Flower, William Henry, 1831-1899; Zoologists -- Great Britain -- Biography
Of a more varied and popular nature were Flower’s reminiscences of
his friend Huxley, which appeared in the _North American Review_ for
September 1895. A fourth biographical notice was the “eulogium” on
Charles Darwin, delivered by Sir William at the centenary meeting of the
Linnean Society, held on 24th May 1888, in which the speaker acknowledged
the incomparable importance of Darwin’s work, and incidentally avowed
his own acceptance of the doctrine of evolution. Compared to Darwin’s
achievements, he observed, “most of the work which we others do is but
irregular, guerilla warfare, attacks on isolated points, mere outpost
skirmishing, while his was the indefatigable, patient, unintermittent
toil, conducted in such a manner and on such a scale that it could
scarcely fail to secure victory in the end.”
CHAPTER II
AS CONSERVATOR OF THE MUSEUM OF THE COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, AND HUNTERIAN
PROFESSOR.
[1861-1884.]
The death, in 1861, of the eminent histological anatomist, Professor
Quekett, rendered vacant the important post of Conservator of the Museum
of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. This
museum, it is almost superfluous to mention, was founded by the great
anatomist, John Hunter, and is hence often known popularly, although not
officially, as the Hunterian Museum.
“Originally a private collection,” observed Flower in his Presidential
address to the Anatomical section of the International Medical Congress,
held in London in the summer of 1881, “embracing a large variety of
objects, it has been carried out and increased upon much the same
plan as that designed by the founder, with modifications only to suit
some of the requirements of advancing knowledge. The only portion of
Hunter’s biological collection which have been actually parted with are
the stuffed birds and beasts, which, with the sanction of the Trustees
appointed by the Government to see that the college performs its part of
the contract as custodians of the collection, were transferred to the
British Museum, and a considerable number of dried vascular preparations,
which having become useless in consequence of the deterioration in their
condition, resulting from age and decay, have been replaced by others
preserved by better methods.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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