelve youths 

 together with his own family, and the world has had 

 practical results of this training. Mary Carpenter, the 

 champion of destitute and criminal children, was the eldest 

 of the family, and soon became the special friend and 

 mentor of the future physiologist. Dr James Martineau, 

 who was a pupil with William Carpenter, when both had 

 ideas of being civil engineers, gratefully speaks of the 

 influence on their budding boyhood of the sedate little 

 girl who looked at you so steadily, and always spoke 

 like a book. The instruction given covered successive 

 courses of geology, natural philosophy, and chemistry, 

 with illustrative specimens, diagrams, and experiments. 

 Mrs Carpenter's instructions in geography, given with 

 very admirable detail, made Martineau, previously only a 

 classicist, write — " I never can forget the shame I felt on 

 discovering at Bristol the depths of my ignorance of the 

 natural world and of modern times." At least two other 

 names, besides those just given, have become noted from 

 this home school ; I only mention Dr Philip Pearsall 

 Carpenter, B.A,, Ph.D., who died at Montreal in 1877. 

 William B. Carpenter began his career of educationalist 

 at twelve, for, like others of the family, he taught while 

 he learned. He thus early began to form that clear 

 literary style so characteristic of his scientific treatises ; 

 and he never throughout life laid aside the vocation 



