Georye Haiitinytoii Williams. — Clarke. 73 
was but the terminating incident of his course and the title 
was never unduly paraded. 
Returning to his home directly upon its aceomplishnjent, he 
found himself situated as many others have been, with abun- 
dant opportunity to find something to do. At this critical 
period in the life of every young man, when the first serious 
step in his career has to be taken. Dr. Williams did not find 
his way laid open for him by outside influences; the writer 
recalls his disappointment at the failure of an attempt to con- 
nect himself Avith the work of the Smithsonian Institution. 
Soon, however (March, 1883), he obtained a fellowship-bj^- 
courtesy at the Johns Hopkins University, at Baltimore. It 
was not such a position as a young man not without supple- 
mentary resources could afford to accept, nor was it, of itself, 
quite to the level of Dr. Williams' hopes, although it was to 
prove the stepping-stone to his most successful career in that 
institution ; for in 1884 he was advanced to the title of Asso- 
ciate, becoming thereby a member of the academic staff; in 
1S85 he became Associate Professor, and in 1892. ordinary 
Professor of Inorganic Geology. 
When Dr. Williams entered upon his work at this institu- 
tion there had been no department of geology and the instruc- 
tion given had been of the most desultory sort, a little in 
mineralogy and lithology having been attempted in connexion 
with the department of chemistry. Upon him devolved the 
organization of the department, and the high efficiency which 
it has now attained is due almost solely to the vigorous pros- 
ecution of his conception of what such a department in such 
a university should be. He was quick to acknowledge the 
warm espousal of all his efforts by president Oilman. The out- 
put of his academic work as embodied in his students has 
stamped a value upon it which cannot now, probabh^ never 
can be estimated, but its success in the ej^es of those who were 
watching him from positions of close association is expressed 
in the memorial minute adopted by the board of trustees and 
the academic staff of the university, in which the3^ bear testi- 
mony to "his alert, inquisitive observation, the close .judg- 
ment and sound reasoning which he brought to the interpre- 
tation of what he saw, his excellent power of statement, 
whether with voice or pen; his cultivated appreciation of lit- 
