1819 De la Beche ; Robert Brown ; Colby 265 



The visitors this year who appeared at the Club for the 

 first time included some men of note. The scientific side 

 was represented by Henry Thomas De la Beche, another 

 of the founders of English geology. To his energy and 

 skill in dealing with governmental officialdom we owe the 

 establishment of a School of Mines in this country, and the 

 creation of the Geological Survey, which is the parent of 

 all the geological surveys since established by the civilised 

 nations of the world. He likewise created the Museum of 

 Practical Geology in Jermyn Street, which was the first 

 institution wherein the geological history of the country 

 is illustrated by specimens arranged in stratigraphical 

 sequence, and in which a systematic collection of rocks and 

 minerals is brought together in reference to their economic 

 uses. He was, moreover, the author of some valuable 

 papers and text-books which did much to advance the 

 cultivation of geology in this country. He came to the 

 Club on May 27th, invited by Sir Everard Home. He was 

 elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 23rd December 

 of this year. 



Another famous leader in science, Robert Brown, one 

 of the best botanists of his age, and one of the most modest 

 and tender-hearted of men, came to the Club twice during 

 the summer. 



Captain Colby, also a visitor, was a distinguished engineer 

 officer, for forty-five years attached to the Ordnance Survey. 

 In that service his high ability led to his being appointed 

 Director in 1820, on the death of General Mudge. He filled 

 this post with great success for twenty-six years. In the 

 same year on which he received the appointment he was 

 elected into the Royal Society. 



The public services were further represented among the 

 visitors. Thus, Lord Glenbervie furnished another illustra- 

 tion of how a man may pass through more than one profes- 

 sion before he discovers for what he is best fitted. As 

 Sylvester Douglas he was educated at Aberdeen University 

 and like so many other Scottish students completed his 

 studies and took his degree at Ley den. He first entered 



