Change of Dining Place 55 



man, and paid much attention to the question of water-supply. 

 In 1872 he retired from business to live near Shoreham, where, 

 ix years before, he had built an attractive house, but was appointed 

 Professor of Geology at Oxford in June, 1874, and held that office 

 till 1888. He contributed largely to the literature of geology, 

 dealing chiefly with stratigraphy and certain physical questions, 

 among which was advocating the effect of great floods. He was 

 President and Wollaston medallist of the Geological Society, was 

 elected F.R.S. in 1853, received a Royal Medal in 1865, and an 

 Hon. D.C.L. from Oxford, was gazetted knight in January, 1896, and 

 <iied on June 23rd of that year. 



PROFESSOR ALEXANDER WILLIAM WILLIAMSON was born at 

 Wandsworth on May ist, 1824. After his father, who was a clerk 

 in the India House, retired, the family spent some time abroad, and 

 the boy was at school in Dijon and Paris. In 1881 he went to 

 Heidelberg to study medicine, but was attracted to chemistry, and 

 in 1884 went on to Giessen to work under Liebig. Here he began 

 to make his mark by important discoveries in regard to bleaching 

 salts. Then came experiments on ozone and very valuable 

 researches into the composition of Prussian Blue. After work in 

 Paris from 1846 to 1849, he returned to London, and was appointed 

 in the latter year Professor, first of Practical, then of General 

 Chemistry at University College. After the publication of his 

 remarkable papers on etherification (1850-2), his contributions to 

 Chemical Science diminished in quantity, for his time was so fully 

 occupied by the direct and indirect duties of his office, but as 

 a teacher he was eminently stimulative and suggestive, implanting 

 ideas which his students developed. He became F.R.S. in 1855, 

 received a Royal Medal in 1862, was President of the British Associa- 

 tion at Bradford in 1873, retired from work in 1887, and died at 

 High Pitfold, Haslemere, May 6th, 1904. 



1861. On May soth, the Club received notice that the 

 4 Thatched House ' would cease to be carried on as a tavern, 

 and at the next meeting (June 2oth) it decided to dine at 

 the St. James' Hall, if the Treasurer could make satisfactory 

 arrangements. 



On Nov. 28th, the vacancy caused by the resignation of 

 Prof. Bell was filled by the election of Mr. W. Spottiswoode. 



DR. WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, whose father was head of the firm of 

 Eyre & Spottiswoode, Queen's Printers, was born in London, Jan. 

 nth, 1825. After Eton and Harrow, he went to Oxford and took 

 a first class in Mathematics from Balliol College in 1845, obtaining 

 two University scholarships in that subject. In 1846 he succeeded 

 his father as Queen's printer, without, however, abandoning his 



