2/2 



NATURE 



[April 29, 1920 



takings his F.R.C.S. (England), he had a great 

 desire to travel, the tropics especially having an 

 attraction for him, and he joined the West Afri- 

 can Medical Service in 1897, He served as a 

 medical officer with the Ashanti Field Force in 

 1900, and was with the British troops that were 

 besieged in Kumasi, who, after some time, gal- 

 lantly broke through the native hordes and re- 

 gained the coast. Dr. Chalmers attended to the 

 sick and wounded with great energy and devotion 

 and was mentioned in despatches by the com- 

 manding officer, and received the medal with a 

 clasp. In 1901 he accepted a post under the 

 Ceylon Government as registrar of the Ceylon 

 Medical College. Here his capabilities as adminis- 

 trator and organiser were brought into full play. 

 He soon developed this institution into an ex- 

 cellent medical school, the licence of which is now 

 recognised by the General Medical Council. 



While in Ceylon Dr. Chalmers first turned his 

 attention to the tropical diseases that came under 

 his notice, and never spared himself in working 

 among the resident Europeans and natives who 

 came to him. Resigning his position in Ceylon 

 in 1902, so that he might devote more time to the 

 study of tropical diseases and parasitology, he 

 returned to England. It was then that he con- 

 ceived the idea of writing a much-needed manual 

 on tropical medicine; and in collaboration with 

 his colleague. Dr. Castellani, in Ceylon, he began 

 the work which will remain a monument to his 

 memory. The preparation of "The Manual of 

 Tropical Medicine," which has now reached its 

 third edition, cost him a great amount of time and 

 labour. He was an ardent worker in many fields, 

 and carried on research not only in pathology and 

 bacteriology, but also in parasitology, especially in 

 connection with diseases of the tropics. His work 

 on the Mycetoma will always be connected with 

 his name. 



From 191 2 Dr. Chalmers devoted more than a 

 year to the study of the cause of pellagra, and 

 in company with Dr. Sambon visited Italy and 

 Rumania. On his return he carried on researches 

 in this country, with the result that cases of pel- 

 lagra, a disease unknown to be endemic in Great 

 Britain, were found in Hertfordshire and Scot- 

 land. Later he visited Egypt and travelled up 

 the Nile with the same object, and accumulated 

 much valuable data in connection with the study 

 of pellagra and other diseases such as endemic 

 haematuria. 



On his return to England Dr. Chalmers 

 gave some time to the study of the history 

 of medicine, and became an enthusiastic 

 lover of ancient literature — especially that 

 dealing with the medical art. After some 

 time he felt again the call of the East, and 

 often expressed a wish to return there. In 1913 

 he accepted a post as director of the Wellcome 

 Research Laboratories at Khartum, which he 

 filled with conspicuous success. He became a 

 member of the Central Sanitary Board, and also of 

 the Sleeping Sickness Commission of the Sudan. 

 NO. 2635, VOL. 105] 



Dr, Chalmers continued there until a short time 

 ago, when he left the Sudan, accompanied by his 

 wife, with the object of returning home via India, 

 Japan; and America, and when in Calcutta was 

 unfortunately seized with his fatal illness. 



Prof. L. T. O'Shea. 



Lucius Trant O'Shea, professor of applied 

 chemistry in the University of Sheffield, 

 who died suddenly from cerebral haemor- 

 rhage on April 18 at sixty-two years of 

 age, was educated at the Grammar School 

 and at Owens College, Manchester, a;jd 

 went to Sheffield in 1880 as assistant lecturer and 

 demonstrator in chemistry at Firth College. In 

 1890 he became lecturer in mining chemistry, and 

 in 1905 professor of applied chemistry, in the 

 university. For the past twenty years he had 

 specialised in the study of explosives as applied to 

 mining operations, and of the coking of coal in 

 retort ovens. He also did much work on the 

 safety of coal mines, particularly with regard to 

 the effect of the gases given off by the coal and 

 of coal dust on explosions in mines. He was a 

 fellow of the Chemical Society, a member of the 

 Society of Chemical Industry, and hon. secretary 

 of the Institute of Mining Engineers. 



Prof. O'Shea published "A Contribution to the 

 History of the Constitution of Bleaching Powder," 

 and "The Retention of Lead By Filter Paper," 

 about the time of the lead-poisoning epidemic in 

 Sheffield more than thirty years ago, and some 

 years later, with Dr. W. M. Hicks, he produced 

 electro-iron of almost perfect purity, which the 

 present writer had the privilege of using for experi- 

 ments when helping to lay the foundations of 

 theoretical steel metallurgy, for which pure iron 

 was required as a basis for study. He also pub- 

 lished "A Note on the Woolwich Testing Station," 

 "A Testing Station for Mining Explosives," and 

 "The Safety of High Explosives, with Special 

 Reference to Methods of Testing." 



In 1901 Prof. O'Shea went out to the South 

 African War in command of a detachment of the 

 ist West Yorks Royal Engineer Volunteers, 

 remained until the declaration of peace, and was 

 given the Queen's medal with five clasps. In 

 1914 he was made O.C. of the O.T.C., Sheffield 

 University, with the rank of captain in the unat- 

 tached Territorial Force, and he was an energetic 

 and inspiring leader. 



Prof. O'Shea was not able to devote a large 

 proportion of his time to research, but he will be 

 greatly missed for the painstaking work he did in 

 the training of students in chemistry as applied 

 to mining and to the coking of coal, and in the 

 general preparation of fuel for industry. 



A. McW. 



A MAN who had great influence in the applica- 

 tions of science to the use and convenience of 

 man has passed away in Mr. Theodore N. Vail, 

 well known io many in England, as well as in 



