316 Presidentship of the Duke of Sussex 1835 



Royal Society in 1824. Sir John Rennie was the son of 

 John Rennie, the eminent engineer (p. 230). He too was 

 an engineer and continued his father's undertakings, 

 particularly the London Bridge and Plymouth breakwater. 

 For these services he had been knighted in 1831. He 

 became F.R.S. in 1823. Herbert Mayo was a doctor of 

 medicine in London, elected into the Royal Society in 1828. 



The Easter vacation was now recognised in the weekly 

 register, but dinner was still provided for each of the two 

 Thursdays at that season. This year two members appeared 

 at one of these dinners, and nobody came to the other. 

 It may be remarked that the attendance at the meetings 

 between the Anniversary of 1834 an d that of 1835 was 

 one of the smallest in the history of the Club up to that time. 

 Again and again there were days when no one appeared, 

 although dinner had been duly provided. This was more 

 especially striking in the first half of the financial year. 

 In the second half from July to the end of December only 

 29 members and n visitors attended, and the total atten- 

 dance for the whole year amounted to no more than 276, 

 composed of 131 members and 116 visitors. The large 

 proportionate number of guests is likewise remarkable. 

 At six dinners they were more numerous than the hosts, 

 and at seven the numbers were equal. 



Some men who attained an eminent scientific reputation 

 in later years were visitors to the Club for the first time 

 this year. Richard Owen dined on January I5th, on the 

 invitation of George Dollond, and again on I2th February 

 as the guest of Colonel Leake. He was then only thirty-one 

 years of age, but he had already made his mark as an able 

 comparative anatomist. His memoir on the Pearly Nautilus 

 which appeared in 1832 led to his election into the Royal 

 Society in 1834. His appointment as Assistant Conservator 

 of the Hunterian Museum had put him in a favourable 

 position by supplying him with excellent material for the 

 prosecution of the line of research which he had selected 

 as his life-work. Professor Wheatstone, who dined on i8th 

 June, when Henry Hallam was chairman, had two years 



