DEATH OF DR. GEORGE ENGLEMANN. 707 
OBITUARY NOTICES. 
DEATH OF DR. GEORGE ENGLEMANN. 
Dr. George Englemann died February 4th. He had been ill for nearly a 
year, suffering from Bright's disease, but his last severe illness was comparatively 
short, and though it was not expected he would survive, his friends were not ex- 
pecting his death so soon. He had lived in St. Louis since 1835, and for the 
greater part of that time was a practicing physician, most successful and honored 
everywhere. But while he was successful as a doctor, his real claim for recogni- 
tion lies in his scientific researches and discoveries. He was one of the most 
profound botanists in the country, and was the greatest authority in the world 
on the cactus. He made several excursions through the West, accompanied by 
Prof. Asa Gray, of Harvard University, whose reputation as a botanist is of the 
highest. Dr. Englemann's career as a botanist began shortly after he came to 
this country, when he was located near Belleville, 111. He wrote a monograph 
in Latin upon the habits of a little creeper he found on a hazel bush. It was 
printed in Germany, and made quite a stir among scientists on account of the 
minuteness and perfection of the observations. He has fully equalled in later 
developments all that was expected of him then, and St. Louis has seldom lost 
a man so truly great. Largely to him is due the honor of having introduced the 
present method of classification of plants based on microscopical examinations 
and investigations. His whole heart was given to his work, and the results have 
been of great benefit to every portion of science to which he devoted his investi- 
gations. 
Dr. Englemann was born either in Cruznet or Frankfort-on-theMain. His 
father was a burgomaster in Frankfort, and was able to give his son a univer- 
sity education. He completed his studies in Germany, and came a young man 
to a new country. 
The St. Louis Academy of Science met at the Washington University, upon 
the announcement of the death of Dr. Engelmann, and a motion was adopted 
that the members of the Academy attend the funeral in a body. 
Dr. Englemann has been President of the Academy for six consecutive 
years, and prior to that time he had held the same position for several alternate 
years. About the last time he attended the Academy he presented a meteoro- 
logical report of the condition of the weather for every day for forty-nine years, 
and also giving the mean temperature for each year. He announced that he 
had been endeavoring to discover some law governing the weather, but had 
failed to do so. A member of the Academy expressed the hope that the half- 
century would be completed, when Dr. Englemann replied that he had some 
misgivings on the subject, a presentiment that appears to have been well founded. 
