Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol I (1901).djvu/305

 classical. It was read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science at the Oxford meeting in 1847, and was entitled,' On some Points in the Anatomy of the Eye, chiefly in reference to the Power of Adjustment.' In this paper he demonstrated simultaneously with, but independently of, Ernst Wilhelm Bruecke (1819-1892), the structure and function of the ciliary muscle.

Bowman died at Joldwynds, near Dorking, on 29 March 1892, and is buried in the neighbouring churchyard of Holmbury St. Mary. He married, on 28 Dec. 1842, Harriet, fifth daughter of Thomas Paget of Leicester, by whom he had seven children. His widow died at Joldwynds on 25 Oct. 1900. He was succeeded in the title by his eldest son, Sir Paget Bowman.

A kitcat portrait of Bowman was painted by Mr. G. F. Watts, R.A. A photograph of this picture is reproduced as a frontispiece to the 'Collected Papers,' vol.i. A presentation portrait by Mr. W. W. Ouless, R.A., was painted in 1889 for the Bowman Testimonial Fund, and engraved by J. Clother Webb.

Sir William Bowman was the father of general anatomy in England, and the brilliant results of his investigations into the structure of the eye, of the kidney, and of the striped muscles were of themselves sufficient to establish a reputation of the highest order. But Bowman had other and equal claims to distinction, for his practical gifts were as great and as fruitful as his scientific attainments. As an ophthalmic surgeon he occupied a unique position. Unrivalled in his knowledge of the ocular structures, in his experience and in his operative skill, in consultation he was gentle, patient, and thoughtful; alive to and quickly seizing the salient points of every case, he was yet very reserved, giving his opinion in a few words, but decisively both as to forecast and treatment.

Bowman's works are: 1. 'Lectures. . . on the Eye,' London, 1849, 8vo. 2. 'The Collected Papers of Sir William Bowman, bart., F.R.S., edited for the Committee of the " Bowman Testimonial Fund " by J. Burdon-Sanderson, M.D., and J. W. Hulke,' London, 1892, 2 vols. 4to. Bowman took an active interest in the preparation of these volumes. He revised every proof sheet with his own hands, and added frequent notes.  BOYCOTT, CHARLES CUNNINGHAM (1832–1897), land agent, from whose surname the word 'boycott' is derived, born on 12 March 1832, was the eldest surviving son of William Boycott, rector of Burgh St. Peters, Norfolk, and Elizabeth Georgiana, daughter of Arthur Beevor. He was educated at Blackheath and Woolwich, and in 1850 obtained a cummission in the 89th foot. Some years later he retired from the army with the rank of captain. In 1873 he became agent for Lord Erne's estates in county Mayo, and himself farmed five hundred acres near Loughmask. Six years afterwards the land agitation began. On 1 Aug. 1879 a notice was posted on Boycott's gate threatening his life if he attempted to collect from the tenants any rents without making a further reduction than the abatement of 10 per cent, already granted by Lord Erne. Notwithstanding this all the tenants except three paid the sum demanded. But in the following year a reduction of 25 per cent., which would have brought the rents below Griffith's valuation, was demanded under the influence of the land league, and Boycott had to issue eleven processes. In September 1880 attempts were made to serve them, but the servers and police were forced by a mob to retire and take refuge in Boycott's house. He himself had to be placed under police protection, and on 1 Nov. was hooted and hustled by a mob at Ballinrobe. He was received into the barracks, and was thence escorted by a combined force of police and infantry to Castlebar, where he received such rents as were paid. Meanwhile Charles Stuart Parnell, the leader of the agitation, had in a speech at Ennison 19 Sept. advised tenants who could not obtain the reductions they demanded to take certain measures against the landlords and their representatives. The result was seen in the treatment of Boycott. Labourers refused to work for him; his walls were thrown down and his cattle driven about; he was unable to obtain provisions from the neighbourhood, and the ordinary necessaries of life had to be conveyed to him from a distance by steamer. He was hooted and spat upon as he passed in public roads, and only with great difficulty received letters and telegrams.

Appeals to the government for assistance were at first made in vain, but at the beginning of November 1880 fifty Orangemen, chiefly from county Cavan (afterwards known as 'emergency men'), volunteered to gather in Boycott's crops, and were granted an escort of nine hundred soldiers with two field-pieces. At the end of the month, when the work was done, Boycott left Loughmask for Dublin, but the landlord of Herman Hotel, having 