4 
THE HALL, 
Wollaston medal for his friend 3 then in his last illness, are 
especially to the purpose : 
‘ ■' At his own expense he traced the boundaries and relations of certain 
rock formations, and laying them down on the Ordnance Survey maps, 
accompanied by illustrative sections, he thus took the first step in leading 
public men (otherwise little versed in our science) to see the good which 
must result from the extensive application of such a scheme, in making 
all proprietors alive to the importance of obtaining a better acquaintance 
with the subsoil of their estates. 
“Having gradually attracted the notice of the Government, and having 
obtained the use of rooms in Craig’s Court, and the employment of a 
limited sum of the public money, Sir H. de la Beche then attached to his 
new-formed establishment able men of science, who could decipher forma- 
tions in the field, describe the fossils they contained, or chemically analyse * 
the structure of the rocks and their associated minerals. Soon filling to 
repletion the small space allotted to him with models of mines, illustrative 
drawings, and specimens of fossils, ores, and building stones, he convinced 
our rulers, and particularly the illustrious statesman Sir Robert Peel, that 
the dignity and interests of the country required an adequate and appro- 
priate building should be erected and exclusively devoted to the fulfilment 
of a project so lucidly devised, and thus far so well realised. Then arose, 
very much after the design of the accomplished director himself, that well 
adapted edifice in Jermyn Street, which to the imperishable credit of its 
author, stands forth as the first palace ever raised from the ground in Great 
Britain by the Government, which is entirely devoted to the advancement of 
science” 
For his zealous labours in the cause of geological science, the 
Director-General of the Geological Survey was knighted by his 
Sovereign. On the continent, too, the labours of Sir Henry De 
la Beche were fully appreciated ; he was created a knight com- 
mander of the Danish order of Dauebrog, and of the Belgian 
order of Leopold ; he was elected a corresponding member of 
the Institute of France, and member of various foreign academies. 
On the 13th of April 1855 Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche died, 
having retained his mental energies unimpaired to the last. 
The bust is mounted on a pedestal of green ophicalcite, or 
serpentinous marble, from Connemara (No. 182) ( see p. 29). 
Sir Roderick I. Murchison, Bart., K.C.B . — An original 
bust by H. Weekes, R.A., 1871. Bequeathed by Sir JR. I. 
Murchison. No. 195. 
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, who succeeded Sir Henry 
De la Beche as director of this institution, was born atTarradaie, 
in Ross-shire, on February 19, 1792. Intended for the army, he 
was educated at the Royal Military College at Great Marlow, 
and in 1807 he obtained a commission in the 36th Foot. During 
his military life he saw active service in the Peninsula, and was 
present at the battle of Vimieria and the retreat on Corunna. 
On the conclusion of the war he married the daughter of General 
Hugonin, and soon afterwards quitted the army, though it was 
not until 10 years later that his attention was turned, by Sir 
Humphry Davy’s influence, to scientific pursuits. His first 
practical lessons in geology were received from Dr. Buckland, 
whose enthusiasm incited Murchison to enter the field as an 
