372 



PIONEERS OF SCIENCE IN AMERICA. 



appointed in 1841 lecturer on chemistry in the Philadelphia 

 Medical Institute, then a flourishing summer school, which had 

 been founded by Dr. Nathaniel Chapman. From 1844 to 1847 

 he was Professor of General Chemistry in the Franklin In- 

 stitute, of which institution he had become a member when 

 he went to live in Philadelphia. In this period he and his 

 brother Robert compiled a text-book on Chemistry from the 

 Inorganic Chemistry of Dr. Edward Turner and the Organic 

 Chemistry of Dr. William Gregory. It was published in 1846. 

 He also conducted quiz classes of medical students. He was 

 for a time Professor of Chemistry in the Franklin Medical 

 College, and represented this institution in the National 

 Medical Convention, held at Philadelphia in 1847, which or- 

 ganized the American Medical Association. 



In 1847 he succeeded the celebrated Dr. Robert Hare as 

 Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania 

 a curious coincidence in connection with his father's suc- 

 ceeding Dr. Hare at Williamsburg. In this position he re- 

 mained until his death, five years later. He was also one 

 of the representatives of the university in the National Con- 

 vention of 1850 for revising the Pharmacopoeia of the United 

 States. 



In 1846 he was elected to membership in the American 

 Philosophical Society, and the following year joined the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 



Dr. Rogers was of slight frame and never enjoyed robust 

 health. 'In his latter years he suffered at times from nervous 

 exhaustion and defective nutrition, probably induced by unre- 

 mitting labour. He died June 15, 1852, leaving a widow, two 

 sons, William B. and Henry A., also a daughter, Mary V. 

 Rogers. 



Never favoured by prosperity, Dr. Rogers was particularly 

 straitened in circumstances during the first part of his resi- 

 dence in Philadelphia. It was not until he entered upon his 

 last professorship that he received a comfortable salary. The 

 institutions with which he had been connected before were 

 small and weak or came to grief in some way that could not 

 be anticipated. While lack of shrewdness and assertiveness 

 on his own part may have contributed to hinder his ad- 

 vancement, his worth as a teacher is beyond question. He 

 was everywhere esteemed by his colleagues and popular 



