48 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



King's College, and next year received a Pellowship. Soon after- 

 wards he also became Professor of Geology at Cooper's Hill. These 

 appointments he continued to hold up to the end of his life. 



His earliest palaeontological papers were read in 1863. From 

 that time almost to the last he continued to follow out the lines of 

 research on which he originally started. He specially devoted him- 

 self to the study of the fossil Corals, and came to be recognized as our 

 chief authority on that subject. These studies led him to investigate 

 also the fossil Echinoids, especially those from Australia, India, and 

 Northern Africa. In aU his palaeontological work he sought to 

 connect the former range of the organisms with questions in physical 

 geography and geology. He not only mastered the forms and 

 affinities of the fossils, but used their evidence in the endeavour to 

 trace the distribution of land and sea during former geological 

 periods. He also wrote many papers on zoology, especially devoting 

 his attention to the anatomy of the recent forms of some of the 

 great groups with whose fossil representatives he was so familiar. 



He became a Fellow of this Society in 1849, served as one of the 

 Secretaries from 1864 to 1870, was frequently Vice-President, 

 became President in 1876, and received the award of the Wollaston 

 Medal in 1881. In the year 1868 he was elected into the Eoyal 

 Society. During his busy life he took an active part in the business 

 of the various societies of which he was a member. Yet he also 

 found time for much writing and editing of scientific works of a 

 more popular kind. His health at last began to fail, and he died 

 after a long and painful illness. Those who knew Professor Duncan 

 intimately regarded him with sincere affection. His sense of 

 humour, combined with much kindliness and helpfulness, gained 

 him the esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances ; while his many 

 solid contributions to geological and palaeontological literature made 

 his name honoured and familiar in every country where geology and 

 palaeontology are studied. 



Among the recently deceased FeUows of the Society, two peers 

 deserve to be remembered on this occasion. The Duke of Devon- 

 SHiEE, though not himself a man of science, evinced keen sympathy 

 with scientific enquiry, and did much to promote it. He founded, 

 at his own cost, the laboratory for physical research in the Uni- 

 versity of Oxford. He was the first President of the Iron and Steel 

 Institute, and was largely instrumental in starting that useful 

 association. He was also President of the important Eoyal Com- 



