Talmage's early predilection was for the sciences, and in 1882 and 1883 he took selected courses in chemistry and geology at
Lehigh University in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. After graduating, he started advanced work at
Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, Maryland, in 1883. In the spring of 1884, while at Johns Hopkins, Talmage journaled about many laboratory experiments, including one on the ingestion of
hashish. After researching at Johns Hopkins, he returned to BYA and became a professor of geology and chemistry. His main goal in joining the city council was to implement anti-saloon legislation, but he did not succeed. Shortly before taking office as a member of the city council, Talmage had a lab accident that nearly cost him his sight. A few months later, he was elected an alderman which added judicial as well as legislative duties to his assignments. In 1891, Talmage published a work entitled
Domestic Science at the urging of
Wilford Woodruff and the other members of the First Presidency. This was a more general work on science aimed at an older audience. Shortly after Talmage became the university's president, a department of philosophy was created. Also during his tenure, the department of history and civics was created, and the school of mines was organized. In 1896, the U of U organized a department of economics and sociology, with George Coray as head. Coray was also made head of the library. In 1897, Talmage was able to persuade the state legislature to appropriate money for the expansion of the university library. Talmage also organized and directed a program of evening lectures run by the university, where he served on the lecture steering committee. The lectures were mainly aimed at the general public. Also under Talmage's direction the university began publication of the U of U Quarterly. In 1909, while Talmage was serving as the director of the Deseret Museum, he went to
Detroit, Michigan, in November of that year to participate in diggings connected with the
Scotford-Soper-Savage relics craze. Talmage would go on to denounce these findings as a forgery in the September 1911 edition of the
Deseret Museum Bulletin in an article entitled, "The Michigan Relics: A Story of Forgery and Deception". In 1911, after becoming a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, his son, Sterling Talmage, replaced him as curator of Deseret Museum.
Mining consultant From the late 1890s to 1911, Talmage worked as an independent mining consultant and served as a scientific consultant in legal disputes surrounding Utah's mining industry. Talmage was an expert in mining and applied chemistry and had cultivated a positive reputation in his various religious and civic leadership positions. and determined it was worthless. ==LDS Church writings and service ==