August 21, 1885.] 



SCIENCE. 



Uo 



ing the cost of scientific researches. The 

 board of trustees consists of five members : 

 Dr. Henry P. Bowditch, chairman ; William 

 Minot, Jan., treasurer ; Prof. Edward C. Pick- 

 ering ; Gen. Francis A. Walker; and Dr. 

 Charles S. Minot, secretary. It was consid- 

 ered important to have as great a variety of 

 interests represented as possible, and this is 

 accomplished b}' the association of the above 

 gentlemen. 



When the International association is organ- 

 ized (and it is hoped that the movement will 

 be initiated hj the British association at Aber- 

 deen) , the income of the fund will presumably 

 be expended under the direction of that new' 

 association ; until then, under the direction of 

 the trustees. The first appropriation will prob- 

 abh' be made next autumn, when several hun- 

 dred dollars will become available. At the 

 proper time a circular will be issued, announ- 

 cing the manner in which applications ma}^ be 

 made. As it is desired to give the fund an 

 international character, it is hoped that for- 

 eign journals will copy this notice. 



In conclusion, I wish to express mj admira- 

 tion for the wisdom shown by Mrs. Thompson. 

 It is certainl}' ver}^ remarkable that a person 

 not especially versed in science, nor directly 

 interested in an}- of its branches of investiga- 

 tion, should be induced by a desire to benefit 

 her fellows, not to give for some temporary 

 need, but, with exceptional insight, to give 

 for the development of the very sources of 

 progress. The same sound judgment gov- 

 erned her decision as to the conditions of her 

 gift, for it is difficult to foresee an}^ probability 

 which will render this endowment futile. Ver}^ 

 often the object of a public gift is determined 

 by the donor's personal interests. I believe 

 Mrs. Thompson was governed by her convic- 

 tions as to the application of her money which 

 would do most good. She is a devout person, 

 and^trusts in the peaceful union of true religion 

 and true science. 



At their first meeting the trustees voted 

 unanimously to call their trust ' The Eliza- 

 liETH Thompson science fund.' 



Cfiarees Sedgwick Minot. 



THOMAS ALVA EDISON. 



Thomas Alva Edison was born at Milan, 

 Erie county, Ohio, on the 11th of February, 

 1847. His ancestors on his father's side were 

 of Dutch descent, having emigrated from Hol- 

 land to the United States in 1730. His 

 mother, Mary Elliot by name, though a native 

 of Massachusetts, was originall}' of Scotch 

 parentage. She had for some years taught in 

 a Canadian high school, and was possessed of 

 an excellent education. Under her careful 

 training, her son, in the almost entire absence 

 of the ordinary educational privileges, devel- 

 oped very early a fondness for books, which 

 became almost a passion. Before he was ten 

 years old he had read not only Newton's 

 'Principia' and Ure's ' Dictionar}^,' but also 

 Hume's ' England,' Gibbon's ' Rome,' D'Au- 

 bigne's 'Reformation,' and Burton's 'Anato- 

 my of melancholy ; ' and at the age of twelve 

 he undertook the task of reading through the 

 public library of Detroit in course, becom- 

 ing convinced, after wading indiscriminately 

 through fifteen feet of shelving, that it would 

 be better for him to make a selection of works 

 upon his favorite subjects. 



In 1854 the Edison family removed to Port 

 Huron in Michigan, and a few years later 

 3'oung Edison became a train-boy on the 

 Grand-trunk railway. When the line was 

 completed between Port Huron and Detroit, 

 he secured the exclusive right upon it as news- 

 agent, employed four or more assistants, fit- 

 ted up a printing-office in the baggage-car, 

 and issued therefrom a weekly journal called 

 The grand -trunk herald. While thus oc- 

 cupied, he became interested in telegraph}' ; 

 and having, at the risk of his own life, saved 

 a little boy from being crushed under the train, 

 the father, a station-master upon the road, as- 

 sisted him to become an operator. So assidu- 

 ously did he apply himself, practising often the 

 entire night, that at the end of five months 

 he was given in charge the telegraph-office at 

 Port Huron. 



As a telegraph-operator his career was a 

 checkered one. He was emplo3'ed chiefly 

 for night-work in positions of increasing im- 

 portance, until finally he reached the larger 

 offices of Indianapolis and Cincinnati. Every- 

 where his desire for information, his originality 

 in suggestion, the novelt}^ of his speculations, 

 his exemplary conduct, and his uniform good 

 nature, won for him the regard and esteem of 

 his associates. In 1864 he went to Memphis 

 as a government operator ; and thence he re- 

 moved to Louisville, where he remained two 



