Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 19.djvu/714

696 state, in the university, during the 25th of November, and, on the following day, with due honors and imposing ceremonies conducted by his late colleagues, were reverently laid beneath the shade of Oakwood Cemetery.

Professor Watson possessed extraordinary intellectual endowments. His quickness of perception nothing escaped. His mathematical intuitions scorned the ordinary processes of calculation, and gave him a masterly command of mathematical logic and formulæ, which made so many portions of his work on "Theoretical Astronomy" strictly original, and all parts virtually his own. Yet he never mentions any claim to originality, but pursues his majestic intellectual march with the dignity almost of an inspiration. His memory served him equally well. It was both circumstantial and philosophical. Every new observation was immediately illuminated by all which he had previously observed or known, and he saw instantly the proper conclusions. His mechanical gifts gave him perfect command of instruments and their construction, and the Washburne Observatory would have been equipped with several of his inventions. His versatility extended to matters of business. He was for years the actuary of the Michigan Mutual Life Insurance Company, and performed service pronounced invaluable. He managed his private means with such success that he died possessed of a considerable fortune, which his will secures to the National Academy of Science. Physically, he was vigorous and healthy, and reached, in the last years of his life, a weight of two hundred and forty pounds. His religious nature held fast to the fundamental religious beliefs. He used to say it is impossible for a mathematician to be an atheist, and his works offer frequent recognition of the being of the supreme Creator and Governor of the universe.

The world was not slow to recognize his worth. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Science in 1867, and of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Italy in 1870. He received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Leipsic in 1870, and the French Academy of Sciences conferred upon him the Lalande gold medal for the discovery of six new planets in one year. Yale College honored him with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1871. In 1875 the Khedive made him Knight Commander of the Imperial Order of Medjidieh of Turkey and Egypt. He was elected member of the American Philosophical Society in 1877, and received, the same year, the degree of Doctor of Laws from Columbia College.—American Journal of Science.