An Address in Commemoration of Alexander Dallas Bache

Delivered, August 6, 1868, before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, by BENJAMIN APTHORP GOULD, President of the Association.

THIS is a very interesting biographical sketch of the late Dr. Bache, by one who for years has been his valued friend, and during long periods of separation his daily correspondent. It is certainly not with any pretence of impartiality that Dr. Gould can speak of the distinguished man upon whose counsel it has long been his privilege to rely, and whose cordial approval gave him such strong moral support in his well-known contest for the highest interests of American science at the Dudley Observatory. But with so many noble facts to exhibit, there is little temptation to mar the grand figure they suggest with dabs of vulgar coloring, such as the obituary paint-pot is ever ready to supply.

Dr. Bache seems to have encountered his full share of the petty hostilities and jealousies which no man of the largest usefulness can wholly escape. Indeed the mechanical law, that bodies gravitate to each other directly as their masses and inversely as the square of their distances, seems too often reversed in the case of its most competent expounders. And it is no slight eulogy to declare that the acknowledged head of science in America finally won the approval and blessing of all who had been connected with hhn. A consummate skill in using army and navy officers, — a class of men peculiarly restive under civilian direction, — and a ready tact in presenting the claims of science to the average politician whose influence was required in their behalf, would not generally be considered among the higher powers of the human mind. Yet these were absolutely essential for the work Dr. Bache had to do. They prevented him from yielding to the pressure of the moment, and held him firmly to the aim on which his heart was set.

If we except the great work of the Coast Survey, the prominent matters of scientific interest due to Dr. Bache are, the law of radiation and abruption of non-luminous heat, the method of star-signals in determining longitudes, the determinations of the depth of the Pacific Ocean, and of the laws of terrestrial magnetism in the United States, the discovery of the laws of the tides, and the determination of the tidal “ establishment ” in our ports. Although the investigations of Dr. Bache were chiefly in physics, yet his active spirit gave a positive stimulus to all branches of science. The long list of his writings printed in the Appendix to the volume is a noble monument to their author. In bestowing the labor necessary to its compilation, Dr. Gould has chosen the most effective form of commemoration. For in these days most contributions to human knowledge are made in the form of scattered papers and memoirs and not of ponderous “ works.” And these do not appear in consecutive order, but require for their collection a patient search, of which those who have never engaged in such an undertaking can have little idea. Taken in connection with the Address, this list gives a positive conception of the intellectual effort which the duties and investigations of Dr. Bache demanded, and of the powerful grasp of mind which successfully encountered his work.

During the war, Dr. Bache’s time was crowded with official duties and humane and patriotic efforts for his country. The Faculty of his own University have officially declared that he died a martyr to the cause of good government and the principles of human liberty. It was the overtasking of his faculties to sustain our national authorities, and to promote the efficiency and comfort of those fighting in our behalf, that caused his death. Many of the ablest of our military and naval officers had attained distinction in the Coast Survey, and during the time of their trial received constant aid from the knowledge and sagacity of its director. More than one general-in-chief looked to him for daily counsel during periods of doubt and anxiety.

Dr. Bache seems to have possessed that just appreciation of the comparative value of the objects of human desire which is given only to the exceptional man. To borrow the familiar language of one who knew him well, “ his great characteristic was his enormous common sense ” ; or, as another happily said of him, “ He was good all the way through.” There was that about him which recalled the wisdom and pleasantry of his great ancestor, Franklin. What was showy and superficial seemed rebuked in the presence of one who was so earnestly seeking the solid and the rational. Yet his heart always went out toward children, and he would romp and sport with them when the hour of relaxation came. Indeed, his sweet personal character, full of magnanimity and honor, was almost as remarkable as the untiring industry that brought forth such variety of fruit. To the majority of us who are stumbling up to wisdom as best we may, it is well to see an example so great and regenerating, a life so rich in service to our country and to mankind. And we feel peculiarly indebted to Dr. Gould for the graceful and tender manner in which he has portrayed this life for us.