for the sake of the Science of Zoology and of my successors." In the letter Alcock wrote that Zoology was "a branch of pure science pregnant with human interest", important to the state "in matters of education, in matters agricultural and veterinary, and in the vital matter of public health." He suggested the establishment of "an Indian Zoological Survey" with a museum and laboratory administered by zoologists along the lines of the Geological and Botanical Surveys. He was asked to withdraw his resignation and rejoin with promises of reform at the Indian Museum, however he wrote that "I stuck to my resolve that if the position at the Indian Museum was to be improved by my efforts no cynical potentate at Simla should ever say that I had got it altered for my own benefit." Back in London he made acquaintance with Sir Patrick Manson, who he had known since student days. He began to work on tropical medicine at the School of Tropical Medicine at the Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital, Albert Dock. Alcock was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1901. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in the 1903 Durbar Honours, and received the Barclay Medal from the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1907. In 1897 he married Margaret Forbes Cornwall, of Aberdeen. Achievements Alcock was primarily a systematist, describing a wide range of species. He worked on aspects of biology and physiology of fishes, their distributions, evolution and behaviour. Some of his works were published in "Zoological Gleanings from the R.I.M.S. ' Investigator,' " published in " Scientific Memoirs by Medical Officers of the Army of India," Part XII, Simla, 1901. He worked on Fishes, Decapod Crustacea, and Deep Sea Madreporarian Corals. He published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Annals and Magazine of Natural History as well as catalogues published by the Indian Museum. His "Illustrations of the Zoology of the R.I.M.S. ' Investigator,' ", a series with illustrations by Indian artists (mainly A. C. Chowdhary and S. C. Mondul) has been considered as exceptional in beauty and accuracy. Alcock's school education of classics and literature led him to write in a Victorian literary style. He specialized in medical entomology, wrote a textbook "Entomology for Medical Officers " (1st edition 1911, 2nd 1920), and worked on a biography of Sir Patrick Manson. In