of Chicago, which had been destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The oldest of three children who lived past childhood, George received strong encouragement from his father, who supported the boy's active mind and curiosity, and his mother, who inculcated in him a love of poetry and literature.

He spent his youth fascinated by the books and machinery given to him by his parents--one of his most prized possessions was a small microscope. With his father's