HENRY CARRlNCrrON BOLTOX 77 



In the meantime he had become engaged himself in a similar 

 and even more comprehensive labor, — a general historical com- 

 pendium of chemical literature, in all languages, and of every 

 kind. This great undertaking he carried out in connection with 

 the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. In 1892, he was 

 appointed by Columbian University of that city to a non-resident 

 professorship of the History of Chemistry ; and it was not long 

 before he moved to the capital and made his residence there. 

 He had recently married Miss Henrietta Irving, a grand-niece 

 of Washington Irving ; and many of his former friends from 

 this vicinity are familiar with his refined and attractive home on 

 K Street. Here, with his remarkable library and rare works 

 on alchemy and chemical history, and in close touch with all 

 the scientific life of the Federal city, he labored with unfaltering 

 zeal and enthusiasm until the recent end of his career. 



During the decade of his second residence in New York, be- 

 fore he removed to Washington, he was again active in the 

 Academy, and was chosen to several offices, culminating with 

 that of President in 1893. He was one of the patrons of 

 the Academy by the contribution of a hundred dollars. Be- 

 sides his relations with this society, he was prominent in chemi- 

 cal circles, both in this country and abroad, and a very frequent 

 lecturer and contributor to scientific journals and reviews. At 

 the time of his death, the statement was made that he belonged 

 to more learned societies than any other American. 



Dr. Bolton was a man of very marked personality and of 

 peculiar qualities of mind, which fitted him for a peculiar work. 

 He was a thorough and accomplished chemist, but he was very 

 much more than a specialist in any one department. He was a 

 man of letters and of culture in every field, and one who pos- 

 sessed a fine aesthetic sense and in a remarkable degree the his- 

 toric sense. It is easy for those of us who knew him and have 

 followed his career, to see how all these elements were blended 

 in his work. Favored also with the possession of private 

 means, he was able to follow out the bent of his mind, and to 

 add continually, by frequent and extensive travel and inter- 

 course, to his rich and varied store of refined culture. Wher- 



