lli PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [May I9II, 



THE ANNIYERSARY ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, 

 Prof. William Whitehead Watts, Sc.D., M.Sc, F.R.§. 



During this year death has laid his heavy hand more lightly 

 than is his wont upon our ranks. It is not often that a year 

 passes without the loss of one or more of those eminent men whose 

 names adorn the lists of our Foreign Members and Correspon- 

 dents. Prof. W. P. Blake, though a citizen of the United States, 

 was on our home list ; and our other losses include Charles Bird, 

 Arthur Brown, Dr. T. Cooke, E. Cross, Prebendary W. H. Egerton, 

 the Rev. de Charles Evans, C. E. Fox-Strangways, G. R. Godson, 

 T. M. Heaphy, J. C. Melliss, Captain G. E. Shelley, W. Smethurst, 

 Charles Smith, A. H. Stokes, F. Tendron, Major-General W. E. 

 Warrand, the Rev. R. B. Watson, the Rev. G. F. Whidborne, and 1 

 J. T. Young. Notices of the lives of those who have been closely 

 associated with the advance of Geology are given below, and to 

 them have been added notices of the following : — J. Randall, a 

 Fellow until 1877; J. R. Dakyns, who, though he published 

 papers in our Journal, . never actually joined the Society ; and' 

 T. R. Polwhele, a Fellow who died in 1909. For the notice of the 

 last I am indebted to Mr. H. B. Woodward, and that of J. R. 

 Dakyns is founded on a memoir written by Mr. G. W. Lamplugh 

 for the Yorkshire Geological Society. The list contains the name 

 of one centenarian and of one Fellow who attained the ripe age of 

 98 years ; the youngest died at 64, and the average age of those 

 that I have been able to trace is 76. 



The Rev. William Henry Egerton, Prebendary of Lichfield, 

 was born on November 13th, 1811, and was the fourth son of the 

 Rev. Sir Philip Grey Egerton, the ninth baronet. He was educated 

 privately, graduated at Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1834, and 

 was elected to a Fellowship at his College. He was nominated by 

 Lord Brownlow to the Rectory of Ellesmere (Salop) in 1845, and 

 transferred to the Rectory of Whitchurch in the following year, 

 a cure which he held for 62 years until his retirement in 1908. In 

 that year he answered with his own hand a letter of congratulation, 

 which the Secretary was instructed by the Council to write on his 

 birthday to one who for many years had been the ' Father ' of the 

 Society. He was a Fellow for 78 years, and died on December 1st, 

 1909, at the age of 98 years. His only communication to the 



