The boyhood life of the late Reverend James Bernard Macelwane, S. J., was similar to that of many other boys who lived in the vicinity of Sandusky Bay, Ohio, off Lake Erie. Born on September 28, 1883, he was brought up with his four brothers and three sisters in a six-room one-story house on the northern shore of the Bay. Being the oldest boy in the family, he early learned to do the chores connected with the care of domestic animals, to help in the garden, on the farm, and in the fishing business.

When the work at home was light, he with others in the neighborhood attended the public school to which he walked for a distance of about a mile and one-half. In the fall of 1901 he entered the freshman class of St. John's High School in Toledo, Ohio. By the end of the year he had not only completed the classwork of the freshmen and of the sophmores, but won the gold medal as the best student in his class.

He was nineteen years of age when he completed his junior year of high school. His thoughts now turned to the future. Uppermost in his mind was the career of a missionary. In August, 1903, he was admitted to the Buffalo Mission of the Jesuit Order. The novitiate of this Mission was in Cleveland, Ohio. Here, after two years, he took his vows as a religious and then entered upon a two-year program of studies in the humanities. He was particularly fond of Latin and Greek.

After teaching one year at the St. John's High School in Toledo, and after studying philosophy and science for three years, he taught physics at Saint Louis University from 1912-1915. With the completion of several years of studies in theology, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1918.

Father Macelwane's first interest in seismology was aroused in 1909 when an 80 kilogram Wiechert seismograph was installed at Saint Louis University. In 1911 he as coauthor published an article entitled "Physics of the Seismograph." This was the first of his 133 articles which were to appear in various learned journals in his lifetime.

Because of his fine ability in the natural sciences his superiors advised him to take up studies for the doctorate at the University of California in Berkeley. Here he took the Ph.D. in 1923. Physics was his major, geology and mathematics constituted his minors. His dissertation was in seismology.

He stayed on at the University of California for two more years as Assistant Professor of Geology. During these two years he organized graduate studies in geophysics and had charge of the University seismographic stations at Berkeley and at Lick Observatory on Mount Wilson.

In 1925 he returned to Saint Louis University to be the first Director of the new Department of Geophysics. He remained the Director until his death.

Shortly after his return to Saint Louis he added to the facilities of the seismological observatory. In 1927 the seismic vault in the University Gymnasium was completed and equipped with Wood-Anderson seismographs. The following year the Florissant vault, located seventeen miles northwest of the University, was set in operation with three Galitzin-Wilip and two Wood-Anderson seismographs. In 1930 and 1938 with the aid of a grant from the National Research Council he had seismograph stations set up at St. John's Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas, and at the Southeast Missouri State Teachers College in Cape Girardeau. The institutions furnished the housing and took care of the daily changing of records while Saint Louis University provided the instruments, photographic paper, supplies, and the general over-all care of the stations.

Father Macelwane was instrumental in organizing in 1925 the Jesuit Seismological Association. Elected as its first President, he held this office by continual annual elections until his death. His support was also very helpful in setting up the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America.

In addition to his work in seismology, he was involved in many university appointments. From 1927 to 1933 he was Dean of the Graduate School and in 1944 he established the Institute of Technology and was appointed its first Dean. He wrote several books, was a member of the University Board of Trustees, served on many faculty and administrative committees, and found time to teach a least one and often two classes per semester.

His services were constantly sought outside the University. In 1947 he was appointed to the Research and Development Board of the Department of Defense. Two years later he became a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the United States Air Force; in 1952 an appointment placed him on the Committee on Institutional Research Policy of the American Council on Education. President Eisenhower appointed him a member of the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation. He looked ahead with enthusiasm to the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958; in this connection he was Chairman of the United States Technical Panel on Seismology and Gravity.

His active membership in over twenty-five learned and professional societies brought him into official capacities in many of these organizations.

The excellence of his scholarly attainments is indicated by the many honors which came to him for his unusual research achievements in the field of seismology and geophysics in general. In 1948 the American Geophysical Union William Bowie Medal was bestowed on him. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, received four honorary degrees, and was given posthumously the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers Jackling Award.

After he returned in 1925 from his four-year stay at the University of California, he remained until his death at Saint Louis University. His life in the Jesuit community was characterized by his friendly cheerfulness and simplicity. All knew and thought of him as the friendly "Father Mac" and only upon reflection were his colleagues and many friends aware of the fact that he was a scientist of great renown.

His many achievements were made possible by an incredible capacity for hard work, great patience, and ability to relax and not to worry about the most vexing problems. Although he worked until late hours of the night, he arose promptly at five o'clock in the morning. By eight he was already in his office deeply engrossed in the day's work. After lunch he read the newspaper. He kept himself well informed on local as well as national and international events and trends. Certain sections of the comic sheets were of delightful interest to him. However busy, he managed to converse for an hour or so with his university religious brethren assembled in the community room after dinner in the evening. Thereafter he returned to his private room for prayer and then to his office to work into the quiet hours of the night.

Until the year before his health was excellent. His endurance, whether in his office, in the research laboratory, or while geologizing in the Colorado Rockies, was remarkable. But a change came over him in the autumn of 1954. He appeared tired and the usual sprightliness of his step disappeared. General fatigue and elusive intestinal disturbances finally led the doctors to hospitalize him in November, 1955. An exploratory operation on December 19 revealed acute necrosis of the liver and subsequent evidence also showed serious impairment of the kidneys. While suffering little pain in his last illness, he impressed all by his patience and good humor during the many weeks of hospital inconveniences. Death came peacefully on February 15, 1956.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JAMES BERNARD MACELWANE, S. J., Victor J. Blum, S. J., Earthquake Notes, vol. 27, 1956, pp. 9-11, Eastern Section, Seismological Society of America.

Further reading: History of the Department, Geosciences, Saint Louis University, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.