March 24, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



419 



therefor, and this when he thought need be, 

 whether or not it gave annoyance or even pain. 

 But with this fearlessness to serve in the 

 truest sense, was combined a gentleness that 

 made his personality a strongly marked one 

 in whatsoever society he chanced to be. "For 

 many years a sufferer from bodily pain, he 

 went uncomplainingly, fearlessly but gently, 

 keeping a lookout for opportunities to serve. 

 A charming host to the stranger on the campus 

 and to his colleagues, he was a big brother to 

 every student who claimed his aid or would 

 let himself be helped, and many a man has 

 left the college the better for the glimpse of 

 tender family love and gentleness which per- 

 vaded his hospitable home. 



It was among his scientific colleagues, per- 

 haps, that Davidson's personality stood forth 

 most clearly defined. His attainments won 

 recognition and he held a high place among 

 the notable men of several important scientific 

 organizations. He was a fellow of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence, a member of the American Chemical 

 Society, the Association of Official Agricul- 

 tural Chemists, and the Washington Academy 

 of Sciences. He was frequently chosen a dele- 

 gate to important gatherings, as for instance, 

 the International Congress of Applied Chem- 

 istry at London, and in 1903 he served as 

 president of the Association of Official Agri- 

 cultural Chemists. Never afraid to raise his 

 voice for the truth as he saw it, always gentle 

 and considerate of adversary or controver- 

 sialist, ever anxious to compose differences of 

 opinion and especially of feeling between 

 opponents, and a faithful attendant at meet- 

 ings, Davidson's membership in numerous and 

 important committees was logical and inevi- 

 table. And these committees he served with 

 his whole heart and his whole strength. It 

 had a profound effect on his scientific life. 

 With a strong mentality, wide and deep read- 

 ing, a cheerful readiness amounting to eager- 

 ness to hear or learn of the work of others, and 

 a patient and diligent effort to assimilate new 

 ideas, he should have been a notable man in 

 chemical research. While his contributions 

 in this field, especially in the application of 



chemical ideas to the problems of soil manage- 

 ment and farm practises are worthy of high 

 praise, it was not humanly possible for any 

 one to give to his college duties, to his work 

 among farmers, and to his committee duties, 

 the time and energy that Davidson gave, and 

 at the same time gain unusual distinction in 

 a specialized field of science. But fame was 

 truly appraised by Eobert James Davidson as 

 of lesser importance than duty and the oppor- 

 tunity to serve. Though his name may not be 

 remembered as linked with some particularly 

 important milestone in the history of science, 

 yet it will be remembered long, tenderly, and 

 reverently, not only as a faithful worker in 

 science, but as the man and the brother and a 

 model in all the activities of a good citizen for 

 his colleagues and his neighbors. Agricul- 

 tural science has lost one of her most notable 

 American pioneers and her most faithful 

 servants. 



Frank K. Cameron 



THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION 

 AND THE GENERAL EDUCA- 

 TION BOARD 



Announcement is made of the annual elec- 

 tion of officers of the Rockefeller Foundation. 

 President John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Secre- 

 tary Jerome G. Greene were reelected. The 

 executive committee is now John D. Rocke- 

 feller, Jr., Simon Flexner, Starr J. Murphy, 

 Wickliffe Rose and Jerome D. Greene. The 

 finance committee is John D. Rockefeller, Jr., 

 A. Barton Hepburn and Starr J. Murphy. The 

 Foundation has elected as new trustees, Mar- 

 tin Antoine Ryerson, of Chicago; the Rev. 

 Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, of Montclair, 

 If. J., and Frederick Strauss, of Ifew York. 

 Mr. Ryerson is president of the board of trus- 

 tees of the University of Chicago. The Rev. 

 Dr. Fosdick is pastor of the First Baptist 

 Church, Montclair, and the Morris K. Jesup 

 professor of practical theology in the Union 

 Theological Seminary. 



From the trustees of the estate of Mrs. John 

 D. Rockefeller, Sr., the foundation has received 

 a gift of $49,860, which is in addition to a 

 previous gift from Mrs. Rockefeller's estate of 



