n any branch of science, during the two preceding years; and in
1819, Dr. Brewster received from the Royal Society the Rumford gold and
silver medals, for his discoveries on the Polarization of Light. In 1816
he invented the Kaleidoscope, the patent-right of which was evaded, so
that the inventor gained little beyond fame, though the large sale of the
instrument must have produced considerable profit. In 1819, in
conjunction with Dr. Jameson, he established the "_Edinburgh
Philosophical Journal_"; and subsequently he commenced the "_Edinburgh
Journal of Science_," of which sixteen volumes appeared. In 1825, the
Institute of France elected him a Corresponding Member; and he has
received the same honor from the Royal Academies of Russia, Prussia,
Sweden, and Denmark. In 1831, he received the Decoration of the
Hanoverian Guelphic Order; and in the following year, the honor of
Knighthood from William the Fourth.

Sir David Brewster has edited and written various works, besides
contributing largely to the _Edinburgh Review_, the _Transactions of the
British Association_, and other scientific societies, and the _North
British Review_. Among his more popular works are "A Treatise on the
Kaleidoscope;" an original Treatise on Optics for the _Cabinet
Cyclopaedia;_ and Letters on Natural Magic and a Life of Sir Isaac Newton
for the "Family Library." The latter work has been translated into
German.

Sir David Brewster is likewise one of the editors of the _London and
Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine_.

The discoveries of Sir David Brewster range from the kaleidoscope to the
law of the angle of polarization, the physical laws of metallic
reflection, and the optical properties of crystals; and the venerable
philosopher is the author of an immense number of facts and practical
applications in every branch of optics.

* * * * *

The AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION assembled this year at New Haven, and
Was presided over by Alex. D. Bache, LL. D. of the Coast Survey. It was
attended by many of the most eminent men of science in this country,
among whom were President Woolsey, Professor Denison Olmsted, the elder
and the younger Silliman, E. C. Herrick, and E. Loomis, of Yale College;
Professors Louis Agassiz, E. N. Hosford and Benjamin Pierce of Harvard
University; Lieutenant Charles H. Davis, U. S. N.; Professor O. M.
Mitchell, Superintendent of the Cincinnati Observatory; Dr. A. L. Elwyn
of Philadel