PROCEEDINGS. 



during the past year. Until the last evening prior to the date fixed for 

 the annual meeting, we could say that death had made no diminution 

 in our list of members. But, on that evening, we lost one who was 

 facile princeps among us our late President, Prof. George Lawson. 



Prof. Lawson was born on the 12th October, 1827, at Newport, Fife- 

 shire, in Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Lawson and belonged 

 to a family which had long resided in Fifeshire. After completing his 

 school education, he entered upon the study of law ; but his strong 

 natural taste for scientific work led him to abandon a legal career, and 

 to enter the University of Edinburgh with the object of studying the 

 natural and physical sciences. His studies in Edinburgh extended over 

 a period of ten years, during which time he was also occupied with 

 scientific and literary work in connection with the University and with 

 several of the scientific institutions of that city. He was for a time 

 Curator of the University Herbarium, and was thus brought into either 

 personal contact or correspondence with the leading botanists of the 

 time. He was also for some time Demonstrator of Botany under Pro- 

 fessor J . H. Balfour ; and, in that capacity, he conducted a select class 

 for advanced students, teaching the practical use of the microscope and 

 methods of research in regard to the minute structure and development 

 of plants. The class was one of the first of the kind conducted in 

 Great Britain. The preparation of the Catalogue of the Library of the 

 Eoyal Society of Edinburgh was entrusted to him at this time, and was 

 carried out to the great satisfaction of the Society. He acted also as 

 secretary of several societies, in particular of the Royal Physical Society, 

 in which office he had as colleague the late Sir Wyville Thomson, after- 

 wards Chief of the Scientific Staff of the Challenger expedition. 



In the year 1858 he was appointed to the Professorship of Chemistry 

 and Natural History in Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and, to 

 the great regret of the leading scientific men in Edinburgh, evidenced 

 by their presenting him \vith an address, a silver salver and a purse of 

 sovereigns, he accepted the appointment. 



In 1863, on the reorganization of Dalhousie College in this city, 

 Dr. Lawson resigned his chair at Queen's College and accepted the 

 Professorship of Chemistry and Mineralogy here. From that date 

 until the present for a period of thirty-two years he has conducted 

 the chemical department in this college. In addition to the work of his 

 chair, he also for many years conducted a class in Botany. 



