Dr. Charles Kasson Wead, who died at St.
 Joseph's Infirmary on April 1, was for many 
years a resident of Ann Arbor, having been profes
sor of physics from 1877 to 1885, and making his 
home here since his retirement from the government 
service in 1921. He was born at Malone, N. Y., on 
Sept. 1, 1848. He graduated from the University 
of Vermont in 1871; the same year that President 
Angell left Burlington to come to Ann Arbor. He
 married in 1879 the daughter of President Calvin 
Pease of the University of Vermont. After leaving 
college he studied at Berlin and elsewhere in 
Europe. He retired from teaching to engage in
 business in 1886, and in 1892 became an "examiner" 
in the U. S. Patent Office in Washington where he
 remained until coming here to live in 1921.

Mr. Wead always retained his interest in science. He was a member of various scientific societies, and published several books and numerous
 articles on various phases of physics. In 1909 he 
was president of the Philosophical Society of
 Washington, and for many years he was one of its
 most active members. He was also a well known
 member of the celebrated Cosmos Club of Washington, where he could regularly be found on Monday 
evenings, the time at which members made a point
 of being present. His great interest in acoustics 
led him into many by-paths of scientific knowledge, 
 especially to studies of the physical basis of musical 
instruments. He was an authority on the physics
 of organs and greatly interested in their construc
tion. His familiarity with out of the way books
 and journals was extraordinary, and few scientific 
topics were unfamiliar to him. 


Professor Wead is survived by two daughters, 
 Miss M. Eunice Wead, Assistant Custodian of the 
William L. Clements Library of American History
 of the University, and Miss Katharine Wead, Libra
rian of the South High School of Pittsburgh, Pa.