REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 25 



to keep alive the various regional bureaus until international affairs 

 would allow reorganization and resumption of publication. There 

 appears to be no question of the need of an international bib- 

 liography of science and of international cooperation in its pro- 

 duction; therefore as the International Catalogue of Scientific Lit- 

 erature is the only such organization in existence it is the logical 

 foundation on which to base future operations, whether these opera- 

 tions are to be aided through private endowments or official 

 guarantees. 



NECROLOGY 



ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL 



Alexander Graham Bell, a regent of the Smithsonian Institution 

 from 1898 to 1922, died at his summer home in Nova Scotia on 

 August 2, 1922. Doctor Bell, best known for his invention of the 

 telephone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1847, and was edu- 

 cated at Edinburgh and London universities. He later received 

 many honorary degrees from universities in this country and abroad. 

 A patent was granted on March 17, 1876, for his invention of the 

 telephone, and in 1883, with C. A. Bell and Sumner Taintor, he in- 

 vented the graphophone. His many other notable inventions for 

 the benefit of mankind include the photophone, induction balance, 

 and telephone probe for painless detection of bullets in the human 

 body. 



He was deeply interested in the subject of deafness and its cor- 

 rection, and founded and endowed in 1887 the Volta Bureau for the 

 increase of knowledge relating to the deaf. He was the author of 

 many scientific and educational monographs. 



Doctor Bell occupied a prominent place in the affairs of the 

 Smithsonian Institution during the 24 years of his membership on 

 the board of regents, serving continuously from the time of his 

 appointment to the board as a member of its executive committee. 



The loss of his active interest and sound advice will be deeply 

 felt by the institution. 



JOHN BROOKS HENDERSON 



John Brooks Henderson, regent of the Smithsonian Institution 

 since 1911, died January 4, 1923, at the age of 53. Mr. Henderson 

 was early attracted to scientific work and shortly after his graduation 

 from Harvard undertook his first expedition to the West Indies in 

 quest of land mollusks. These, together with marine mollusks, he 

 made his special study, and in the course of his work he made many 

 collecting trips to the Greater and Lesser Antilles. His first paper on 

 mollusks was published in 1894, and in the succeeding years his con- 



