﻿IX 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OP 
  THE 
  GEOLOGICAL 
  SOCIETY. 
  [May 
  1897, 
  

  

  eminently 
  qualified 
  him. 
  In 
  the 
  heyday 
  of 
  life 
  he 
  discharged 
  these 
  

   functions 
  in 
  a 
  generous 
  and 
  hospitable 
  spirit. 
  Unfortunately, 
  as 
  

   time 
  went 
  on, 
  his 
  physical 
  infirmity 
  of 
  deafness, 
  in 
  conjunction 
  with 
  

   other 
  causes, 
  tended 
  to 
  withdraw 
  him 
  from 
  society 
  at 
  large, 
  though 
  

   never 
  from 
  social 
  intercourse. 
  To 
  the 
  last 
  he 
  struggled 
  bravely 
  

   against 
  all 
  these 
  difficulties, 
  frequently 
  busy, 
  but, 
  as 
  he 
  says 
  in 
  

   a 
  letter 
  written 
  a 
  few 
  months 
  before 
  his 
  death, 
  grown 
  older 
  and 
  less 
  

   inclined 
  to 
  work. 
  ' 
  Not 
  that 
  I 
  am 
  often 
  idle,' 
  he 
  remarks; 
  ' 
  things 
  

   come 
  in 
  all 
  of 
  a 
  heap, 
  then 
  comparative 
  repose, 
  then 
  more 
  work. 
  

   There 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  much 
  to 
  show 
  for 
  sundry 
  years, 
  even 
  if 
  I 
  get 
  

   folks 
  to 
  do 
  anything 
  systematic. 
  So 
  far, 
  the 
  New 
  Zealanders 
  are 
  

   my 
  best 
  men/ 
  

  

  Those 
  sundry 
  years 
  he 
  was 
  not 
  destined 
  to 
  realize, 
  and 
  now 
  

   that 
  the 
  originator 
  is 
  gone 
  will 
  the 
  work 
  be 
  continued 
  ? 
  

  

  [W. 
  H. 
  H.] 
  

  

  William 
  Sharp, 
  M.D., 
  F.R.S., 
  who 
  was 
  elected 
  a 
  Fellow 
  of 
  this 
  

   Society 
  in 
  1840, 
  was 
  born 
  on 
  January 
  21st, 
  1805, 
  at 
  Armley, 
  in 
  the 
  

   parish 
  of 
  Leeds, 
  where, 
  and 
  at 
  Little 
  Horton 
  and 
  Bradford, 
  his 
  

   family 
  had 
  resided 
  for 
  several 
  centuries. 
  In 
  1821 
  his 
  uncle, 
  

   "William 
  Sharp, 
  the 
  leading 
  surgeon 
  in 
  Bradford, 
  took 
  him 
  as 
  a 
  

   pupil, 
  and 
  subsequently, 
  in 
  1825, 
  he 
  was 
  taken 
  as 
  pupil 
  by 
  the 
  

   second 
  William 
  Key 
  of 
  Leeds, 
  his 
  uncle's 
  cousin, 
  and 
  remained 
  with 
  

   him 
  until 
  Oct. 
  1st, 
  when 
  his 
  hospital 
  career 
  commenced 
  in 
  London 
  

   at 
  Guy's 
  and 
  St. 
  Thomas's 
  Hospitals, 
  where 
  Sir 
  Astley 
  Cooper 
  

   was 
  chief. 
  In 
  1826 
  he 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  Society 
  of 
  Apothecaries 
  

   his 
  licence 
  to 
  practise, 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  only 
  legal 
  qualification. 
  

   Remaining 
  at 
  the 
  hospitals 
  another 
  year, 
  he 
  obtained 
  the 
  diploma 
  

   of 
  the 
  Royal 
  College 
  of 
  Surgeons 
  ; 
  this 
  was 
  in 
  1827. 
  He 
  then 
  went 
  

   to 
  Paris 
  and 
  attended 
  the 
  University 
  lectures 
  at 
  the 
  Sorbonne. 
  In 
  

   1828 
  he 
  returned 
  to 
  Bradford 
  as 
  his 
  uncle's 
  assistant 
  ; 
  in 
  1829 
  he 
  

   was 
  elected 
  Surgeon 
  to 
  the 
  Infirmary 
  ; 
  in 
  1833, 
  on 
  his 
  uncle's 
  

   death, 
  he 
  succeeded 
  him 
  and 
  had 
  a 
  large 
  practice. 
  In 
  1843 
  he 
  

   resigned 
  his 
  practice 
  and 
  went 
  to 
  Hull, 
  where 
  he 
  gave 
  lectures 
  on 
  

   chemistry 
  during 
  the 
  winters 
  ; 
  but 
  four 
  years 
  later 
  he 
  removed 
  to 
  

   Rugby 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  placing 
  his 
  sons 
  under 
  Dr. 
  (afterwards 
  

   Archbishop) 
  Tait, 
  then 
  headmaster 
  of 
  Rugby. 
  Finding 
  that 
  natural 
  

   science 
  had 
  no 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  teaching 
  at 
  Rugby, 
  he 
  urged 
  its 
  intro- 
  

   duction 
  on 
  Dr. 
  Tait. 
  The 
  latter 
  was 
  quite 
  willing 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  

   experiment, 
  provided 
  Dr. 
  Sharp 
  would 
  become 
  the 
  first 
  teacher, 
  

   and, 
  under 
  the 
  style 
  of 
  ' 
  Reader 
  in 
  Natural 
  Philosophy,' 
  Dr. 
  Sharp 
  

   conducted 
  the 
  classes 
  during 
  1849 
  and 
  1850. 
  'If,' 
  said 
  the 
  late 
  

  

  