SILLIMAN, Gold Selleck, soldier, born in Fairfield, Connecticut, 7 May, 1732; died there 21 July, 1790. His father, Judge Ebenezer Silliman (1707-'75), was graduated at Yale in 1727, and there studied theology, but turned his attention to law. In 1730 he was sent as deputy to the general assembly, and in 1739-'66 was a member of the house of assistants, after which he returned to the lower house, of which he was speaker for many years. He was annually chosen judge of the superior court of the colony, from 1743 to 1766, and held the rank of major in the 4th regiment of militia. His son, Gold, was graduated at Yale in 1752, and, after being educated as a lawyer, became attorney for the crown in Fairfield county during colonial times. He had interested himself in military affairs, and at the beginning of the Revolutionary war was colonel of cavalry in the local militia. During the greater part of the war he held the rank of brigadier-general, and was charged with the defence of the southwestern frontier of Connecticut, which, owing to the long occupation of New York city by the British, was a duty that required much vigilance. He served at the head of his regiment in the battle of Long Island, and also in that of White Plains, where he was posted in the rear-guard. In 1777 he was active in repelling the raid on Danbury. In May, 1779, a party that was sent from Lloyd's neck by Sir Henry Clinton surprised him in his own house, and for a year he remained a prisoner on parole at Flatbush and Gravesend, Long Island. Subsequently he was exchanged.--His son, Gold Selleck, lawyer, born in Fairfield, Connecticut, 26 October, 1777" died in Brooklyn, New York, 3 June, 1868, was graduated at Yale in 1796, and then studied law. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Newport, Rhode Island, where he had a large and successful business until 1815, when he came to New York city, where he engaged in commercial pursuits. On retiring from this occupation, he settled in Brooklyn, where for several years he held the office of postmaster. --Another son, Benjamin, scientist, born in North Stratford (now Trumbull), Connecticut, 8 August, 1779; died in New Haven, Connecticut, 24 November, 1864, was graduated at Yale in 1796, and, after spending a year at home, taught at Wethersfield, Connecticut In 1798 he returned to New Haven, where he began the study of law with Simeon Baldwin, and in 1799 was appointed tutor at Yale, which place he held until he was admitted to the bar in 1802. Natural science was at that time beginning to attract the attention of educators, and, at the solicitation of President Dwight, he abandoned the profession himself to science. In September, 1802, he was chosen professor of chemistry and natural history at Yale, with permission to qualify himself for teaching these branches. Procuring a list of books from Professor John MacLean (q. v.), of Princeton, he proceeded to Philadelphia, where, during two winters, he studied chemistry under Professor James Woodhouse, then professor of chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania. In 1804 he delivered a partial course of lectures on chemistry, and during the following year he gave a complete course. He went abroad in 3{arch, 1805, to procure scientific books and apparatus, and spent about a year in study in Edinburgh and London, also visiting the continent and making the acquaintance of distinguished men of science. On his return he devoted himself to the duties of his chair, which included chemistry, mineralogy, and geology, until 1853, when he was made professor emeritus, but, at the special request of his colleagues, continued his lectures on geology until 1855, when he was succeeded by his son-in-law, James D. Dana. While in Edinburgh he became interested in the discussions, then at their height, between the Wernerians and Huttonians, and attended lectures on geology; and on his return he began a study of the mineral structure of the vicinity of New Haven. About 1808 he persuaded the corporation of Yale to purchase the Cabinet of minerals of Benjamin D. Perkins, and a few years later he secured the loan of the magnificent collection of George Gibbs (q. v.), which in 1825 became the property of the college. His scientific work, which was extensive, began with the examination in 1807 of the meteor that fell near Weston, Connecticut He procured fragments, of which he made a chemical analysis, and he wrote the earliest and best authenticated account of the fall of a meteor in America. In 1811 he began an extended course of experiments with the oxy-hydric or compound blow-pipe that was invented by Robert Hare, and he succeeded in melting many of the most refractory minerals, notably those containing alkalies and alkaline earths, the greater part of which had never been reduced before. After Sir Humphry Davy's discovery of the metallic bases of the alkalies, Professor Silliman repeated the experiments and obtained for the first time in this country the metals sodium and potassium. In 1822, while engaged in a series of observations on the action of a powerful voltaic battery that he had made, similar to Dr. Hare's "deflagrator," he noticed that the charcoal points of the negative pole increased in size toward the positive pole, and, on further examination, he found that there was a corresponding cavity on the point of the latter. He inferred, therefore, that an actual transfer of the matter of the charcoal points from one to another took place, and, on careful examination, he found that the charcoal had been fused. This fact of the fusion of the carbon in the voltaic arc was long disputed in Europe, but is now universally accepted. In 1830 he explored Wyoming valley" and its coal-formations, examining about one hundred mines and localities of mines; in 1832-'3 he was engaged under a commission from the secretary of the treasury in a scientific examination on the subject of the culture and manufacture of sugar, and in 