that as he had gathered them from the previously “ un- 
fathomed depths of ocean”? in all climes, the direction of 
the work of describing and reporting upon the specimens 
should be entrusted by the Treasury to Prof. Thomson. 
For the last two years, however, Prof. Thomson has not 
been able to do much in connection with this important 
work, which has, in consequence, largely devolved upon 
his able first assistant, Mr. John Murray, who, in the 
beginning of the present year, was on account of the 
~ state of health of his chief, appointed director. 
Immediately on his return to this country from his 
extended voyaging, Prof. Thomson’s services to the cause 
of science were acknowledged in various quarters. On 
June 27 he received the honour of knighthood; the 
Royal Society of London awarded him one of its gold 
medals; and in July of the same year he, along with the 
other members of the scientific staff of the Challenger, 
were entertained at a banquet in Edinburgh, at which the 
toast of the evening was proposed in eulogistic terms by 
Prof. Huxley. Subsequently, when, along with Emeritus 
Professor Balfour, he went as the representative of the 
Edinburgh Senatus to Upsala on the occasion of the ter- 
centenary of that ancient University, the King of Sweden 
created him a Knight of the Order of the Polar Star. Sir 
Wyville was also an LL.D. of Aberdeen, a D.C.L. of 
Dublin, a Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Jena, 
a D.Sc., a Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and 
Edinburgh, of the Linnean Society, and of various foreign 
and colonial institutes. In 1877 Sir Wyville was ap- 
pointed to deliver the Rede Lecture at Cambridge: and 
in 1878 he presided over the Geographical Section of the 
British Association at its meeting in Dublin. In addition 
to numerous memorials on zoological subjects, and con- 
tributions to the proceedings of the scientific societies 
with which he was connected, Sir Wyville also wrote a 
preliminary account of the general results of the Chal- 
fenger Expedition, which was published in two volumes 
under the titles of the “ Voyage of the Cha/lenger—The 
Atlantic.”’ 
After his return in 1876 from the voyage of the Chad/- 
Jenger Expedition, it was remarked that his long spell of 
travel had not brought increased physical vigour; but it 
was not until 1879 that his condition gave his friends 
serious cause for uneasiness. In June of that year he 
was prostrated by an attack of paralysis, and unable to 
conduct his class of Natural History in the University of 
Edinburgh, and the important undertaking in which he 
was engaged, of directing the working out of the Cha/- 
dZenger researches, with the view of furnishing to the 
world a complete record of the results, had to be laid 
aside, only to be intermittently touched again before the 
time came when he had to resign it entirely into other 
hands. [In October last he resigned his Chair in the 
University, and we believe that arrangements had just 
been completed by the Senatus in respect to his re- 
tiring allowance. Some four months ago he had a 
second paralytic attack, and since then his health 
has been feeble. He died on Friday morning at three 
o'clock. 
The departments of zoology to which he devoted most 
attention were those which included the corals, crinoids, 
and sponges, and upon these his opinion was regarded as 
of great weight. In the University he was held in 
esteem by his colleagues of the Senatus, and among the 
students he was exceedingly popular. In private life he 
was regarded by his friends as possessed of a kindly and 
hospitable disposition. 
Sir Wyville Thomson married a sister of the late Mr. 
Adam Dawson of Bonnytoun, Linlithgowshire, for some 
years Provost of Linlithgow, whose father also occupied 
the same honourable position for the greater part of his 
life. He is survived by Lady Thomson and one son, an 
M.A. of the University of Edinburgh, who is at present 
engaged in the study of law. 
NATURE 
| been much used by Argelander in his investigations of 
ae 
THOMAS ROMNEY ROBINSON, D.D. | 
-BOMAS ROMNEY ROBINSON, D.D., F.RS., 
whose death we recorded in our last issue, was bon > 
in Dublin on April 23, 1793. His abilities and genius — 
seem to have been manifested at a very early age, and — 
his first appearance as an author dates so far back as 
1806. On that occasion his venture was entitled “Juve- — 
nile Poems by Thomas Romney Robinson, to which is 
prefixed a short account of the Author by a Member of ~ 
the Belfast Literary Society :” Belfast, 1806. The book 
contains a number of poems written by the author at 
various ages below thirteen. Dr. Robinson’s last publi- — 
cation is in the Philosophical Transactions for 1880, and 
it must be regarded as a curious circumstance in literary _ 
history that an interval of three-quarters of a century 
should have elapsed between Dr. Robinson's first appear- 
ance as an amateur and his last. . 
In the year 1814 Dr. Robinson was elected a Fellow of © 
Trinity College, Dublin, and he was for several years — 
engaged in lecturing in the University as Deputy Pro- 
fessor of Natural Philosophy. In connection with his 
labours as a teacher he published in 1820 a volume en- — 
titled “A System of Medicine for the use of Students in 
the Dublin University.” 
After a residence for nine years at Dublin University, — 
Dr. Robinson accepted the living of Enniskillen, which 
was in the gift of Trinity College. Robinson’s career in 
the University was thus finished the year before Humphrey 
Lloyd, the late Provost, was elected to a fellowship. 
Dr. Robinson did not long remain Rector of Ennis- 
killen. In the year 1824 he exchanged the living of 
Enniskillen for that of Carrickmacross ; and of his eccle- 
siastical career there is little further to note, except that 
about half a century later (in the year 1872) he was ~ 
nominated a Prebendary of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dub- _ 
lin, and that several of his sermons have been published. 
Dr. Robinson is principally known to fame by his con- 
nection with the Armagh Observatory. The observatory 
at Armagh was founded in 1793 by Primate Robinson. — 
The endowment of the observatory, as well as that of a 
public library, arose out of Primate Robinson’s scheme 
of forming at Armagh a university which might serve for 
the education of the North of Ireland. It is needless to 
say that the greater part of the Primate’s beneficent 
scheme was never realised. At his death the meridian 
instruments he had ordered for the observatory seem to 
have been countermanded by his heirs. The two suc-— 
ceeding primates had but little interest in science, and it — 
was not until they were succeeded by Lord John George ~ 
Beresford, the late Primate, that any further steps were — 
taken. Primate Beresford presented to the observatory a — 
transit instrument, a mural circle, and an equatorial re- — 
flector of fifteen inches’ aperture. The first of these was — 
erected in 1827, and the last in 1835. It was in the year 
1824 that Dr. Robinson was appointed director of the 
Armagh Observatory. He threw himself into the work 
of practical astronomy with the greatest zeal and success, 
and the celebrated ‘Armagh Catalogue” is a noble 
monument of his assiduity and skill. This catalogue, 
though not published until 1859, contains many observa- 
tions of stars between the years 1830-40, of which we 
possess few contemporary observations. On this account 
the Armagh Catalogue has a distinct value, and it has 
4 
) 
the proper motion of 250 stars in vol. vii. of the Bonn 
Observations. d 
The mural circle at Armagh was subsequently furnished 
with a new telescope having an objective of 7 inches’ 
aperture, and with this 1000 of Lalande’s stars, nearly all 
between 6’0 and 7°5 magnitude were re-observed in 1868- 
76, and the results have been published in the 7vansac- 
tions of the Royal Dublin Society, new series, vol. i. 
Dr. Robinson's determination of the constant of nuta- 
———————— 
| tion also deserves notice, though for reasons which need 
