Albert James Meyer

   Death of "Old Probabilities."
 General Albert J. Meyer, Chief
of the Signal Corps of the United
States, died at his home in Buffalo
yesterday morning, the immediate
cause of death being Bright's dis-
ease, together with chronic heart
disease, from which he has suffered
for some years. His health has been
poor for several months past and
his disease doubtless was aggravated
by severe work at Washington, and
at length he broke down entirely.
His family were sent to their country
residence at Lake View, near Buffa-
lo, and Mrs. Meyer remained with
the general at Washington. He
soon after came to Buffalo for rest.
He passed away peacefully, sur-
rounded by his family, consisting of
a wife and six children.
 The Syracuse Standard contains
the following summary of his life:
Gen. Meyer was born at Newburgh,
in this State, September 20, 1828.
He graduated at Geneva Medical
College in 1847. He also took the
degree of M.D. at Buffalo in 1851.
He was appointed assistant surgeon
in the United States army three
years later. In 1860 he was made
chief signal officer in the army, in
which capacity he served in New
Mexico and the Rocky mountains
until May, 1861. He soon was
made signal officer on Gen. Butler's
staff at Fortress Monroe and after-
ward of Gen. McClellan's. He
participated in nearly all the en-
gagements of the campaign on the
Peninsula. He was honored with
rapid military promotions until he
was brevetted Brigadier-General for
distinguished service in 1864.
 In 1866 he was made chief signal 
officer in the army, and introduced a
course of study of signals at the Mili-
tary Academy at West Point and at
the Annapolis Naval Academy. Ten
years ago he was assigned, by virtue
of an act of Congress, to the duties
which won him the title of "Old
Probabilities," being charged with
weather observations to be made in
different portions of the United
States and giving notice by tele-
graph of the approach of storms, and
other weather probabilities.
 He was authorized to establish
signal staions at light-houses and
life-saving stations by an act of
March 3, 1873. He was in the
same year, a delegate to the Inter-
national Meteorology Congress at
Vienna.