JULY 2, 1897.] 
In 1825 both William and Henry re- 
moved to Baltimore to seek their fortunes, 
but the physical weakness by which they 
were greatly handicapped and against which 
they fought during all of their lives inter- 
ferred with their success from the start. 
The two brothers finally obtained employ- 
ment as teachers, but there was frequent 
necessity for pecuniary aid from the father, 
who was ever ready to draw upon his slender 
salary the payments of which were made 
with much irregularity and often much 
delay, for the benefit of his sons, of whom 
he was extremely fond and justly proud. 
William began to show his rare qualities 
as a lecturer on Science, and in 1827 he 
was appointed to a lectureship in the Mary- 
land Institute. His father died in 1828 and 
in the same year he was elected as his suc- 
cessor in the chair of natural philosophy 
at William and Mary, at the early age of 
24 years. Here he remained for seven 
years, growing in knowledge and reputa- 
tion, and in 1835 he was elected professor 
of natural philosophy in the University of 
Virginia, and shortly afterward he was ap- 
pointed State Geologist. His connection 
with this institution continued for eighteen 
years, and its history forms one of the most 
interesting features of the memoir. During 
this period the University passed through 
some of its most notable trials in connec- 
tion with the relations of its governing au- 
thority, the faculty, to the student body. 
In all of these events, as well as others of 
more lasting importance to the institution, 
Professor Rogers was a prominent figure. 
‘That he impressed himself in a notable way 
upon the then young and developing Uni- 
versity was always recognized by its officers 
and friends. That his connection with it, 
and especially his long life in the South, 
covering as it did his youth and the most 
impressionable years of his manhood, did 
much to influence his educational ideas as 
well as his personality, is equally true. In- 
SCIENCE. 3 
deed, there was always in his manner some- 
thing of that courtliness and chivalry which 
we are wont to associate with the cultivated 
Southern gentleman and when transplanted 
to New England it became one of his prin- 
cipal charms. During his life in Virginia 
his fame as a lecturer and scientific investi- 
gator grew continually. He was invited to 
lecture in various cities, and just previous 
to his leaving the South Professor Henry 
solicited his assistance in a course to be 
given ‘for the benefit of Congress’ at the 
Smithsonian Institution. 
In 1849 he married Miss Emma Savage, 
of Boston, going with her to Europe, where 
some pleasant months were spent and val- 
uable acquaintances formed or renewed, 
and returning to the University of Vir- 
ginia in October of the same year. In 1853 
he resigned his professorship and removed 
to Boston, where his wife had lived and 
where her family and friends were, and 
also where his brother Henry had already 
met with such generous support and assist- 
ance in his scientific work. Here, for a 
period of nearly ten years, he worked, wrote 
and lectured, all the time keeping in mind 
the organization and development ofa school 
of technology or applied science, the plans 
for which had been in his mind since at 
least as early as 1846. On April 10, 1861, 
the Act incorporating the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology received the ap- 
proval of Governor Andrew, just as the Na- 
tion was plunging into what proved to be 
a mighty struggle for its existence. A year 
later he was formally elected President of 
the Institute, which as yet had no material 
existence. Indeed the war for the preserva- 
tion of the Union delayed the consumma- 
tion of his desires until October, 1865, at 
which time instruction in the new school 
was actually begun. 
In 1868 Professor Rogers began to show 
the effects of the years of devoted activity 
which had resulted so fortunately as far as 
