10 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Ser. 



II. 



GEORGE DAVIDSON 



This distinguished member, and we might say founder, of 

 The California Academy of Sciences was born in Nottingham, 

 England, on May 9th, 1825. His parents were Scotch people 

 from Montrose on the east coast. They removed to Philadel- 

 phia in 1832, George being then seven years old; and it was 

 here that young Davidson received his elementary education. 

 During his four years at the Central High School, he held the 

 distinction of being continuously at the head of his class. Not 

 satisfied with the knowledge he was gathering at school, the 

 ambitious youth worked in the observatory from 12:20 a. m. 

 till forty minutes before the school opened. This wearing 

 duty was performed at a salary of one dollar a week; but 

 before his school course was finished, the lad had worked this 

 pay up to $30 a month. 



During this time his instructor in astronomy, and the mas- 

 ter under whom he worked, was Alexander Dallas Bache; 

 and a good friend he proved to the lad so eager to acquire 

 knowledge. Presently Bache was appointed to the head of 

 the United States Survey, and through him young Davidson 

 found his way into the government service. Here he must 

 have worked himself into the notice of the heads of the depart- 

 ment, for in 1849 he was selected to perform the important 

 duty of charting the then unknown waters of the Pacific 

 Coast. 



Davidson arrived at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) in the 

 month of June, 1850, on the "Tennessee". The working 

 party consisted of George Davidson, Chief; James S. Lawson, 

 A. S. Harrison, and John Rockwell. What by the United 

 States authorities the charting of an unknown coast was con- 

 sidered worth, may be gathered from the fact that Davidson 

 received $800 a year, and his assistants received $30 per month. 

 The Chief had to provide his own board, and on that account 

 was often worse off than his assistants. We notice on the 

 same pay-roll a cook enlisted at $125 per month, with all 

 traveling and subsistence expenses provided. Thus a good 

 cook was considered worth more than two good scientists. 

 Within a space of three years, this little party charted the 



