3i8 LEADING AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE 



hard to find. Theodore Gill, a native of New York, with whom 

 I have been acquainted for a considerable length of time, is an 

 honorable and sincere young man, so far as I know him, though 

 by education different enough from myself." 



His first scientific publication was in 1859, when he contributed 

 a paper "On the Primary Divisions of the Salamandridae, with 

 descriptions of Two New Species" to the Proceedings of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. In this paper he 

 presented important modifications of the systems previously 

 adopted in this country. He continued his study of the serpents 

 and made a catalogue of the specimens contained in the museum 

 of the Academy in which he employed an improved system of 

 his own. 



During the five years that followed he published frequent papers, 

 describing new species and giving synopses or brief monographs 

 of various genera of lizards and anurous amphibians. In these 

 early papers he manifested the independence and critical spirit 

 which were so characteristic of him later. On this point, Gill says: 



"Bold as was the criticism of such herpetologists as Dumeril, 

 Bibron, and Glinther, it was justified by the facts, and the young 

 author's conclusions have received the endorsement of the best 

 succeeding herpetologists, including even the latest author criti- 

 cised." 



His only deviation from this special subject of reptiles was in 

 1 86 1, when he made a verbal communication on some cyprinoid 

 fishes, and again in 1862 when he described a new shrew caught 

 by himself in New Hampshire. Again I quote from Gill, who 

 writes: 



"He never lost his interest in herpetology and continued to 

 the end of his life to devote much attention to that department. 

 His studies extended to every branch of the subject, covering not 

 only specific details and general taxonomy, but also the consid- 

 eration of anatomical details, the modifications of different organs, 

 geographical distribution, chronological sequence, genetic relations, 

 and physiological consequences." 



