of Zoology and continued in that capacity until 1931. From 1931 to 1935 he was Dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences. While researching at the University of Chicago, Lillie also became active in the administration of the MBL. Lillie became assistant director of the laboratory in 1900. In 1902, Lillie was able to convince representatives from the Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, General Education Board, and brother-in-law Charles Richard Crane to provide the institution with financial support. After Whitman retired in 1908 to chair the zoology department, Lillie took his place as the director of the laboratory. He held this position until 1925, when he was appointed the president of the MBL board of trustees. Lillie oversaw the board until his retirement in 1942. Ernest Everett Just studied under Lillie from 1909 to 1930. He is credited with transforming the institution from a summer retreat to a long-term research institution. At a 1925 meeting of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Lillie suggested that a committee be formed to begin a national oceanography organization. The NAS agreed if Lillie could raise funds for its establishment. With a $3 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Lillie was able to establish the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1930. He was named its first president and served in this role until 1939. Lillie was awarded the Alexander Agassiz Medal by the NAS in 1940 for his efforts. The American Society of Zoologists named Lillie the organization's representative to the United States National Research Council (NRC) Division of Biology and Agriculture in 1919. Three years later, he was named the chair of the division. From 1935 to 1939 he was served as President of the NAS. From 1935 to 1936, he was also Chairman of the NRC. Lillie served on the fellowship board of the latter institution for several years after his term expired. Lillie had four daughters and adopted three sons. He died in Chicago on November 5, 1947. A building on the MBL campus is named after Lillie. On May 11, 1976, the National Park Service recognized Lillie's house in Chicago as a National Historic Landmark. Research Embryology was still a relatively new field when Lillie began his studies. In 1901, Lillie published his first major work on the subject. After exposing eggs to abnormal concentrations of potassium, Lillie noted that unsegmented eggs underwent cellular differentiation in the