scientific world at large. Never very I robust in health, he accomplished several long and laborious tasks and yet rarely failed to place his time and energy at the disposal of those who made demands on them. He was brought up in a school of mathematics which put ingenuity and brevity at a high premium, yet when faced with a difficult problem he usually chose the direct route towards the solution, often at the cost of long and laborious calculations. Even when deeply engrossed in the work he was doing, he would lay it aside at a moment's notice to listen to and discuss the problems of his friends or pupils. And while acting as an inspiration to many of his contemporaries, he never failed to impress them with his modesty even when expressing his own opinion in his direct but kindly manner.
For many years Sir George Darwin has been recognized as the leader—a title he would have immediately disclaimed—in a subject which is perhaps the most fascinating and the most dangerous of all those which may occupy the thoughts of a scholar. Cosmogony is replete with unsolved problems and hypotheses may be multiplied almost indefinitely. Almost any new discovery or advance in our knowledge of the physical world may have a bearing on it. Sir George Darwin, whose best known work lies in this field, never allowed himself to be led much beyond what he was able to establish by exact methods. If he gave a theory of the past history of the earth and its satellite, he did not allow the reader to imagine that he had solved the problem, but simply considered his work as sufficient to make probable a possible hypothesis.
While his earlier interests were in the direction of pure science, his association with Lord Kelvin led him to the consideration of a practical problem. Tidal prediction is always important for a country with the mercantile interests of Great Britain. Sir George Darwin had immense power in dealing with long and intricate calculations, and his ability was nowhere better employed when he drew order out of chaos in furnishing methods which could be used by a seaman to obtain the tides of his port of call or by a government in the formation of tide tables for its coasts. This same facility and his gathered experience led to his advice being continuously sought in the discussion of meteorological records. In geodetic problems he was one of the chief advisers of the government and was its representative in the international congresses which have been held in Europe during the last fifteen years. In all such matters the English government asks for and acts upon the opinions of its representative scientific men, and Sir George Darwin took his full share in these responsibilities.
His most notable public function was his presidency of the British Association during the memorable tour in South Africa some seven years ago. The sounds of the warfare in that country had only just ceased and great tact was needed to avoid any unpleasant feelings either amongst the native or white races. It is not too much to say that the association could hardly have made a better choice for its presiding officer. In some forty speeches all over the colonies, while avoiding platitudes, he hit the right note, not stirring up excitement and not sending his hearers away without some thought which characterized the occasion. The same touch was visible in his final public appearance as president of the Mathematical Congress held in Cambridge last August. None of those who heard his tribute to Henri Poincaré on that occasion realized that he himself would so soon also depart.
His numerous friends not only in England and Europe, but also in this country, will regret the passing, not alone of the student, but of the wise and kindly man whose humanity was never lost in his scholarship.
