T. Sterry Hunt, Ll. D., F. R. S.

It is a trite saying that there is always room at the top, for while the lower ranks of life are crowded, comparatively few have the ambition and the energy to climb to the heights in connection with business or professional interests. Recognizing and utilizing his opportunities and wisely employing his time and talents, T. Sterry Hunt became recognized as one of the eminent Canadian scientists, his ability winning for him the unusual honor of being made a fellow of the Royal Society of London. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, September 5, 1826, a representative of an old New England family. It was his parents’ desire that he should become a representative of the medical profession, but a strong inclination toward the study of chemistry, mineralogy and geology prevented him from becoming a physician. In 1845 he pursued his studies under Professor Benjamin Silliman of Yale University and later became his assistant. His constantly expanding powers marked him a man above the ordinary and distinguished honors came to him as the years passed. As early as 1846 the result of his original research work was published in an article which he wrote for the American Journal of Science. When the Geological Survey of Canada, then recently organized by Mr. (later Sir) William E. Logan, required the service of a competent chemist and mineralogist, Mr. Logan applied to Professor Silliman to supply the man and Mr. Hunt was recommended for the position, which he accepted early in 1847. His connection with the survey continued until 1872, when, much against the wish of the government, he resigned. His work embraced a large amount of field geology. The most difficult problems presented by the geological formation of Canada are those of its crystalline rocks. To this study Mr. Hunt addressed himself from the beginning and made the first clear exposition ever presented of the earlier rocks of the country. He afterward gave the names of Laurentian and Huronian to these rocks and in his investigations, analyses and scientific research laid the foundation of what he regarded as his life work. He also gave constant attention to the economic and practical departments of the survey and was the first to make known the deposits of phosphate of lime in Canada and call attention to its commercial value for fertilizing purposes, collecting and sending specimens of the same to the foreign exhibits of 1851, 1855 and 1867. He analyzed soils, investigated the petroleums of Canada and their distribution, and his studies of the mineral waters of the Dominion were the first and most complete ever made. His work in many respects constituted the foundation, basis and stimulus of all later investigation.

During his connection with the survey work Mr. Hunt took part in the great exhibitions of 1856 and 1867, acting as judge at both, while his services in a similar connection were sought at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. His fame was world-wide as the result of his investigations and researches were made known, for he took the lead in much pioneer geological work on the North American continent.

From 1856 until 1862 Dr. Hunt was professor of chemistry at Laval University in Quebec and was continued as one of its honorary professors until his death. His annual course of instruction there comprised forty lectures in the French language and for some years he was also lecturer at McGill University. In 1872 he accepted the chair of geology in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, there remaining until 1878, when he resigned in order to concentrate his efforts upon further study and professional work. His scientific attainments have gained him recognition both on the American and European continents. Harvard University created him Master of Arts in 1852 and from Laval and McGill Universities he received the degree of Doctor of Science. In 1881 he had the unusual honor of receiving the degree of Doctor of Laws from Cambridge University of England, and in special recognition of his eminence as a geologist he was created a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1859. In 1874 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences of the United States and in 1882 he was one of those called upon by the Marquis of Lorne to aid in the organization of the New Royal Society of Canada, becoming that year chief of the section of physical and mathematical sciences. In 1884 he was elected its president. Thus year after year honors were conferred upon him—honors well merited yet worn with becoming modesty. He was one of the founders of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at Philadelphia and in 1870 was elected to its presidency. He was also an early member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers and was its president in 1877, while in 1880 he became the founder and president of the American Chemical Society. Among the decorations conferred upon him was that of the Legion of Honor, bestowed by Napoleon III, and the cross of St. Mauritius and St. Lazarus from the king of Italy. He contributed much to scientific literature and was a well known lecturer on scientific subjects. He frequently went abroad for study, spending much time in that way in Great Britain, Switzerland and Italy. A chemical green ink which he invented in 1859 was the cause of giving the name of greenbacks to American currency. His explorations on the American continent had extended from the Gulf of St. Lawrence southward to the Gulf of Mexico and westward to the Pacific.

In January, 1878, Dr. Hunt was married to Miss Anna Rebecca Gale, the eldest daughter of Justice Samuel Gale of Montreal, who was judge of the court of queen’s bench for Lower Canada. His wife was Mary M. Hawley, who was born in Montreal and was educated in this city and abroad. One of their daughters became the Baroness von Friesen, of Dresden. After the death of the father in 1865, Mrs. Hunt traveled extensively in Europe in company with her two sisters. She is the author of one or two volumes of poems of considerable merit, so that her name, like her husband’s, is known in literary circles. Dr. Hunt passed away in February, 1892. His contribution to the world’s work was a valuable one. His investigation, research and native intelligence constituted the key which unlocked for us many of the portals beyond which lay nature’s mysteries. The earth and its construction were largely to him an open book and he made it a readable volume for others, placing his investigations before mankind in a way that has constituted the foundation for further research.