GEORGE WILLIAMS PECKHAM, M.D., LL.D. 
1845-1914 
Dr. George Williams Peckham died suddenly on January 10, 
1914, at his home in Milwaukee, of heart failure, the outcome of 
a malady from which he had suffered for some years. He was 
68 years old. 
His great interest in, and the part he took in building up, the 
Wisconsin Natural History Society call for more than a passing 
notice of his death. He became a member of the Society in 1876, 
was elected its president in 1884 and held this office until 1900, 
when he insisted that another take his place. It was during this 
period that the collections and the library of the Society were 
donated to the city, on condition that they be suitably housed, 
maintained and increased. It was largely as the result of his 
efforts that the present public library and museum was built and 
so generously provided with financial support that it has become 
that feature of the city of which our people are probably the 
most proud. Until his health began to fail, Dr. Peckham took 
an active part in the meetings of the Society and the majority of 
his papers were published in its bulletins. At all times he exerted 
his influence to promote scientific study and personal research, 
to elevate the standing of the Society, and to increase its prestige 
in the opinion of the community. He was also a member of the 
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, in whose pro- 
ceedings some of his papers were published. 
Dr. Peckham’s earnest love of science is well shown by the fact 
that all of his work in this line was done during his vacations and 
in the little leisure time left him by the pressing duties of the 
offices he held. His standing in the scientific world was such that 
he counted among his friends and correspondents many of the most 
eminent scientists of the day; it was due to this eminence that the 
honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. 
Though he was greatly interested in and well informed on almost 
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