Transcript 

of

Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny, M.D., F.R.S. [Obituary]

Trans. Devon Assoc., vol. II, Part II, (1868), pp.303-308.

by

Rev. W. Harpley, M.A., F.C.P.S. 

Prepared by Michael Steer

The Obituary was read at its July 1868 Honiton meeting. The deceased was a celebrated chemist, botanist and geologist. Throughout his scientific career volcanic phenomena occupied his attention. He strove by frequent journeys through Italy, Sicily, France and Germany, Hungary and Transylvania, to extend his knowledge of that subject. In 1825, Dr Daubeny had prepared the foundation for his great work on volcanoes. This appeared in 1826, and contained descriptions of all regions known to experience igneous eruptions, as well as a consistent hypothesis of their cause. A more succinct biography, together with a lengthy list of his major publications and his portrait is available in Wikipedia. The Obituary, from a copy of a rare and much sought-after journal can be downloaded from the Internet Archive. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.

By the  death  of  Dr.  Daubeny,  the  Devonshire  Association for  the  advancement  of  Science,  Literature,  and  Art  has  been deprived  of  one  who,  although  he  could  not  be  called  one  of its  founders,  was  yet  early  enrolled  among  its  members,  and of  whom  it  may  be  said  that  no  one  has  evinced  more  zeal for  its  welfare,  or  has  more  essentially  contributed  to  its success.  During  the  whole  period  of  his  connection  with  it he  was  constant  in  his  attendance  at  the  annual  meetings; in  no  instance  did  the  Council  in  their  deliberations  fail  to be  assisted  by  the  sound  advice  which  his  matured  intellect enabled  him  to  give;  and  almost  up  to  the  hour  of  his  death he  was  labouring  in  its  behalf,  whilst  engaged  in  revising  and putting  through  the  press  the  paper  which  he  had  read  before the  Association  a  few  months  previously  at  Barnstaple.
Charles  Giles  Bridle  Daubeny  was  a  younger  son  of  the Rev.  James  Daubeny,  rector  of  Stratton,  in  Gloucestershire, and  was  born  in  1795.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered Winchester  School,  whence,  after  a  residence  of  nearly  three years,  he  proceeded  to  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  where  he was  elected  to  a  demyship  in  1810.  In  1814  he  took  his  B.A. degree,  having  obtained  the  honourable  distinction  of  being in  the  second  class  in  classics,  according  to  the  old  style  of the  Oxford  examinations.  In  1815  he  was  again  successful in  winning  academical  distinction  by  gaining  the  chancellor's prize  for  the  Latin  essay,  entitled  "In  illȃ Philosophiæ  parte, quae  moralis  dicitur,  tractanda,  quaenam  sit  præcipue  Aristotelicae  disciplinae  Virtus."  In  due  course  he  obtained  a  lay fellowship  at  Magdalen,  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of medicine,  and  for  several   years  practised  his  profession.
Although  he  afterwards  relinquished  his  medical  practice,  the progress  of  medical  science  was  during  all  his  life  much  at his  heart  and  he  fully  justified  his  title  of  MD.  and his fellowship  with  the  College  of  Physicians.
Whilst  at  Edinburgh  preparing  for  his  professional  career, the  lectures  of  Professor  Jameson,  of  that  university,  on geology  and  mineralogy,  attracted  his  earnest  attention,  and strengthened  that  desire  to  cultivate  natural  science  which the  teaching  of  Dr.  Kidd  at  Oxford  had  already  aroused  in him.  The  change  from  thoughtful  Oxford  to  active  Edinburgh was  the  crisis  in  his  career.  Into  the  discussion  then  raging between  the  Plutonists  and  Neptunists,  the  worshippers  of fire  and  water,  he  entered  with  all  the  keenness  and  the ardour  of  his  keen  and  active  mind.  