Yol. 50.] ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT* 57 



who cultivated zoological science, and about this period he travelled 

 in many parts of France and also in Italy for the purpose of gaining 

 experience, being especially interested in marine biology. On 

 returning to Belgium, after an appointment at Ghent which led 

 to nothing, he was installed Professor of Zoology and Comparative 

 Anatomy in the University of Louvain. This was in 1836, and 

 he held that post, as a teacher of science, without interruption, to 

 the day of his death, a period of 57 years. In 1865 he undertook 

 to teach palaeontology, and continued to give lectures in that branch, 

 of science until the end of his life. 



Essentially a zoologist, Van Beneden was an indefatigable worker, 

 including most branches of the animal kingdom within the range 

 of his studies. His Academic publications, which were exceedingly 

 numerous, do not often deal with palaeontological subjects ; but 

 he would occasionally write on fossil Cetaceans from the Antwerp 

 basin, or on the tooth of a fossil seal from the Crag of that district, 

 sometimes extending his notices of fossil Cetaceans as far as 

 Croatia. Amongst his non-Academic work may be mentioned his 

 Report on the palaeontological collections of the University of 

 Louvain, published in 1867; a note on the Bats of the Mammoth 

 period as compared with those of the present, in the British Asso- 

 ciation Reports for 1871 ; and on a new fossil bird from the caverns 

 of New Zealand. His most important palaeontological work probably 

 was his description of the fossil bones of the neighbourhood of 

 Antwerp, with copious illustrations. This appeared in four parts 

 in the 'Annals of the Royal Museum of Natural History of Brussels,' 

 the first having been published in 1877 and the fourth in 1885. 



In the following year was celebrated the jubilee of Yan Beneden 's 

 professorship under the honorary presidency of De la Vallee Poussin, 

 whose admirable address on the occasion did no more than justice 

 to the attainments and career of his illustrious colleague. In 1888 

 Yan Beneden was elected a Foreign Member of this Society, being 

 at that time also an honorary LL.D. of the University of Edinburgh. 

 But the honours and acknowledgments which were bestowed so 

 freely on this veteran zoologist in no wise caused him to relax his 

 educational efforts, as we find him giving his latest lecture on the 

 20th December, 1893, or less than three weeks before his death, 

 which occurred at Louvain, on the 8th January last, at the age of 84. 



