32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
corded, every effort should be made to have these records exact, com- 
plete, and available. It was this field that was covered by the 
International Catalogue. 
NECROLOGY 
GEORGE GRAY 
Judge George Gray, member of the Board of Regents of the 
Institution for over 30 years and chairman of its executive committee 
for the past 10 years, died on August 7, 1925. Judge Gray was born 
at New Castle, Del., on May 4, 1840, and graduated from Princeton 
University in 1859. He studied law at Harvard and was admitted 
to the bar in 1863. After practicing for 16 years, he was appointed 
attorney general of Delaware in 1876. This office he held for six 
years, when he was elected United States Senator for the unexpired 
term (1885-1887) of Thomas F. Bayard, who had been appointed 
Secretary of State. Judge Gray was twice reelected to the Senate, 
and at the end of these two terms, he was made United States circuit 
judge, third judicial circuit, which office he held from 1899 to 1914. 
From this time until his death, Judge Gray was a member of a 
number of important peace commissions and international arbitra- 
tion commissions. Tor several years preceding his death he had 
served as a trustee and vice president of the Carnegie Endowment for 
International Peace. 
Through his long period of service on the Board of Regents and as 
chairman of the executive committee, Judge Gray had a real interest 
in the activities of the Institution and a thorough knowledge of its 
affairs, and his wise counsel will be greatly missed in the meetings 
of the board. 
FRANCIS HENRY PARSONS 
Francis Henry Parsons, assistant in charge of the Smithsonian 
Division of the Library of Congress for 25 years, died July 25, 1925. 
Although Mr. Parsons was an employee of the Library of Congress, 
his close association with the Smithsonian makes it fitting that his 
career be briefly reviewed here. 
Born January 23, 1855, in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr. Parsons was the 
son of Charles Henry and Sarah Rice Parsons, both of New England 
ancestry. In September, 1862, he came with his parents to Wash- 
ington, where the remainder of his life was spent. Due to delicate 
health, his education was acquired from private instruction, sup- 
plemented by extensive reading. 
In January, 1872, he was appointed by Commander James H. 
Gillis, United States Navy, as his clerk, and sailed with him on the 
store ship Supply from New York to Rio de Janeiro: he was mus- 
