[From the American Journal of Science, Vol. XXX, November, 1885.] 



Thomas Bland was born at Newark, Nottinghamshire, Eng- 

 land, Oct. 4, 1809. His father, Dr. Thomas Bland, was a physi- 

 cian. His mother w^as a Shepard, and a niece of Richard Shepard, 

 who was a conchologist, from whom she acquired a love of natu- 

 ral history which led her to make collections of plants, minerals 

 and shells, and this love of nature was inherited by her son 

 Thomas. He was educated at Charter House School in London, 

 where he was a classmate of Thackeray. He subsequently studied 

 law and entered upon its practice in London. In May, 1836, he 

 became a Fellow of the Royal Geological Society of London. In 

 1842 he removed to Barbadoes and thence to Jamaica, where he 

 resided until about 1850, collecting largely in various departments 

 of natural history, especially in cKbnchology. While at Jamaica 

 he made the acquaintance of Prof. C. B. Adams, then of Middle- 

 bury College, Vermont. A close friendship ensued which ended 

 only with the untimely death of the latter in 1853. In 1850 Mr. 

 Bland returned to England, and after a stay of a, few months, 

 accepted the appointment of superintendent of a gold mine at 

 Marmato, New Granada. In 1852 he removed to Kew York, 

 where the remainder of his life was spent in various agencies con- 

 nected with mining and other enterprises. Of late years he had 

 suffered much from impaired health, becoming for the last few 

 months incapacitated for mental labor, and on the 20th August, 

 1885, he passed peacefully away. 



Though Mr. Bland was always interested in general science, he 

 seems to have received the special direction toward the study of 

 terrestrial mollusks from his intimate friendship in Jamaica with 

 Prof. Adams. He devoted himself to the wonderfully rich fauna 

 of the West India islands, and continuing the labors which Prof. 

 Adams had begun, he soon became a leading authority on that 

 branch. His general knowledge of science led him to devote par- 

 ticular attention to the subject of geographical distribution, so 

 philosophically treated in his published papers. When in South 

 America, he collected largely and corresponded on the subject 

 with alb the prominent European conchologists. Again, on re- 

 moving to New York, he became, through Prof. Adams, ac- 

 quainted with the American conchologists, and formed a strong 

 friendship especially wdth Mr. Wheatley and Mr. Redfield. 

 Through the latter he became a member of the New York Ly- 

 ceum of Natural History, and was for many years a most useful 

 member of its publication committee. He was also a member of 

 the Natural History Societies of Boston, Philadelphia, and other 

 American cities, and the intimate personal friend and correspond- 

 ent of all the American conchologists. 