After  quitting  the university  of  Edinburgh,  in  1819,  he  proceeded  on  a  tour through  France,  everywhere  collecting  evidence  on  the  geological and  chemical  history  of  the  globe,  sending  from Auvergne  some  of  the  earliest  notices  which  had  appeared  of that  remarkable  volcanic  region.  During  the  whole  of  his career  volcanic  phenomena  occupied  the  attention  of  Dr. Daubeny,  and  he  strove  by  frequent  journeys  through  the various  provinces  of  Europe  to  extend  his  knowledge  of  this interesting  subject  He  thus  prepared  the  basis  of  his  great work  on  "Active  and  Extinct  Volcanos,"  which  appeared  in 1826,  and  contains  a  careful  description  of  all  the  regions known  to  be  visited  by  igneous  eruptions,  and  a  consistent hypothesis  of  the  cause  of  the  thermic  disturbance.  A  second edition  of  this  work  appeared  in  1848,  some  years  after  his North  American  tour,  and  since  then  several  supplements. In  1822,  four  years  before  the  first  publication  of  the "Description  of  Volcanos,"  he  was  elected  to  the  professorship of  chemistry  in  succession  to  Dr. Kidd, his  former teacher.  Henceforth  the  study  of  the  physical  sciences,  and particularly  chemistry  and  botany,  began  to  absorb  his  whole attention ;  and  in  1829  he  relinquished  the  practice  of  his profession,  and  devoted  himself  to  them.  Nothing  could exceed  the  zealous  activity  with which  he  entered  on  all investigations  which  had  a  bearing  on  tlie  principal  subject of  his  thoughts.  As illustrative  of  this,  one  instance  only need  be  mentioned.  While  conducting  his  volcanic  explorations, his  attention  was  attracted  to  mineral  waters,  as indications  of  the  processes  going  on  below  the  surfaces  of various  countries.  In  order  to  examine  these  waters  in  the freshest  state  in  which  they  could  be  obtained,  he  carried about  a  considerable  apparatus,  and  would  busy  himself  for days  in  evaporating  and  analysing  on  a  large  scale,  just  as  if he  were  working  in  his  laboratory  at  home.  By  such  busy scrutiny  of  waters  in  the  volcanic  country  of  central  France and  the  south  of  Italy  he  provoked  the  suspicious  credulity of  the  natives,  who  thought  he  was  poisoning  their  springs, and  endangered  his  personal  safety.
In  1834  he  was  elected  to  the  Professorship  of  Botany. He was  also  made  Curator  of  the  Botanical  Gardens  at Oxford.  Under  his  careful  management  these  gardens  were entirely  arranged,  considerably  enlarged,  enriched  with  extensive houses,  and  rendered  capable  of  bearing  not  unfavourable comparison  with  the  richest  gardens  in  Europe.  He  also obtained  possession  of  a  piece  of  land  in  close  proximity  to Oxford,  to  enable  him  more  easily  to  prosecute  his  researches in  experimental  botany.  In  the  pleasant  residence  at  the botanic  garden  Dr. Daubeny  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. Here  with  never-wearying  never-flagging  diligence  he  instituted many  experiments  on  vegetation  under  different  conditions of  soil;  on  the  effects  of  light  on  plants,  and  of  plants on  light;  on  the  conservability  of  seeds;  on  the  ozonic elements  of  the  atmosphere;  and  the  effects  of  varied  pro-portions of  carbonic  acid  on  plants  analogous  to  those  of  the coal  measures.  A  full  description  of  many  of  these  experiments, and  the  conclusions  he  deduced  from  them,  may  be found  in  his  "Miscellaneous  Memoirs  and  Essays,"  and  the reports  of  the  British  Association.  Not  to  make  any  descriptive remarks  on  them  here,  it  may  be  briefly  stated  that the  last  mentioned  are  peculiarly  valuable  as  elucidating  the curious  question,  whether  the  amazing  amount  of  vegetable life  in  the  carboniferous  ages  of  the  world  may  not  have been  specially  favoured  by  the  presence  in  the  palaeozoic atmosphere  of  a  larger  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  gas  than is  at  present  found.
