6i6 



NATUk'E 



[April 26. 1900 



prizes, we find his name almost invariably appearing oh 

 the lists of judges, and he appears to have been no less 

 energetic in drawing up biographical notices of deceased 

 members. Nevertheless, we find him in 1895 writing on 

 a geometrical theorem, and in 1896 breaking a lance with 

 Boltzmann on that ever-fascinating and ne^er-satisfying 

 theory, the Kinetic Theory of Gases. This is the last 

 time that we have been able to find Bertrand's name in 

 the Contptes rendiis as the writer of a paper, though it 

 repeatedly figures in other connections. 



Bertrand's countenance and carriage are described as 

 "characteristic." He was "short, thick-set, lively, 

 vigorous, and very kind-looking. His face was covered 

 with scars, and his nose had lost its bridge," as we have 

 seen, as the result of the Meudon railway accident, but 

 the imprint of misfortune would appear to have given a 

 tender pathos to his appearance, which seemed to draw 

 his friends nearer to him. As a relaxation from work, 

 he is said to have never tired of reading the novels 

 of Sir Walter Scott, whom he described as " the greatest 



Joseph Bertrand. 

 (from La Nature.') 



novelist that ever lived." He leaves several sons, one 

 of whom, M. Marcel Bertrand, a mining engineer, is 

 himself a member of the Academy of Sciences, and 

 rather well known. 



If Bertrand's mathematical work earned for him the 

 respect and admiration of men of science far and wide, 

 his philanthropy endeared him to the smaller circle with 

 whom he was more intimately known. The enjoyment 

 he derived from his own studies was fully equalled by 

 his delight at reading the works of others. He con- 

 stantly sought to bring to light fresh workers, and the 

 few words of kind reassurance and appreciation, not to 

 mention the passing on of an idea or the lending a 

 helping hand over a difficulty, so much valued by the 

 budding mathematician, were never wanting at the 

 critical moment. In endeavouring to help those less 

 favoured by fortune than himself, Bertrand would give 

 much time and thought as to the best way of rendering 

 them assistance. In 1857 Baron Thenard founded the 

 "Soci^te des Amis des Sciences," an institution the 



NO I 59 I, VOL. 61] 



object of which is to assist scientific men and their families 

 when in need. Bertrand was one of the first to support 

 the Society, and his signature figures along with those 

 of Boussingault, Quatrefages, Becquerel, Senarmont, 

 Balard, Daubree, Fremy, Deville, Berthelot and Pasteur 

 in all its early records. In 1864 Bertrand was elected 

 on the council, in May 1895 he was nominated vice- 

 president, and in November of the same year he suc- 

 ceeded Pasteur as president. The Pasteur Institute 

 also owes much to his energetic support. 



Mathematical investigation is essentially a search for 

 truth ; but with Bertrand the love of truth and hatred of 

 all that is false, was not confined to the mathematical 

 side of his character ; this trait was indeed deeply 

 engrained into his whole existence. While there was 

 nothing he would not do for those he knew to be 

 deserving, he seems to have possessed a happy knack 

 of effectually disposing of his enemies by a few strokes 

 of sarcasm, which must have been the more withering 

 because they so completely placed his adversaries in the 

 wrong. 



Had Joseph Bertrand's life and health been spared 

 a little longer, there can be no doubt that he would 

 have taken a foremost part in the liberal programme of 

 congresses with which Paris hopes to attract a distin- 

 guished assembly of savants from all quarters of the 

 globe, and we are sure that many English readers of his 

 "Differential and Integral Calculus " would gladly have 

 availed themselves of the opportunity of coming into per- 

 sonal contact with the well-known French mathema- 

 tician. The loss of so prominent a figure in the Parisian 

 world of science would at any time be deeply deplored, 

 and his absence from the brilliant gatherings that are to 

 be, only adds to our regret at losing one who has done 

 much to simplify and popularise the study of mathe- 

 matics. 



At the funeral, discourses were delivered by M. Jules 

 Lemaitre, director of the Academie Fran^aise ; by M. 

 Maurice Levy, president of the Academie ; by M. Ber- 

 thelot, his fellow secretary of the Academie des Sciences ; 

 by M . Gaston Darboux, representing the Societe des 

 Amis des Sciences ; by M. A. Cornu, representing the 

 Ecole Polytechnique ; by M. Duclaux, director of the 

 Institut Pasteur ; by M. Gaston Paris, administrator of 

 the College de France ; and by M. Georges Perrot, 

 director of the Ecole Normale. In endeavouring to 

 portray the life of a man of many and varied parts like 

 Bertrand, we have largely drawn on the information 

 contained in these orations, which are published in the 

 Comptes rendus ; but while it has thus been possible to 

 enter into many of the details of Bertrand's life, his 

 character as an individual can only be appreciated by 

 reading separately the thoughts expressed by those who 

 have known him intimately in his many capacities. Of 

 these expressions, we can do no better than conclude 

 with the words of M. Georges Perrot :— 



" II n'a pas ele moins grand par le coeur que par I'esprit." 



G. H. Bryan. 



NOTES. 



We notice with regret the announcement that the Duke of 



Argyll died on Tuesday morning, at the age of seventy-seven 



I years. No definite arrangement has yet been made with regard 



to the funeral, but it is believed the interment will take place 



next week. 



The international conference for the protection of wild ani- 

 mals in Africa, announced last week, was opened at the Foreign 

 Ofifice on April 24, and was attended by plenipotentiaries of 

 France, Germany, Great Britain, Congo Independent States, 

 Italy, Portugal and Spain. Readers of Nature hardly need to 



