304 LEADING AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE 



of Marsh. A few fossil cycads had been previously received at 

 New Haven, but the bulk of this collection was made during the 

 summer and autumn of the latter year. More than seven hundred 

 of these fossil trunks came from the Black Hills alone, and these 

 taken in connection with the specimens since added constitute 

 the most important series of the kind in the world. A few verte- 

 brates were also obtained at about this time, notably the unique 

 dinosaurian type Barosaurus and various remains pertaining to 

 the largest turtles yet discovered. 



But Marsh did not confine his efforts entirely to the making of 

 vast collections; he devoted much of his energy to the proper 

 housing of them. During a visit to his uncle at Homburg in 1863, 

 he broached the subject of establishing a museum of natural 

 history at Yale, and before the visit was over Mr. Peabody had 

 given him assurance that the building, with proper endowment, 

 should become a reality. 



When in England, he had been strongly urged by Sir Charles 

 Lyell to make a special study of the antiquity of man in America. 

 With this in view, he commenced researches in the sepulchral 

 mounds of Ohio. While thus engaged the idea of a museum of 

 archaeology and ethnology at Cambridge presented itself to his 

 mind, and his plans for establishing scientific museums at both 

 Harvard and Yale were fulfilled in 1867, when he assisted Mr. 

 Peabody in organizing gifts to these universities and to the Pea- 

 body Academy of Science at Salem. In connection with the first 

 of these Marsh was offered a professorship at Cambridge, a 

 second offer coming in 1874, both of which were declined. He 

 was appointed a trustee of the other two foundations and became 

 Curator of the Yale Geological Collections, a position retained 

 throughout life. The right wing of the Yale museum was com- 

 pleted in 1875, an d much to his regret remained the only portion 

 of the building to be finished during his regime, although he used 

 every effort to overcome this adverse condition. 



Early in 1898 by deed of gift Marsh presented all his scientific 

 collections, including vertebrate and invertebrate fossils, fossil 

 footprints, recent osteology, American archaeology, minerals, and 