Dr. Daubeny  did  not  confine  his  attention  exclusively  to researches  in  experimental  botany,  and  to  the  difficult  questions before  mentioned,  but,  as  a  part  of  his  duty  as  professor of  botany,  he  took  pleasure  in  drawing  attention  to  the historical  aspects  of  the  subject.  With  this  view  appeared his  "Lectures  on  Roman  Husbandry,"  which  contain  a  full account  of  the  most  important  passages  of  Latin  authors bearing  on  crops  and  their  culture,  on  the  treatment  of domestic  animals  and  horticulture.  A  few  years  later  followed a  valuable  essay  on  the  "Trees  and  Shrubs  of  the  Ancients," and  a  catalogue  of  trees  and  shrubs  indigenous  to  Italy.
Dr. Daubeny   was   a  great   traveller,   almost  an   annual visitor  to  the  Continent;  and  in  those  visits  he  gained  the friendship  of  many  of  the  most  eminent  chemists  and botanists  of  the  day.  At  Geneva  he  was  always  welcomed by  the  celebrated  botanist  Decondelle,  to  whose  memory  he has  devoted  a  careful  critical  essay,  published  in  the  second volume  of  his “Miscellanies."  It  is  not  improbable  that  the influence  and  guidance  of  that  great  man  contributed  much to  the  formation  of  those  just  views  and  clear  conceptions  of botanical  science  which  were  such  characteristic  features  in the  mind  of  him  who  is  the  subject  of  this  brief  notice.
Of  late  years,  symptoms  of  ill-health  sometimes  interfering with  his  proper  avocations,  Dr.  Daubeny  found  It  desirable during  the  winters  to  exchange  his  residence  in  Oxford  for the  milder  climate  of  Torquay.  Here  he  was  ready  at  all times  to  respond  to  the  call  made  upon  him,  to  impart  by public  lectures  or  otherwise  some  of  that  rare  store  of information  possessed  by  him;  and  he  manifested  his  un-interrupted  activity  of  mind  by  his  constant  observations  on the  temperature  and  other  atmospheric  conditions  of  that salubrious  resort,  and  by  experiments  in  ozone  and  the  usual meteorological  elements in  comparison  with  another  series  in Oxford.  It  was  during  the  first  of  these  winter  visits  that he  joined  the  Devonshire  Association,  and  in  the  following year  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  presidential  chair.  At  Tiverton, where  the  Association  met  that  year  (1865),  he  delivered  his inaugural  address - an  address  to  which  for  soundness  and depth  of  thought,  extent  of  research,  and  perspicuity  of  expression,  it  would  be  difficulty  to  find  a  parallel  in  the  published  transactions  of  any  learned  society  in  the  kingdom. His  interest  in  the  well-being  of  the  Association  did  not  end with  the  termination  of  his  year  of  office,  but  at  every  subsequent meeting  he  was  present,  and  contributed  greatly  to their  success  by  the  papers  he  read,  and  the  share  he  took  in the  discussions.
At  Tavistock,  in  1866,  he  read  a  highly  interesting  paper "On  the  Dependence  of  the  amount  of  Ozone  on  the  Direction of  the  Wind,"  wherein,  having  established  the  fact  that  the average  amount  of  ozone  present  in  the  air  is  greatest  when the  wind  comes  from  the  S.W.,  he  endeavoured  to  deduce  the conclusion  that  this  circumstance  tends  to  explain  the  great salubrity  of  the  sea  coasts  in  the  S.W.,  S. and W.,  inasmuch as  the  S.W. wind  is  the  most  prevalent  wind  in  such situations. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  chose  to  have  printed  in  the Transactions  of  the  Association  merely  a  brief  abstract  of  the paper  alluded  to.
Last  year,  at  Barnstaple,  the  proceedings  were  enhanced  in interest  by  a  most  valuable  paper  which  he  contributed  "On the  Temperature  of  the  Ancient  World."  This  paper,  published in extenso  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Association,  and illustrated  by  some  carefully- executed  diagrams,  must  ever be  regarded  by  the  members  with  peculiar  interest,  as  being the  last  published  production  of  the  fertile  brain  of  Charles Daubeny.
