38o 



NA TURE 



[August 15, 1901 



PROFESSOR WILHELM SCHUR} 



IT was with great regret that we had to announce last 

 week the death of Prof. WMlhehn Schur, of Gcittingen, 

 a loss which deprives, not only astronomy of one of its 

 most ardent and enthusiastic workers, but many of us of a 

 kind and devoted friend. The loss will be felt personally 

 by a great number of liritishers and Americans who have 

 studied at the Gottingen University and who met Schur, 

 not only in the lecture theatre and observatory, but at 

 his private home. 



Schur was born on April 15, 1S46, and first took a 

 great interest in astronomy at the Altona Observatory, 

 where the director of the Observatory, Prof. A. C. Peter- 

 sen, was one of his near relations. His first studies were 

 commenced at Kiel in 1863, and three years later he 

 migrated to Gottingen, where he graduated, his thesis 

 being a computation of the orbit of the double star ~o p 

 Ophiuchi after the new formula of Klinkerfues. Schur 

 always took a great interest in after years in this 

 double star, as is shown by later publications. Leaving 

 the University, he made a tour for further study, working 

 at Berlin under Auwers at the new reduction of Bradley's 

 observations, and under Foerster at the Observatory. 

 While at Berlin he was made assistant at the Geodetic 

 Institute, and remained there until he was called (in 

 1873) by Winnicke to Strassburg. After spending some 

 time there, he was made observer, and worked, as he had 

 always done, with untiring zeal and energy. He was 

 chosen to form part of the transit of Venus expedition 

 in 1874, which set out for the Auckland Islands under 

 the direction of Seeliger. 



It was in connection with this work that Schur became 

 so intimately familiar with the working and details of 

 the heliometer, and since then he proved himself to be one 

 of the greatest authorities, if not the greatest, upon this 

 imporlant instrument. Schur, however, was not content 

 to restrict his energies to this instrument alone, but de- 

 veloped a many-sided interest for all the instruments at 

 the observatory. Thus, to take two instances, he made 

 a series of important lunar observations with the transit 

 instrument of Cauchoix, and numerous observations of 

 variable stars, and completed a minute investigation on 

 the optical properties of different varieties of glass, before 

 the construction of the large refractor. 



In 1 886 Schur was called to Gottingen to fill the chair 

 of practical astronomy, which had become vacant owing 

 to the death of Klinkerfues. The first few years spent 

 there were devoted to the rebuilding of the observatory, 

 the arrangement of the library, and the laborious com- 

 putations and publication of Klinkerfues' observations. 

 The observatory became the possessor of a fine new 

 large Repsold heliometer, so that Schur was able to 

 return again to his favourite instrument. In his hands 

 and with his energy a great amount of useful work was 

 accomplished, and he investigated more especially in the 

 greatest detail the constants and many peculiar sources 

 of error of the instrument. 



Perhaps the most important of these researches was 

 contained in the very complete work on the stars in the 

 cluster of Prresepe, in which he brought together in a 

 masterly way everything that is necessary for the reduc- 

 tion of heliometer observations. His most recent great 

 work, and one which he laid before astronomers at the 

 Heidelberg conference, was that relating to the triangu- 

 lation of the star clusters /; and x Persei. 



Up to the last, Schur sustained his interest in collecting 

 and working up old observations, and in the past few 

 years, under his guidance. Dr. Sticthtenoth made a new 

 reduction of Olbers' observations of comets, which 

 appeared in 1898 as an appendix to Schilling's " Leben 

 Olbers." More recently Schur was busy with collecting 

 material of astronomical work done by astronomers in 



^ For most of the details ill this notice I am indebted to a notice in the 

 Aslmwmische XachrUhtci (No. 3731).— W. J. S. L. 



NO. 1659, VOL. 64] 



the province of Hanover, and the results of this study are 

 already completed, but not yet published. 



Although .Schur was not among the favoured few to whose 

 name some epoch-making discovery could be attached, 

 yet his observations and reductions will endure as 

 examples of exact and careful work and will prove both 

 valuable and useful in future investigations. 



\VlLLI.\M J. S. LOCKVER. 



BARON DE LACAZE-DUTHIERS. 

 'T'HE death of Prof, de Lacaze-Duthiers on July 21, 

 -*• in his eighty-first year, deprives the world of science 

 of a renowned and energetic naturalist whose active life 

 was devoted to the advancement of scientific knowledge 

 and interests. 



From an obituary notice in La Nature we learn that 

 Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers was born at Montpezat (Lot- 

 et-Garonne)on May 15, 1S21. He began the study of medi- 

 cine at Paris, but soon devoted himself to zoology, and in 

 1854 was appointed professor of zoology in the University 

 of Lille. At his request he was afterwards entrusted by 

 the Government with the task of studying the nature of 

 corals on the Mediterranean coasts. He spent several 

 months along the Algerian coast, and then returned to 

 Paris with an abundance of material. His great work, 

 the " Monographic du Corail," was the result of this ex- 

 pedition, and its publication inaugurated a new stage of 

 appointments in his career. He was appointed maitre de 

 conferences at the Normal School in 1864, and in the 

 following year became professor of zoology at the Paris 

 Museum of Natural History. Three years later Lacaze- 

 Duthiers passed from the Natural History Museum to 

 the Sorbonne, where he accepted the chair of zoology, 

 and finally, in 1871, he was elected a member of the 

 Paris .Academy of Sciences, and later became president of 

 the Academy. 



Among Lacaze-Duthiers' published volumes may |be 

 mentioned his "Histoire naturelle du corail," " Histoire 

 de I'organisation et du developpement des mceurs du 

 Dentale " and " Le Monde de la mer et ses labora- 

 toires." In 1873 he founded the Archives de la zoologie 

 experivientalc, and he was the author of numerous papers 

 and memoirs which have contributed to the development 

 of zoology. The two Government stations of marine 

 biology, established by the exertions of Lacaze-Duthiers, 

 are memorials of his influence upon zoological science. 

 The first was founded at Roscoff, in one of the most 

 attractive and favourable collecting regions in Brittany, 

 and has continued to grow in importance for more than 

 a quarter of a century. As this station, however, could 

 be ser\iceable during summer only, it gave rise to a 

 smaller dependency of the Sorbonne in the southernmost 

 part of France, on the Mediterranean, at Banyuls-sur- 

 mer, which has the additional advantage of a 

 Mediterranean fauna. 



Many British and American students have been wel- 

 comed to these institutions and have enjoyed the 

 advantages they afford. Describing the RoscofF labora- 

 tory several years ago, Mr. Bashford Dean said : "The 

 stranger who writes to Prof, de Lacaze-Duthiers is 

 accorded a work place which entitles him gratuitously to 

 every privilege of the laboratory — his microscope, his 

 reagents, even his lodging-room should a place be vacant. 

 It seems, in fact, to be a point of pride with Prof. 

 Lacaze-Duthiers that the stranger shall be welcomed to 

 Roscoff and, upon entering the laboratory for the first 

 time, feel as much at home as if he had been there a 

 week." This liberal spirit was a characteristic of Lacaze- 

 Duthiers ; he was always ready to facilitate the study of 

 nature by any means within his power, and right up to 

 the time of his death he occupied himself with investi- 

 gations of scientific problems. .As a tribute of admiration 

 for the good and useful work done by him in zoology, his 



