130 years ago today - June 17, 1891

[James E. Talmage]

Talmage attends the Annual Meeting of the Microscopical Society of London. To his surprise, Talmage is called upon to address the assembly. In his biography John R. Talmage summarizes the event:

[Talmage Story, ch. 11] [Talmage] expected merely to be recognized as a new member, but found himself called upon to address the gathering. He did so, discussing "the scientific wealth yet unmined in the land of my home," with special emphasis on the Great Salt Lake. Professor Talmage's microscopic slides of the artemis fertilis (brine shrimp) and oolitic (spherical) sand were viewed with interest as were the live shrimp which had escaped the greedy gulping of the customs official. The horned lizards had their moment in the limelight, and later found a permanent home in the zoological gardens of Regent's Park and the South Kensington Natural History Museum, a branch of the British Museum. In his room that night after the Society's meeting was over, James reviewed in his mind the impressive event, and returned thanks to the Lord for the privilege he had been accorded in attending, "I regard the occurrences of this night as very significant," [Talmage] wrote in his journal, "not because I have gained recognition in so august a society, but because a representative of the Latter-day Saint Church-one of the despised 'Mormons'-has been so received."

[Chronology of the Life and Work of James E. Talmage, J. Trevor Antley, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MJsHY83JZL_n6CjWq11y1trT_CVXMMXAx2uYOWAwn0c/edit#heading=h.2zfdaoa]