XXVI PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



those geological tastes which eventually led to his appointment as 

 successor of his illustrious master in the Geological Chair of the 

 University. 



His acquirements in natural science were singularly diversified, 

 embracing more or less all departments of natural history, and there 

 are few sections of the science upon which at one time or other 

 he did not publish observations or memoirs. His knowledge of the 

 literature of natural history was remarkably extensive, exceeding pro- 

 bably that of any living naturalist ; and the ' Bibliographia Zoologise 

 et Geologise,' based on the manuscripts of Professor Agassiz, and 

 published by the Ray Society, owes much of its value to his editorial 

 care and unrivalled acquaintance with authors and their works. As 

 a zoologist, the greater share of his attention was devoted to ornitho- 

 logy, in which department he enjoyed a world-wide fame. His work, 

 written jointly with Dr. Melville, on extinct birds, especially the Dodo, 

 was au application of his ornithological knowledge to geolog}\ 



Mr. Strickland's geological researches were confined to no single 

 locality or group of formations, and his name will be ever recorded 

 in histories of geology. In the British Islands his favourite subjects 

 were the New Red Sandstones, Lias, and Pleistocene beds. In con- 

 junction with Sir Roderick Murchison, he described the geology of 

 the neighbourhood of Cheltenham, and communicated to our Trans- 

 actions the well-known important memoir " On the Upper Forma- 

 tions of the New Red Sandstone system in Gloucestershire, Worcester- 

 shire, and Warwickshire." Many papers on the geology of various 

 points in these counties are contained in our Journals and Pro- 

 ceedings. He contributed also to a knowledge of the geology of por- 

 tions of Scotland and of the Isle of Man. In company with Mr. 

 Hamilton, he travelled in the Mediterranean and Levant, and ex- 

 plored the geology of parts of Asia Minor, the Thracian Bosphorus, 

 and the Island of Zante. Their joint memoirs on those countries are 

 printed in our Transactions, and contributed materially to extend our 

 knowledge of the structure of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. 

 The demonstration of the existence of Palaeozoic strata on the shores 

 of the Bosphorus was one of the many fruits of this expedition. 



Earnestness, energy, and simplicity were the distinguishing features 

 of Mr. Strickland's character. He was thoroughly a man of science, 

 and as thorough a gentleman. Fearless in his maintenance of his 

 convictions, whether by speech or pen, his freedom from animosity 

 and evident straightforwardness invariably converted his opponents 

 mto friends. jNIr. Strickland was most happily married, but has left 

 no family. His father-in-law, the eminent naturalist Sir William 

 Jardine of Applegarth, has undertaken to complete the editing of the 

 remaining volumes of the ' Bibliographia.' 



One of the warmest and wisest friends of the Society, and during 

 many years an active member of it and constant attendant at its 

 meetings, was Charles Stokes, whose nanie will be long borne in 

 mind mth aifection and gratitude by many geologists and naturahsts. 

 Although constantly and assiduously engaged in business, Mr. Stokes 



