JOHN COMYN (d. 1306), called the "red Comyn," was a grand son of the justiciar. Like Badenoch, his father, he assisted Baliol against Edward I., and was for some time a hostage in England. Having been made guardian of Scotland after the battle of Falkirk (1298) he led the resistance to the English king for about five years, and then early in 1304 surrendered. He is remembered for his quarrel with Robert the Bruce. The pair met at Dumfries in Jan. 1306; during a heated altercation charges of treachery were made, and Comyn was stabbed to death either by Bruce or by his followers.
Another member of the Comyn family active in Scottish affairs during these troubled times is JOHN COMYN, earl of Buchan (d. c. 1313). This earl, a son of Earl Alexander, was constable of Scot land, and was first an ally and then an enemy of Robert the Bruce. CONACRE, in Ireland, a system of letting land, mostly in small patches, and usually for the growth of potatoes as a kind of return instead of wages. It is now practically obsolete. CONANT, JAMES BRYANT ), American educator, was born in Boston, Mass. March 26, 1893. He re ceived both his A.B. and Ph.D (1916) degrees from Harvard University, and, after spending a year in the research division of the Chemical Warfare Service, returned to Harvard University as an instructor in chemistry. He was advanced in rank until he be came professor of organic chemistry in 1929 and chairman of the department in 1931. On May 8, 1933 he was elected president of Harvard University to succeed A. Lawrence Lowell. He was recognized as one of the more brilliant of the younger organic chemists of the country by the award to him in 1932 of the Chandler Medal. Later in the same year he received the Nichols Medal of the American Chemical Society, in recognition of his researches into the chemical structure of chlorophyll. His re search has also included work in reduction and oxidation proc esses, free radicals, and the quantitative study of organic reac tions. His publications include papers in scientific journals, and textbooks.