1836 he made a tour of investigation among the gold-mines of Virginia. His popular lectures began in 1808 in New Haven, where he delivered a course in chemistry. He delivered his first course in Hartford in 1834, and in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the autumn of that year. During the years that followed he lectured in Salem, Boston, New York, Baltimore, Washington, St. Louis, New Orleans, and elsewhere in the United States. In 1838 he opened the Lowell institute in Boston with a course of lectures on geology, and in the three following years he lectured there on chemistry. This series was without doubt the most brilliant of the kind that was ever delivered in this country, and its influence in developing an interest in the growing science was very great. Many of the present leaders in science trace their first inspiration to these popular expositions of Professor Silliman. Through his influence in 1830 the historical paintings of Colonel John Trumbull, and the building in which they were formerly deposited (now the college treasury), were procured for Yale. He opposed slavery in all its forms. Among the various colonies sent out from the eastern states during the Kansas troubles was one that was organized in New Haven, and, at a meeting held prior to its departure in April, 1856, the discovery was made that the party was unprovided with rifles. A subscription was proposed at once, and Professor Silli-man spoke in favor of it. This insignificant action was soon noised abroad, and, owing to the strong feeling between the partisans of slavery and those opposed to it, the matter was discussed in the United States senate. During the civil war he was a firm supporter of President Lincoln, and exerted his influence toward the abolition of slavery. The degree of M. D. was conferred on him by Bowdoin in 1818, and that of LLD. by Middlebury in 1826. Professor Silliman was chosen first president in 1840 of the American association of geologists and naturalists, which has since grown into the American association for the advancement of science, and he was one of the corporate members named by congress in the formation of the National academy of sciences in 1863. Besides his connection with other societies in this country and abroad, he was corresponding member of the Geological societies of Great Britain and France. In 1818 he founded the "American Journal of Science," which he conducted as sole editor until 1838, and as senior editor until 1846, when he transferred the journal to his son and to James D. Dana. This journal is now the oldest scientific paper ill the United States. Professor Silliman edited three editions of William Henry's " Elements of Chemistry" (Boston, 1808-'14), also three editions of Robert Bakewell's " Introduction to Geology " (New Haven, 1829, 1833, and 1839), and was the author of " Journals of Travels in England, Holland, and Scotland" (New York, 1810) ; "A Short Tour between Hartford and Quebec in the Autumn of 1819" (1820) ; "Elements of Chemistry in the Order of Lectures given in Yale College" (2 vols., New Haven, 1830-'1); "Consistency of Discoveries of Modern Geology with the Sacred History of the Creation and Deluge" (London, 1837) ; and "Narrative of a Visit to Europe in 1851 " (2 vols., 1853). He was called by Edward Everett the "Nestor of American Science." Professor Silliman was married twice. His first wife was Harriet Trumbull, the daughter of the second Governor Jonathan Trumbull. One of his daughters married Professor Oliver P. Hubbard, and another Professor James D. Dana. A bronze statue of Professor Silliman was erected on the Yale grounds in front of Farnam college in 1884. See" Life of Benjamin Silliman," by George P. Fisher (2 vols., New York, 1866).--Benjamin's son, Benjamin, chemist, born in New Haven, Connecticut, 4 December, 1816; died there, 14 January, 1885, was graduated at Yale in 1837, and at once became assistant to his father, under whom he had served in a similar capacity during the explorations in the gold region of Virginia in 1836. Some of the lectures in the departments of chemistry, mineralogy, and geology were delivered by him, and he also devoted himself assiduously to the acquirement of a special knowledge of chemistry. In 1842 he fitted up at his own expense an apartment in the old laboratory of the college, where he received private pupils, notably John P. Norton and T. Sterry Hunt, and there he likewise conducted his earliest scientific researches. In 1846 he urged upon the corporation of Yale the foundation of a department for the study of advanced science, and in consequence the School of applied chemistry was organized, with himself as its professor of chemistry, without salary. The movement was successful, and in 1847 the Yale scientific school was formed on the basis of this beginning, which, since 1860, in recognition of the gifts of Joseph E. Sheffield, has borne his name. Professor Silliman continued a member of the faculty of the scientific school until 1869, except during the years 1849-'54, when he held the chair of medical chemistry and toxicology in the medical department of the University of Louisville, Kentucky In 1854 he was called to give instruction in the academic and medical departments of Yale, in consequence of the resignation of the elder Silliman. He held the chair of general and applied chemistry in the college until 1870, but retained the appointment in the medical department until his death. On the invitation of citizens of New Orleans, he delivered in 1845-'6 what is believed to have been the first series of lectures on agricultural chemistry in the United States, and subsequently he gave popular lectures on scientific topics throughout the country. Professor Silliman was a member of the common council of New Haven in 1845-'9, and one of the trustees of the Peabody museum of natural history. His sol-entitle work included many investigations in mineralogy, at first chiefly from