GAVIT, John E., engraver, born in New York, 29 October, 1817; died in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 25 August, 1874. At an early age he went to Albany, where he engaged in steel-engraving and printing. As an engraver of bank-notes his attention was directed to the study of finance and banking in their relations to engraving, and by his inventive and mechanical talent he soon made improvements in his work. In 1-855 he assisted in organizing the American bank-note company in New York, and in 1858 united his business with that enterprise. He held the office of secretary from the time of its organization until 1866, when he was elected president, and remained in office till his death. Under his direction the company furnished bonds, banknotes, revenue-stamps for the governments and banks of Spain, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, South and Central America, as well as for the government of the United States. He took an active interest in astronomy, and aided in establishing the Dudley observatory in Albany. At the time of his death he was president of the Microscopical society of New York, and he had made numerous investigations in this branch of science.