Lectures on geology. By Prof. George I. Chace, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Providence: c. 1864]. Manuscript lectures on geology, 8vo, 111 pages, plus blanks; limp black roan, upper cover loose, text neatly written in ink and pencil; sound and legible. The full text of multiple lectures by George Chace, at the time professor of Geology at Brown University. The lectures cover a variety of topics, including the geologic makeup of North and South America and the Old World, prehistoric geological ages, the "Nebula Hypothesis," cosmogony, glass, ocean currents, climate, and natural disasters. There are also number lists of topics for heat and electricity. Laid in are 5 slips of paper in pencil containing notes on German grammar. The lectures cite the work of Hitchcock, "Guyat" and [James Dwight] Dana. Chase graduated from Brown in 1830 at which time he delivered a commencement address on "The Results of Improvements in the Science of Education." and then entered as a professor in 1833. He was appointed adjunct professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in 1833, professor of chemistry in 1834. became professor of chemistry and physiology in 1859, professor of geology and physical geography in 1864, and professor of chemistry and geology in 1865. He served as president ad interim for six months in 1867 after the resignation of Barnas Sears, adding the teaching of metaphysics and ethics to his regular classes. "He was one of the few men who could talk well while conducting an experiment... Walter C. Bronson 1887 wrote of Chace: Yet with all his gifts Professor Chace was not a popular man. His manner was reserved, almost to coldness, and in class he was severe and sometimes caustic; although in his later years he cultivated closer and more friendly relations with his pupils. A man of deep convictions and a lifelong member of the Baptist denomination, he yet was disliked by religious conservatives: to the zealous he seemed cold and to the rigidly orthodox dangerously rationalistic, although in his later years, like his friend Agassiz, he withheld assent from the doctrine of evolution. His supposed theological unsoundness and the fact that he was not a clergyman were the main reasons, it is said, for the opposition to him as a candidate for permanent president. Despite his disappointment he remained loyal to the college, and in his will left $9000 for two scholarships which bear his name" (Encyclopedia Brunoniana). Item #57405
Price: $450.00