Besides  his  connection  with  the  Devonshire  Association, he  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  several  congresses held  for  the promotion  of  physical  science.  He  had  during his  career  been  an  unchanging  friend  and  supporter  of  the British  Association;  and  in  1856,  on  the  occasion  of  its visiting  Cheltenham  he  became  president,  amidst  numerous friends,  who  caused  a  medal  to  be  struck  in  his  honour,  the only  instance  of  the  kind  in  the  history  of  the  Association.
His  latest  labour  was  to  gather  his  "Miscellaneous  Essays" into  two  very  interesting  volumes,  and  then,  after  patiently enduring  severe  illness  for  a  few  weeks,  he  sank  to  that  rest which  often  in  his  thoughts  had  ever  been  expected  with  the calmness  of  the  philosopher,  and  the  hopefulness  of  the Christian.  He  died  at  five  minutes  past  12  a.m.,  December 13th,  1867,  in  his  73rd  year.  His  remains  were  laid  in  a vault  adjoining  the  walls  of  Magdalen  College  Chapel,  in accordance  with  his  own  expressed  wish,  " that  he  might  not be  separated  in  death  from  a  society  with  which  he  had  been connected  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and  to  which  he was  so  deeply  indebted,  not  only  for  the  kind  countenance and  support  ever  afforded  him,  but  also  for  supplying  him with  the  means  of  indulging  in  a  career  of  life  at  once  so congenial  to  his  taste,  and  the  best  calculated  to  render  him a  useful  member  of  the  community."
Thus  passed  away  one  whose  memory  will  long  be  cherished, not  only  by  those  whose  good  fortune  it  was  to  possess  his personal  friendship  and  enjoy  his  intimacy,  but  also  by  all who  are  in  any  degree  interested  in  the  progress  of  science and  the  unravelling  the  mysteries  of  nature  He  was  never indifferent,  prejudiced,  or  unprepared;  but  on  every  question his  opinion  was  formed  with  rare  impartiality,  and  expressed with  rare  intrepidity.  Firm  and  gentle,  prudent  and  generous, cheerful  and  sympathetic,  pursuing  no  private  ends,  calm amid  jarring  creeds  and  contending  parties,  the  personal influence  of  such  a  man  on  his  contemporaries  for  half  a century  of  active  and  thoughtful  life  fully  matched  the  effect of  his  published  works.  Any  one  accustomed  to  a  considerable degree  of  intimacy  with  him  would  be  able  to  declare  that he  never  met  with  any  man  more  entirely  truthful  and  just-minded:  you  might  absolutely  rely  upon  him  in  regard  of deeds,  thoughts,  and  motives.  To  convince  his  judgment  was to  enlist  his  sympathy,  and  secure  his  active  help;  to  be censured  with  over-much  strictness  was  a  passport  to  such protection  as  he  could  honestly  give.
His  published  writings  are  very  numerous.  Many  of  his essays  and  memoirs,  scattered  through  various  periodicals, and  not  easily  accessible,  were  collected  and  arranged  by  their author  in  two  volumes  of  miscellanies.  The  following  is  a list  of  the  works  which  contain  the  principal  results  of  Dr. Daubeny's  scientific  and  literary  labours: -
1.  Description  of  Active  and  Extinct  Volcanos,  8vo. London, 1826.
     Second  Edition,  1848. Several  Supplements.
2.  Tabular  View  of  Volcanic  Phœnomena,  thick  FoL. 1828.
3.  Notes  of  a  Tour  in  North  America,  8vo. (Privately  printed.) 1838.
4.  Introduction  to  the  Atomic  Theory, 8vo. 1852.
5.  Lectures  on  Roman  Husbandry,  8vo. 1857.
6.  Lectures  on  Climate,  8vo. 1863.
7.  Trees  and  Shrubs  of  the  Ancients,  8vo. 1865.
8.  Miscellanies  on  Scientific  and  Literary  Subjects,  2  vols.  8vo. 1867