THE INCORPORATORS 133 



library, with the contents of which he was so well acquainted 

 that, on a great variety of subjects, he could turn to the exact 

 pages of works rarely referred to, and give the desired infor- 

 mation. 



Ill health obliged him in 1867 to seek rest and recreation by 

 journeying to Europe. He was so much benefited thereby that 

 he was able to carry on his work again, which he did until his 

 sudden death on October 12, 1872. This occurred on the day 

 following the inauguration of the new University building, 

 while superintending the transfer of his apparatus and scientific 

 library to the shelves in his department. 



(From JOHN L. LECoNTE, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy 

 of Sciences, vol. I, 1877, pp. 245-256.) 



WOLCOTT GIBBS 



Born, February 21, 1822; died, December 9, 1908 



Wolcott Gibbs belonged to a family in which scientific tastes 

 were strongly manifested. His father, Colonel George Gibbs, 

 wrote several memoirs upon mineralogical subjects, and his 

 name was given to the mineral Gibbsite. His brother also 

 attained some reputation as a geologist. On his mother's side, 

 several of the Wolcott family held important positions under 

 the Government, her father having been Secretary of the 

 Treasury, a Justice of the U. S. Circuit Court, and finally 

 Governor of Connecticut. An earlier representative of the 

 family, another Oliver Wolcott, was one of the signers of the 

 Declaration of Independence. The early childhood of Wolcott 

 Gibbs was spent on the estate at Sunswick, Long Island. His 

 father's death, when he was only n years old, left him to the 

 care of his mother, who impressed on him the influence of her 

 superior character. At a very early age, he showed a fondness 

 for minerals and flowers. He was sent to a private school in 

 Boston when seven years old, and his summers were spent near 

 Newport at the home of Dr. Channing, who was a connection 

 by marriage. Returning to New York, young Gibbs prepared 

 for college, and entered Columbia, from which he was graduated 



