1878.] Dentil of Dr. T. Thomson. 135 



and associate throughout life. After completing his studies at the Glas- 

 gow University and taking the degree of Doctor of Medicine, Dr. Thomson 

 entered the medical service of the East India Company in 1839. Very 

 soon after his arrival in India, he was attached to a part of the army in 

 Cabul, and in 1842 he was taken prisoner by the Afghans at Ghazni, whilst 

 serving with the 27th N. I. After the close of the Afghan war and the 

 delivery of the prisoners. Dr. Thomson was engaged for many years in the 

 North West Provinces and the Punjab, and he was attached to the army in 

 both the Sikh wars. In 1847, he was sent by the Governor -General, Lord 

 Hardinge, with Major Cunningham and Captain Henry Strachey on a 

 mission to the Upper Indus valley in Tibet. This journey lasted from 

 August 1847 to October 1848, in the course of which time Dr. Thomson 

 penetrated to the Karakorum Pass, and traversed a large area of country 

 now well-known, admirably mapped, and the yearly resort of tourists and 

 sportsmen, but then difficult of access and scarcely indicated on the existing 

 maps. Large botanical collections and a series of valuable and interesting 

 physical and geological observations were the result of this journey. Al- 

 most immediately after returning. Dr. Thomson went to Darjiling and 

 arrived there in time to welcome his friend Dr. Hooker, when the latter 

 with Dr. Campbell were released from captivity in native Sikkim. With 

 Dr. Hooker, Dr. Thomson then visited the Khasi Hills, and shortly after 

 returned to England, where he spent some years on furlough. 



From 1855 to 1861 Dr. Thomson was superintendent of the Botanical 

 Gardens, Calcutta, and must be still remembered by many of the members 

 of this Society. Besides numerous other undertakings he was busily engaged 

 on the Flora Indica, which he commenced in association with Dr. Hooker. 

 He joined this Society in 1855 and was six times elected to the Council, 

 three times as Vice-President. His health, however, had suffered greatly, 

 and when he retired and returned to Europe in 1861, it was for a long time 

 doubtful whether he would live many months. His health ever since has 

 been most precarious. 



Dr. Thomson's principal works are his "Western Himalaya and Tibet," 

 an account of his journeys in Cashmere, Ladak &c., and the introduction to 

 the Flora Indica, which he wrote conjointly with Dr. Hooker, and which 

 is well-known as one of the most masterly botanical essays ever written. 

 By these his work in India will long be preserved in memory, but to all who 

 had the advantage of knowing him personally, he will be ever better remem- 

 bered for his kindly nature. Few residents in Calcutta had a wider circle of 

 friends, none were more generally esteemed and beloved than Dr. Thomson. 



The Secretary reported that Mr. W. E. Bateman's appointment as 

 Assistant Secretary had been confirmed by the Council. 



