the Geological Survey his important essay On the Connection between the distribution of the existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles, and the Geological Changes which have affected their Area, especially during the epoch of the Northern Drift. In this essay, Forbes divided the plants of Great Britain into five geographic groups and compared them to other regions in Europe: The West and Southwest Irish group, related to flora from Northern Spain The Southeast Irish and Southwest English group, related to flora of the Channel Islands and nearby coastal France The Southeast English group, characterized by species from the Northern French coast The mountain summits group, related to Scandinavian flora A general or Germanic flora group Forbes theorized that the majority of British terrestrial animals and flowering plants migrated there over land bridges before, during and after the ice age. His theory was later discredited. (see C Reid's Origin of the British Flora, 1899). In 1851 Forbes was professor of natural history to the Royal School of Mines. T. H. Huxley Forbes served as an important mentor to the young biologist Thomas Henry Huxley. During Huxley's 1846 to 1850 voyage on to Northern Australia, Huxley relayed news of his discoveries back to Forbes in the United Kingdom, who then published them. Forbes provided Huxley with introductions to influential people, wrote a favorable review of Huxley's work, and helped his admission to the Royal Society (FRS) at age 26. Illustrations Forbes's scientific illustrations have been said to be anthropomorphic, often just hiding a human form even when depicting an invertebrate. Final years In 1853 Forbes became president of the Geological Society of London. In 1854, he was appointed professor of natural history at the University of Edinburgh, a long sought goal. During his later years, Forbes found more time in between lecturing and writing to order his stores of biological information. In the summer of 1854, Forbes lectured at Edinburgh and in September served as president of the geological section at the Liverpool meeting of the British Science Association. He served briefly as Professor of Natural History in succession to Prof Robert Jameson. In November 1854, soon after the start of winter classes at Edinburgh, Forbes became ill. He died at Wardie Parish, near Edinburgh, on 18 November 1854. He was interred at the Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. In 1859, a former student of Forbes; James Hector dedicated Mount Forbes