Davids, Thomas

WILLIAM RHYS, a British Orientalist, was born at Col chester, Eng., May 12, 1843. He studied at the University of Breslau; subsequently entered the civil service in Ceylon, and while a resident of that colony held various judicial appointments. In 1877 ho was called to the bar at the Middle Temple. He is the author of Buddhism; Translation of the Fausbill Collection of Buddhist Birth - Stories ; Hibbert Lectures ; and has translated from the Pali parts of the Jataki , besides various papers on Buddhistic, Jain and Pali subjects. Da'vids on, GEORGE, A.M., Ph.D., astronomer, born in Nottingham, Eng., May 9, 1825. He came to the U. S. in childhood, and attended the Central High School of Philadelphia, graduating in 1845; joined the U. S. Coast Survey. Among his duties was that of chief engineer of an expedition for the survey of a ship-canal route acro the Isthmus of Darien. He also reported upon the products of Alaska, ., and made a geographical reconnoi ance of its coast in 1867. In 1874 he was the conductor of the U. S. transit-of-Venus party to Japan. He travelled in China, India, Egypt, and Europe, for the purposes of scientific study, and besides other important work, took charge of the telegraph longitude work, and of the main triangulation and astronomical party carrying the geodetic work acro the continent. From 1877-84 was regent of the University of California, and has been President of the California Academy of Sciences since 1874. He is the author of numerous works on harbor and river improvements, transit instruments and observations, irrigation, and many communications in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Davidson, SAMUEL, D.D., LL.D., an eminent theologian and biblical critic, born near Bally men a, Ireland, in 1807. Studied at the Royal College, Belfast, giving special attention to philosophy and biblical literature. After his ordination as a Presbyterian divine, he accepted the profe orship of Literature and Biblical Criticism in the college at Belfast. A change having taken place in his views with regard to church government, he responded to the call of the Lancashire Independent College to occupy the chair of Biblical Literature and the Oriental Languages. This position he afterward resigned on account of the opposition against him that was raised by his work, The Text of the Old Testament and the Interpretation of the Bible , which was published in 1856. The cause of complaint was a too free treatment of the Scriptures. One of his latest works is The Doctrine of Last Things Contained in the New Testament, Compared with the Notions of the Jews and the Statement of the Church Creeds.