Obituary— Professor J. F. Blake. 427 



Ripon School; and Dr. Alan Gray, the eminent musician and organist 

 of Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1874 he gave up clerical work 

 in order to devote himself specially to science, and left York for 

 London. Soon afterwards, at the request of Professor Hughes, of 

 Cambridge, he undertook the Science Lectures for a term at 

 Aberystwith College. From 1876 to 1880 Blake was Lecturer on 

 Comparative Anatomy at Charing Cross Hospital, and in 1878-9 

 he delivered the course of lectures on the same subject at King's 

 College for the late Professor A. H. Garrod. He was an Examiner 

 for the Civil Service Commission in Geology and Mathematics, and 

 for many years Assistant Examiner in Physiography tor the Science 

 and Art JDepartment. Until quite recently he was an Honorary 

 Examiner in Geology to the City of London College, Moorfields. 

 In 1877 Blake was awarded by the Council of the Geological Society 

 the ' Murchison Fund,' in recognition of his original researches, 

 chiefly in Palseontology and Stratigraphical Geology. 



The Government Grant Committee recommended Professor Blake 

 for several grants in aid of his work on the British Palaeozoic 

 Cephalopoda, and also in aid of stratigraphical researches on the 

 Jurassic rocks of the Continent as compared with those of Britain. 



In 1880 he was appointed Professor of Natural Science at University 

 College, Nottingham, and Curator of the Museum, where ho remained 

 for eight years. Here he inaugurated and became first President 

 of the Students' Association, and editor of the College " Record." In 

 1888 he again removed to London, and soon became actively engaged 

 in bringing out the " Annals of British Geology," which, ran into 

 four volumes, 1890-1893. Owing to his acceptance of an appoint- 

 ment to equip and arrange the State Museum at Baroda, he was 

 obliged to relinquish this work, and in the winter of 1895 he sailed 

 for India. It was during his temporary absence from England that 

 he met with the great calamity of his life in the loss of his wife, 

 which occurred when they had been parted only two months. 



In recognition of the valuable services renilered to Geology 

 and Paljeontology during a period of almost a quarter of a century, 

 he was in 1895 awarded the Lyell Medal by the Council of the 

 Geological Society. In 1891-2 he was President of the Geologists' 

 Association, and at the time of his death a Vice-President. He was 

 elected President of the Metropolitan Scientific Association, 1889, and 

 of the London Amateur Scientific Society, 1890 and 1891. Professor 

 Blake conducted many excursions of the Geologists' Association; and 

 the enthusiasm and vigour which he displayed were remarkable. He 

 served on the Council of the Geological Society, and was for 

 some time Editor of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 

 As a member of the International Geological Congress, he attended 

 the meetings held in Philadelphia, London, Switzerland, and Russia. 

 At the London meeting of 1888 he conducted a party of the members 

 through North Wales and over Snowdon. He seldom missed the 

 meetings of the British Association, and read many papers in the 

 Geological Section. Professor Blake was present at the Montreal 

 meeting in 1884, and undertook by himself a difficult journey to 



