THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 



617 



having its own historic building for its 

 meetings, and the city is generous in 

 its hospitality. The papers presented 

 are of the same high standing and the 

 same mixed character as at "Wash- 

 ington. 



The spring is also the time chosen 

 for the meetings of some of the state 

 academies of science. A glance at the 

 program of one of these, such as the 

 Michigan Academy of Sciences, shows 

 that it contains an almost bewildering 

 array of papers. These are, however, 

 presented before several sections and 

 thus have a more homogeneous attend- 

 ance and better chance for discussion. 

 An interesting event this year was the 

 joint meeting of the different scientific 

 and learned societies of California, 

 which will doubtless hereafter become 

 an annual event on the Pacific coast. 



THE CENTENABT OF THE BIBTH 

 OF JOHN WILLIAM DBAPEB 



The centenary of the birth of John 

 William Draper, which occurred on the 



fifth of May, was celebrated with ade- 

 quate ceremonies and addresses by 

 New York University, where he was 

 professor from 1837 until his death in 

 1882, and where two of his sons were 

 also professors. 



Draper was the son of an English 

 W r esleyan clergyman. He came to 

 America at the age of twenty-one, and 

 graduated as doctor of medicine from 

 the University of Pennsylvania in 

 1836. His work covered a wide field. 

 He made important researches in chem- 

 istry, physics and physiology. He 

 wrote text -books and taught these sub- 

 jects, being a leader in medical edu- 

 cation. He took an important part in 

 the development of two of the most 

 important advances of applied science 

 — electrical telegraphy and photog- 

 raphy. Later he turned his attention 

 to philosophical and historical subjects. 

 His history of the intellectual develop- 

 ment of Europe and his history of the 

 conflict between religion and science 

 have been widely read and are of great 



Autotype Copt of the Earliest Sunlight Picture of a Human Face. 



Miss Dorothy Catherine Draper, taken by her brother, Professor John William Draper, 



M.D., LL.D., early in 1840. The original daguerreotype is the 



property of Sir William John Herschel. 



