Henry Augustus Rowland. 459 



HENRY AUGUSTUS ROWLAND. 



"A great man has fallen in the ranks — great in talents, 

 great in -achievements, great in renown." So spoke President 

 Oilman to the faculty and students of the Johns Hopkins 

 University assembled to do the last honors to their departed 

 colleague and teacher ; and the words awoke a sympathetic 

 echo in every heart. 



Henry Augustus Rowland was born at Honesdale, Pa., 

 Nov. 27, 1848. He studied engineering at the Rensselaer 

 Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, where he received the degree 

 of C.E. in 1870. He spent a short time in railroad engineer- 

 ing, and became teacher of science for 1871-72 at Wooster 

 College. The following year, 1872, he returned to Troy as 

 instructor, and was soon made assistant professor, in which 

 position he remained until 1875, when he was invited to Balti- 

 more ; but before taking up his duties there he spent some 

 time in Europe. He had already published an important 

 article on Magnetic Permeability, which brought him into 

 notice. Professor Rowland sent this to Clerk-Maxwell, in 

 Cambridge, England, who replied that he regretted the Royal 

 Society was not in session, that he might present this work 

 to them, but that he would do the next best thing, namely, 

 send it to the Philosophical Magazine ; and as Rowland was 

 so far away, he would himself correct the proof sheets. 



While in Europe Rowland went to Berlin and carried out 

 one of his most important researches, proving that a moving 

 charge of static electricity, like a current, sets up a magnetic 

 field. 



Returning to America, he became one of the little band of 

 professors, already famous or soon to become so, who were 

 brought together to form the Johns Hopkins University, and 

 he remained at the head of the physical department until his 

 death, April 16, 1901. His energies were given to research 

 and to the instruction of his graduate students, but his influ- 

 ence was felt in the w T hole university, and even the under- 

 graduates received a great stimulus in their studies by the 

 example of his steady and successful work. 



