Dr. Frank Parkhurst Brackett, the last member of the original faculty of Pomona College when it was founded in 1888, passed away on September 3, 1951, in his eighty-seventh year. Because of his rare genius for teaching, his love of scientific research, and his passion for the maintenance of high scholastic standards, Pomona College owes much of her academic distinction to his guiding spirit. The high regard in which he was continually held by all who knew him is well exemplified in the Frank P. Brackett Observatory of Pomona College, which was built over the years from gifts, both large and small, of a great company of admiring alumni and friends. The first observatory building, which he designed, was dedicated in 1909 and the latest in 1950, sixteen years after his retirement from active teaching. Dr. Brackett was not only an outstanding educator but also a scholar, mathematician, musician, historian, and astronomer. He was the author of several books, among which are A History of the San Jose Rancho and Granite and Sagebrush, a reminiscent history of Pomona College. A member and fellow of many scientific societies, he was also active in civic, national, and international affairs, having served as secretary of the local district exemption board during the first World War and also as a member of the Commission for Relief in Belgium under Herbert Hoover. Frank Parkhurst Brackett was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts, June 16, 1865, of sturdy New England stock. He worked his way through Dartmouth College, doing odd jobs and teaching between semesters, and was graduated in 1887 with high scholastic honors, including Phi Beta Kappa. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Dartmouth in 1890 and her honorary Doctor of Science degree on the fortieth reunion of his class in 1927. In 1947, Pomona College awarded him another Doctor of Science degree on the sixtieth anniversary of her founding, an event in which he had played so prominent a role.