OBITTJABY. 249 



13tli March, 1863, and printed in their " Memoirs." Many other 

 papers by him on a variety of astronomical subjects are inserted 

 in the " Monthly Notices." 



The astronomical observations made by several African 

 travellers were intrusted to Mr. Dunkin for systematic examina- 

 tion and reduction. They consisted principally of lunar distances 

 and meridian altitudes observed with a sextant. The resulting 

 longitudes and latitudes of the various stations are published in 

 the " Journal" of the Royal Geographical Society. 



In the "Companion to the British Almanac" for 1869 and 

 1870, Mr. Dunkin gave a full resume of the results of the 

 observations of the great total solar echpse of 17-18 August, 1868, 

 which was so successfully observed in India and Eastern Asia. 

 Between 1862 and 1880, he was a frequent contributor of 

 popular astronomical articles to various periodicals. A selection 

 of these papers under the title of " The Midnight Sky " has been 

 published in book form, and this work has passed through several 

 editions. He also contributed papers to "The Observatory," 

 and the "Journal" of the Royal Institution of Cornwall contains 

 his presidential addresses on the progress of astronomy delivered 

 in 1890 and 1891. 



Mr. Dunkin was elected a Fellow of the Eoyal Astronomical 

 Society 14th March, 1845. He became a member of the council 

 in 1868, and, from November, 1870, to February, 1877, he filled 

 the post of Honorary Secretary. His duties were rendered more 

 than usually onerous, owing to the removal of the society in 

 1874 from Somerset House to Burlington House, and by the 

 death of the Assistant Secretary, Mr. Williams, in the same year. 

 In 1884 he was elected President of that Society. During the 

 two years of his Presidency he delivered the addresses on 

 presenting the gold medal, in 1885, to Sir WiUiam Huggins, for 

 his spectroscopic and photographic researches, and in 1886 to 

 Professor E. C. Pickering and C. Pritchard for their separate 

 works on Stellar photometry. Mr. Dunkin resigned his seat on 

 the Council in 1891. He was elected a Fellow of the Eoyal 

 Society 1st June, 1876, and served two years on the Council — 

 1879-81. 



