Report of the President 95 



At the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees, held on 

 November 9, 1914, the following resolution was unanimously 

 adopted: 



The Trustees of the American Museum of 

 Natural History record with deep sorrow the 

 death of their colleague and co-worker, Albert 

 Smith Bickmore, on August 12, 1914. To him 

 rightly belongs the title of "Father of the 

 Museum," for his enthusiasm and optimism were 

 the chief inspiration of that group of public 

 spirited men who actually founded the institution. 



Professor Bickmore took a vital part in the 

 development of the Museum from its very in- 

 ception in 1869 to 1904, when ill health compelled 

 his retirement from active service. He was the 

 first Superintendent of the Museum and later 

 was Curator of Ethnology. He was the organizer 

 and first Curator of the Department of Public 

 Instruction, of which he was Curator Emeritus at 

 the time of his death. 



In 1885 Professor Bickmore was elected to the 

 Board of Trustees. He served the Board as 

 Secretary from 1887-1891, and was a member of 

 the Executive Committee from 1886-1894. Es- 

 pecially valuable were his services on various 

 legislative committees. 



Professor Bickmore was a man of high ideals 

 and of wide sympathies and possessed in marked 

 degree the power to arouse enthusiasm and secure 

 effective action. He lived a noble and useful 

 life and his kindly presence will ever be a pleasant 

 memory to his colleagues. 



