Louis Valentine Pirsson. 185 



the Board of Trustees of the Sheffield Scientific School. 

 This brought him in contact with problems of a different 

 kind — largely financial; and here, too, his good judg- 

 ment and breadth of vision made him a valued member 

 of the Board. 



"During a period of more than two decades of active 

 work, Professor Pirsson assumed, in full measure, all 

 the responsibilities which his position carried with it. 

 As a teacher he was forceful and painstaking, as an inves- 

 tigator in his chosen field of work he was an enthusiast, 

 and yet he was always ready to give freely his time and 

 thought to the many questions constantly arising in an 

 educational institution. Whatever he did, he did well. 

 This simple statement may perhaps be taken as best 

 illustrating the character of the man. Careful, thought- 

 ful, painstaking effort was given to everything Professor 

 Pirsson undertook. Hence, he could be relied upon, and 

 for this very reason he was frequently overtaxed by 

 burdens of many kinds which a less cooperative man 

 would have refused to carry. He was the embodiment 

 of the true university professor, whether viewed from 

 the standpoint of the teacher or investigator in his 

 chosen field of science, as adviser of inquiring students, 

 or as worker in faculty or committee. Above all, he was 

 the embodiment of unselfish devotion to duty." 



Pirsson served as an associate editor of this Journal 

 from 1899 to the time of his death. He was painstaking 

 and conscientious in furnishing, with characteristic 

 generosity of time and labor, brief but pointed notices of 

 many geological publications. About forty of his origi- 

 nal papers also appeared in this Journal. 1 



The recognition of Pirsson 's contributions to geology 

 brought him membership in the National Academy of 

 Sciences, the Geological Society of Stockholm, Sweden, 

 the Washington Academy' of Sciences, the American 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Connecticut 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a fellow of the 

 Geological Society of America, of which he served as 

 Vice-President in 1915. 



Many of the qualities and accomplishments which were 

 necessary to ^ Pirsson 's professional success were also 

 notable in social life, where he was a charming companion. 



^For a full Bibliography of Pirsson >s publications, see the forthcoming 

 biographical memoir to be prepared for the National Academy of Sciences 

 by Joseph P. Iddings. 



