14 



NATURE 



[March 6, 1913 



as Director of Naval Construction would be little 

 short of writing- a volume ; and cannot be at- 

 tempted here. 



On rejoining- the Admiralty in 1885, Sir William 

 at once set about making improvements and 

 developments in all classes of designs so as to 

 embody in them all the improvements continually 

 being made in guns, armour, and propelling 

 machinery. Limitations of space will not permit 

 us to describe the various type of vessels which 

 received considerable development under his 

 hands, and mention can be made of one or two 

 points only. 



As regards battleships, he made a special study 

 of all the elements which go to make for fighting- 

 efficiency, having regard to the rapidlv changing 

 concurrent general features of the engineering 

 world, and in 18S9 wrote a famous paper for the 

 Institution of Naval Architects, giving quite 

 frankly all his views of the subject, and stating 

 the points that had decided the Board in ordering 

 the then new ships the Empress of India and her 

 sisters. He was much criticised by many 

 members, but it was generally felt that his views 

 were sound. In principle and in main features 

 they were adopted, with such extension as arose 

 from the general increase in size and cost of ships 

 up to the introduction of the Dreadnought type 

 of ship. 



Sir William received many distinctions. He 

 was honorary vice-president of the Institution of 

 Naval Architects, and past president of the chief 

 engineering societies and honorary member of 

 many others. He was elected a Fellow of the 

 Royal Society in 1888, and was created K.C.B. 

 in 1895. At the time of his regretted death on 

 Thursday last he was the president-elect of the 

 British Association for the meeting to be held at 

 Birmingham next September, and his loss to the 

 association will be severely felt. His name will 

 ever be remembered in the annals of the British 

 Navy and the records of engineering- science. 



PROF. ADAM SEDGWICK, F.R.S. 

 HPHE late Prof. Sedgwick was grand-nephew of 

 ■*- Adam Sedgwick, Woodwardian professor in 

 the University of Cambridge from 1818 until 1873, 

 sometimes known as the "old Adam." Their 

 ancestors had been "statesmen" in the Dale of 

 Dent for several centuries. Adam Sedgwick, 

 jun., was the son of Richard Sedgwick, vicar of 

 Dent, and the affection he always bore towards 

 his native valley was evidenced by the fact that 

 he sent his second boy to the school at Sedbergh, 

 at the mouth of the Dale. 



Our Adam was born in 1854 at Norwich, where 

 his great-uncle held a canonry. He was educated 

 at Marlborough College, and after a short time 

 at King's College, London, he entered in 1874 

 Trinity College, Cambridge. At that time the 

 recently established professorship of zoology and 

 comparative anatomy was held by Prof. Newton, 

 and Mr. J. W. Clark was superintendent of the 

 Museum of Zoology. Prof, (afterwards Sir 

 George) Humphrey was professor of anatomy, and 



NO. 2262, VOL. gi] 



Michael Foster had recently come to Cambridge 

 as praelector in physiology to Trinity College. A 

 demonstrator in comparative anatomy had just 

 been appointed by the University, and the late 

 Prof. Bridge was the first to hold that office ; a 

 curatorship of the Strickland collection of birds 

 was founded in the year that Adam Sedgwick 

 came into residence, and Mr. O. Salvin was the 

 first Strickland curator. It has not always been, 

 recognised that Cambridge led the way' in the 

 practical teaching of zoology and biology. Three 

 years before Adam Sedgwick came into residence, 

 J. W. Clark had, with the aid of his friend Mr. 

 Bridge, started laboratory work in these subjects. 

 This class-work was carried on with renewed 

 activity by Milnes-Marshall and by Frank Balfour, 

 and by the time that Adam Sedgwick began to 

 be interested in zoology and to be influenced, as 

 he was for life, by Balfour, practical classes were 

 in full working order, although conducted in 

 adverse circumstances of space and equipment. 



Sedgwick was placed in the first class of the 

 natural sciences tripos in the year 1877. In the 

 same list were the names of Prof. Bower, of 

 Glasgow, Dr. Fenton, of Christ's, and Dr. Alex. 

 Hill, of Downing. Compared with the modern 

 days, the tripos was insignificant in numbers, but 

 modern days may not find it easy to equal the 

 quality of this list. After taking his degree Sedg- 

 wick definitely cast in his lot with zoology. In 

 1880 the zoology class conducted by Balfour, with 

 Sedgwick as assistant, was held in the room now- 

 occupied by physiological chemistry, at the top 

 of Fawcett's building overlooking Corn Exchange 

 Street. 



The University was so conscious of Balfour's 

 ability that, in 1S82, he was appointed professor 

 of animal morphology, it being understood that 

 the professorship would lapse with his death, and 

 that it carried but a small emolument with it. 

 The tragedy in the Alps the same year brought 

 this professorship to an end, and Sedgwick was 

 left in a peculiarly difficult position. He had but 

 recently taken his master's degree, he was but 

 little older than some of the senior students, and 

 the management of a comparatively large and 

 rapidly growing department devolved on him. 



Before the beginning of the October term of the 

 same year Prof. Newton, Michael Foster, Prof. 

 Humphrey, and J. W. Clark addressed a letter to 

 the Vice-Chancellor, urging that the work which 

 Balfour had so wonderfully begun should be 

 carried on, and that the general supervision of 

 the class should be entrusted to Sedgwick, who 

 had been Balfour's demonstrator for some years, 

 and had been in charge of the class during the 

 Lent and May terms, when Balfour had been either 

 ill or away. This was arranged, and Sedgwick 

 was happy in securing the assistance of Mr. W. 

 Heape, of Trinity College, and Mr. W T . R. F. 

 Welldon, of St. John's, as demonstrators, and a 

 little later on of Mr. W. H. Caldwell, of Caius, 

 who was then, with the aid of Mr. Threlfall, of 

 the same college, at work on their automatic 

 microtome. 



The Universitv was anxious to assist Sedgwick 



