CLASS OF 1861

Dr. Lycortas Brewer Hall died at his home in Swarthmore, Pa., April 3, of cystitis, following an attack of grippe.

The second son of Alfred and Catherine A. (Morgan) Hall, he was born in Windsor, Vt., September 30, 1839, and graduated from the high school of his native town. At his father's desire he remained on the home farm for two years after leaving school, but finding that his physical strength was not equal to the demands of a farmer's life and that his inclinations led in other directions, he entered the Chandler School at Dartmouth. There he was a member of the Phi Zeta Mu fraternity (now Sigma Chi.)

For two years after graduation he remained in Hanover as a resident graduate, pursuing studies in architecture and teaching mathematics in the Chandler School. He then turned his attention to chemistry, and became instructor in that subject, and in 1866 associate professor. Before assuming these duties he went abroad, and pursued further chemical studies in France, bringing home some apparatus for the College. In 1868 he was promoted to the professorship of chemistry and natural history, which he resigned in 1871. He then went to Philadelphia to pursue the study of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his medical degree in May, 1873.

He began practice in Philadelphia at once, and in that year became surgeon and attending physician in the Northern Dispensary for the Medical Relief of the Poor, serving in that capacity for three years. In 1886 he again entered the Dispensary as head of the eye department, and continued in that position until his death. During all his professional life he was much engaged in microscopic work, becoming a member of the biological section of the Academy of Natural Sciences. He made many excursions far and wide into the surrounding country, taking much delight in the accumulation and mounting of specimens. The collection of fresh water shells also interested him greatly. Owing to his recognized ability as a microscopist, he was called upon to make microscopic examinations in several noted murder cases.

The incessant toil consequent upon general practice proved too great a tax upon his physical strength, and he began the special study of the eye and ear, carrying this on for eight years, after which he discontinued general practice and devoted himself to his specialty, in which he was very successful. About 1878 he was appointed one of several specialists to examine the eyes of pupils in the High and Normal Schools of the city.

In 1899 he removed his home to the suburb of Ardmore, and the following year to Swarthmore, retaining his office in the city.

Dr. Hall's religious life was one of unusual devotion and faithfulness from his early days. Early in his medical career he sought an appointment abroad as medical missionary, but at that time this branch of the work had not been developed, and he was disappointed in his hope. For many years he was a deacon in the First Presbyterian church of Philadelphia, devoting much time to labor among its poor, and here, as in the Greenhill Presbyterian church, he taught large classes in the Sunday school.

In August, 1888, Dr. Hall was married to Anna Madeleine, daughter of Robert L. M. and Ella V. (Thibault) Camden, who survives him. Five children were born of this union, Alfred C., Robert C., Loui B., John M., and Anna M., all of whom are now living.