176 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



of chemistry in the Jefferson Medical College. In 1884 he be- 

 came professor emeritus, and died on September 6, of the same 

 year. 



As indicating the practical side of Dr. Rogers' mind it should 

 be recalled that he was the inventor of a steam boiler, knowir 

 as the Rogers and Black boiler, and also made improvements 

 in electrical apparatus. 



His courage in an emergency is shown by the fact that three 

 times he rescued persons from certain death. His success as a 

 teacher was undoubted, due probably in large part to the love 

 and respect he inspired in his pupils, his fine literary style, and 

 his great cleverness in experimentation. 



(From EDGAR F. SMITH, in Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy 

 of Sciences, vol. 5, 1905 , pp. 291-309.) 



WILLIAM BARTON ROGERS 

 Born, December 7, 1804; died, May 30, 1882 



The name of Rogers is a prominent one in the history of Amer- 

 ican science. The son of Dr. Patrick Kerr Rogers, a native 

 of the north of Ireland, William Barton Rogers was one of four 

 brothers who attained celebrity in their chosen fields of research. 

 He was born in Philadelphia and educated at William and 

 Mary College, and delivered his first lectures at the Maryland 

 Institute. He succeeded his father in 1828 as Professor of 

 Chemistry and Physics in the college from which he was 

 graduated. 



In 1835 he was called to the University of Virginia as Pro- 

 fessor of Natural Philosophy and also appointed Geologist of 

 Virginia. Professor Rogers gained the greatest popularity by 

 his scholarly exposition of the subjects which he presented in 

 public addresses, not only at the University of Virginia, but also 

 before the British and the American Associations for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, and the other scientific bodies with which 

 he was connected. His rare gifts of diction and poetic expres- 

 sion, united with a voice of commanding quality and a distin- 

 guished personal appearance, gave him preeminence among the 



