DE LA BECHE, Sir HENRY THOMAS, a well-known geologist, was b. near London in 1796. He was educated at the military school at Great Marlow, and entered the army in 1814. Three years after, lie became a fellow- of the geological society, of which Inc was afterwards made secretary. and eventually president in 1847. In 1820, while residing in Switzerland, he published a paper, On the temperature and Depth of the Lake of Geneva. Shortly after, he returned to England; and in 1823, in conjunction with the Rev. Mr. Conybcare, he issued a paper, On the Discovery of a New Fossil forming a Link between the ichthyosaurus and the Crocodile. This was the plesiosaurus. In 1824, De in B. visited Jamaica, where he possessed some property, and while there he devoted himself to the geology of the country, and in two years published a paper on that subject. On his return to England, he wrote a variety of scientific papers, among which are the following: On the .a7caration of Valltys, On the Geographical Distrit'utton
of Organic Remains, and his Geological Manual (1881), which met with a very cordial reception. He now undertook to form a geological map of England, in which the various formations should be distinctly marked. Shortly after he had begun, the gov ernment, sympathizing with his design, instituted the geological survey, and placed him at its head. In 1848, De In B. received the honor of knighthood; in 1851, he published the Geological Observer, with upwards of 300 wood-cuts; and in 1853, was elected a cor responding member of the academy of sciences of Paris. He continued to discharge the. duties of his position until within two days of his death, which took place on the 11th of April, 1855.