May 14, 1908] 



NATURE 



33 



ALBERT DE LAPPARENT. 



GEOLOGISTS throughout the world will be 

 grieved to hear that one of the best known and 

 most illustrious of their number, M. de Lapparent, 

 has passed away after a brief illness. It seems but 

 yesterday since, with so notable a company of his 

 fellow-countrymen, he attended the centenary cele- 

 brations of the Cieological Society here, apparently 

 in the fulness of health, and with still many years 

 of vigorous life before him. Lately, however, he had 

 not been well, and for a time his condition had even 

 given cause for some an.xiety. But the danger seemed 

 to have passed off, and his friends hoped soon to wel- 

 come him back to his place at the Academy of 

 Sciences in Paris. But a rapid change for the worse 

 supervened, and he died in the early part of last week 

 at the age of sixty-seven years. 



The loss sustained not only by geology, but bv science 

 at large, through the death of so accomplished a writer 

 cannot at once be fully appreciated. It was not so 

 much by the e.\tent of his contributions to original 

 research as by the philosophical discussion of allcon- 

 temporary investigation regarding the history of the 

 earth that he gained the commanding position which 

 he held for so many years. His well-known essay 

 on the Pays de Bray, published in 1879, proved what 

 he could have achieved had he devoted himself to field- 

 work. His " Traite de Geologie," which first appeared 

 in i88i, showed the full bent of his genius by its 

 luminous presentation of every department of' the 

 science, its admirably logical arrangement, and its 

 characteristic elegance and clearness of style. The first 

 edition formed a single volume, but in the course of a 

 quarter of a century it was continually augmented and 

 enriched, until, when the fifth edition was issued two 

 years ago, it formed three volumes, with an aggre- 

 gate of more than 2000 pages. This noble treatise 

 will remain as its author's best monument. It has 

 taken its place as an indispensable book of reference 

 and suggestive guidance to every student of modern 

 geology, and it will in future years be consulted as 

 an ample exposition of the condition of the science 

 at the beginning of the twentieth centurv. 



The later editions of the "Traits," among many 

 improvements and additions which the author's wide 

 range of reading enabled him to make, have especiallv 

 been marked by the numerous maps introduced into 

 the text in illustration of the geographical features 

 of different regions in successive geological periods. 

 Following up the brilliant outlines of Neumayr and 

 the generalisations of Suess, M. de Lapparent em- 

 bodied in definite charts what he conceived to have 

 been the distribution of land and sea throughout the 

 ages of the earth's history. No one can peruse these 

 restorations without a sense of the enormous amount 

 of research which they involved in the published 

 geological literature of every part of the globe. 

 .\lthough they could only be tentative, for the data ob- 

 tainable are often meagre and not always trustworthy, 

 yet as sketches of what may have been the geography 

 of the earth's surface in the remote past they are 

 replete with interest and suggestiveness. The author's 

 other minor text-books on geology, mineralogy and 

 physical geography, distinguished, as they are, by 

 the same lucidity of arrangement and elegance of 

 expression, have been of the greatest service in 

 furthering the progress of these branches of science 

 in the general advance of education. 



There was something eminently attractive in de 

 Lapparent. His gentle and kindly manner drew men 

 of all nationalities to him. His charm as a speaker 

 led to his being continually called upon to address 

 an assembled company. The well-modulated voice, 

 the felicitous choice of words, and the flashes of 



NO. 201 1, VOL, 78] 



humour made his speeches delightful to listen to. 

 Under a playfulness of conversation he would from 

 time to time reveal the depths of his serious nature. 

 He was an eminently religious man, and sacrificed 

 not a little in life for the sake of his convictions. No 

 temptation could induce him to abandon the Institut 

 Catholique, where from its foundation he continued 

 to be one of its pillars of strength. So widely recog- 

 nised _ were his personal qualities as well as his 

 scientific distinction and his literary accomplishments, 

 that on the death of Berthelot last year the Academie 

 des Sciences could find no more fitting successor as 

 secretaire perpetuel than Albert de Lapparent. By 

 his death the cause of science has been deprived of 

 one of its most strenuous and successful advocates, 

 and those who were privileged with his friendship 

 have to mourn one whose memory they will never 

 cease to cherish. A. G. 



M. ALBERT LANCASTER. 

 TV/r L.\NCASTER, whose death was announced 

 ^^^ • recently, was connected with the Royal Observ- 

 atory of Belgium for so many vears that it is im- 

 possible, as it would be undesirable, to disconnect his 

 career from that of the institution he served so well. 

 He saw the observatory grow in extent and re- 

 putation under several directors, from Ouetelet to 

 Lecointe, and gave loyal and devoted "service to 

 each. The site shifted from Brussels to Uccle, 

 where a new and modern observatory replaced the 

 modest building that long did duty, but M. Lancaster 

 remained true to its fortunes. VVith the change of 

 building and with the enlargement of its usefulness, 

 M. Lancaster had to adapt himself to new conditions, 

 but throughout the continual onward development, 

 his energy and industry contributed not a little to the 

 maintenance of the prestige of the observaiory with 

 which he was so long connected. 



In three distinct ways M. Lancaster deserved well 

 of science and his countrymen. In his capacity of 

 librarian to the observatory, he appreciated the rapid 

 extension of astronomical literature, and early recog- 

 nised the desirability of making known to all what 

 had been accomplished by individual effort, and of 

 placing at the disposition of those who were engaged 

 in a particular inquiry the results achieved by others 

 similarly engaged. He took steps to give practical 

 effect to this view, and not only did he publish several 

 useful time-saving compilations, but he was led to the 

 collection and arrangement of a vast mass of infor- 

 mation, which in collaboration with the late director, 

 M. Houzeau, was issued as an astronomical biblio- 

 giaphy. Later and more complete compilations have 

 necessarily superseded these early efforts, but Houzeau 

 and Lancaster were the first to make any serious 

 attempt to bridge the interval that separated the work 

 of Lalande in 1802 frcm that of modern times. 



.Again, by the encouragement and assistance he 

 gave to amateurs, M. Lancaster did much to create 

 an interest in meteorology and astronomy throughout 

 Belgium. He founded and edited the popular re- 

 view, Ciel et Terre, which made the study of physics 

 and astronomy attractive to the many, and fostered 

 the true spirit of scientific inquiry. He gave to this 

 periodical, which first appeared in 1S80, the closest 

 attention, wrote many articles for its pages, and by 

 his enthusiasm made it not only a vehicle for the 

 diffusion of information, but the means of encourag- 

 ing a vast amount of amateur work in very varied 

 directions. 



Lastly, since iSijS, he became director of the 

 Meteorological Department of the Royal Observatory, 

 and the successive volumes that have appeared bear- 