the chemical side, in-eluding researches on meteorites as well as studies in geology and physical optics. Later he turned his attention more to applied science, including the examination of mines and the preparation of reports on questions connected with the chemical arts and manufactures: and he frequently appeared as an expert in the courts. In 1869 Professor Silliman became one of the state chemists of Connecticut, and in that capacity was employed as a scientific witness in the courts. The collection of minerals that he accumulated during his expeditions over the country was sold in 1868 to Cornell university, where it bears the name of the Silliman cabinet. The mineralogical collections of Yale are indebted to him for various gifts, and, through his personal solicitation of funds, the Baron Lederer collection was secured in 1843 for the college. The honorary degree of M.D. was conferred on him by the University of South Carolina in 1849, and that of LL.D. by Jefferson medical college in 1884. Professor Silliman was a member of many scientific societies, and was secretary of the American association of geologists and naturalists in 1843-'4. He was named as one of the original members of the National academy of sciences by act of congress in 1863, and served on several of its most important committees, notably that appointed in 1882 to report on the use of sorghum as a source of sugar. Professor Silliman had charge of the chemical, mineralogical, and geological departments of the World's fair that was held in New York during 1853, and at that time edited with Charles R. Goodrich " World of Science, Art, and Industry" (New York, 1853), and "The Progress of Science and Mechanism " (1854), in which the chief results of the great exhibition were recorded. In 1838-'45 Professor Silliman became associated in the editorship of the " American Journal of Science," and with James D. Dana he was its editor from the latter year until his death. His scientific papers were nearly one hundred in number, of which over fifty were published in the " American Journal of Science," and they cover a wide range of topics. In addition, he published "First Principles of Chemistry" (Philadelphia, 1846; revised ed., 1856), of which more than 50,000 copies were sold; "Principles of Physics" (1858; revised ed., 1868) ; and "American Contributions to Chemistry." (1875).--The second Gold Selleck's son, Benjamin Douglas, lawyer, born in Newport, Rhode Island, 14 September, 1805, was graduated at Yale in 1824, and then studied law with James Kent and his son, William Kent, until 1829, when he was admitted to the bar. He opened an office in New York during that year, and has since been steadily engaged in the practice of his profession in that city, with his residence in Brooklyn. He has often served as a delegate from Kings county to National and state conventions of the Whig and Republican parties, including the one at Harrisburg in 1839, at which William Henry Harrison was nominated for the presidency. He was elected to the legislature in 1838, and was nominated by the Whigs for congress in 1843, but failed of election, although he led the ticket of his party at the polls. In 1852 he received, but declined, the Whig nomination for the state senate. During the civil war he was an earnest supporter of the government, and in March, 1865, he was appointed by President Lincoln United States attorney for the eastern district of New York. He held this office until September, 1866, and during that time argued in behalf of the government important questions that grew out of the civil war. In 1872 he was a member of the commission for revising the constitution of the state, and, as a chairman of one committee and a member of others, took an active part in the proceedings of that body. He was nominated in 1873 by the Republican party as their candidate for the office of attorney-general of New York, but failed of election. Tile degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Columbia in 1873, and by Yale in 1874. During his career in the state legislature he introduced the charter of Greenwood cemetery, and he is a trustee of that corporation. He has long been connected with the Long Island historical society, of which he is a director, and for more than twenty years he has been president of the Brooklyn club. Mr. Silliman was president of the New England society of Brooklyn from its beginning until 1876, when he declined a re-election, and is president of the Yale alumni association of Long Island. He was one of the founders of the New York bar association, one of its vice-presidents, and a trustee of various charitable and benevolent associations. --Benjamin Douglas's brother, Augustus Ely, financier, born in Newport, Rhode Island, 11 April, 1807; died in Brooklyn, New York, 30 May, 1884, early entered commercial life and became connected with the Merchants' bank of New York. He was its president from 1857 until 1868, when failing health compelled his retirement from active business. He took part in the establishment of the Clearing house association in 1853, and was one of the committee that during the first six years of its existence directed its proceedings. Mr. Silliman was a member of the Long Island historical society, and was in 1840-'1 president of the New York mercantile library association. He published "A Gallop among American Scenery, or Sketches of American Scenes and Military Adventure" (New York, 1843; enlarged ed., 1881), and translated from the French "Fenelon's Conversations with M. de Ramsai on the Truth of Religion, with his Letters on the Immortality of the Soul and the Freedom of the Will" (1869). In honor of the memory of his mother he bequeathed to Yale university nearly $100,000 for the foundation of an annual series of lectures in that university," the general tendency of which may be such as will illustrate the presence and wisdom of God as manifested in the natural and moral world."