132 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



His companions spoke of him as having " good spirits, good 

 nature, and good fellowship." 



(From Charles A. White, in Biographical Memoirs of the National 

 Academy of Sciences, vol. 4, 1902, pp. I-2I.) 



JOHN FRIES FRAZER 

 Born, July 8, 1812; died, October 12, 1872 



The career of John Fries Frazer was largely connected with 

 the city of Philadelphia. He was the son of Robert Frazer, an 

 eminent lawyer, and was born on Chestnut Street, opposite Inde- 

 pendence Hall, July 8, 1812. His grandfather was Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Persifor Frazer, an officer in the Revolutionary War. 



He first attended a school in Philadelphia, where he took 

 high rank in study and likewise in sports, and after spending a 

 year at the military school of Captain Partridge, at Middle- 

 town, Connecticut, became a pupil of Rev. S. B. Wylie. By him 

 he was thoroughly drilled in the classics and in mathematics, as 

 well as in ecclesiastical history. After graduation from the 

 University of Pennsylvania, young Frazer served as laboratory 

 assistant to Professor Bache. Later he held the position of 

 assistant in the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, and also took 

 up the study of law in the office of John M. Scott. In due 

 course he was admitted to practice. The physical and chemical 

 sciences, however, proved more attractive to Frazer, and after 

 being professor in the High School of Philadelphia for some 

 time, he accepted the professorship of chemistry and physics 

 in the University of Pennsylvania. This position he held till 

 his death, when, from being the youngest member of the faculty, 

 he had become senior professor and Vice-Provost. 



As a teacher, Professor Frazer was most successful. His 

 lectures were delivered with enthusiasm and enlivened by many 

 anecdotes, and roused the deepest interest in the students. At 

 the Franklin Institute, also, he carried on, with great satis- 

 faction, the task of popularizing physical science. 



After his marriage in 1838, his house became a center of 

 social and intellectual intercourse. He had assembled a large 



