scholarly journals The diaries of John Byrom, M. A., F. R. S., and their relation to the pre-history of the Royal Society Club

1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-183 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
First Record ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of

The first record for Thursday, 27 October 1743,is an isolated entry written on a sheet of paper pasted on the inside cover of Minute Book No. 1; it lists the names of eight Members who each paid six shillings for the month to Mr Colebrook, the Treasurer, for four dinners to be ordered at i/6d.per head. The Treasurer had to order each Thursday ‘a dinner for six and pay nine shillings certain’ to the innkeeper of the Mitre Tavern in Fleet Street; ‘as many more as come to pay one-and-sixpence per head each’ but if more than six come, ‘the deficiency to be paid out of this Fund of -£2.8.0.’, the amount he had received that day. O f these eight men six were Fellows of the Royal Society and the other two became Fellows later.

XXIII. On the water-barometer erected in the hall of the Royal Society

1832 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 539-574 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Physical Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Metallic Tube ◽  
French Academy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Common ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Made In

I have for some time entertained an opinion, in common with some others who have turned their attention tot he subject, that a good series of observations with a Water-Barometer, accurately constructed, might throw some light upon several important points of physical science: amongst others, upon the tides of the atmosphere; the horary oscillations of the counterpoising column; the ascending and descending rate of its greater oscillations; and the tension of vapour at different atmospheric temperatures. I have sought in vain in various scientific works, and in the Transactions of Philosophical Societies, for the record of any such observations, or for a description of an instrument calculated to afford the required information with anything approaching to precision. In the first volume of the History of the French Academy of Sciences, a cursory reference is made, in the following words, to some experiments of M. Mariotte upon the subject, of which no particulars appear to have been preserved. “Le même M. Mariotte fit aussi à l’observatoire des experiences sur le baromètre ordinaire à mercure comparé au baromètre à eau. Dans l’un le mercure s’eléva à 28 polices, et dans Fautre l’eau fut a 31 pieds Cequi donne le rapport du mercure à l’eau de 13½ à 1.” Histoire de I'Acadérmie, tom. i. p. 234. It also appears that Otto Guricke constructed a philosophical toy for the amusement of himself and friends, upon the principle of the water-barometer; but the column of water probably in this, as in all the other instances which I have met with, was raised by the imperfect rarefaction of the air in the tube above it, or by filling with water a metallic tube, of sufficient length, cemented to a glass one at its upper extremity, and fitted with a stop-cock at each end; so that when full the upper one might be closed and the lower opened, when the water would fall till it afforded an equipoise to the pressure of the atmo­sphere. The imperfections of such an instrument, it is quite clear, would render it totally unfit for the delicate investigations required in the present state of science; as, to render the observations of any value, it is absolutely necessary that the water should be thoroughly purged of air, by boiling, and its insinuation or reabsorption effectually guarded against. I was convinced that the only chance of securing these two necessary ends, was to form the whole length of tube of one piece of glass, and to boil the water in it, as is done with mercury in the common barometer. The practical difficulties which opposed themselves to such a construction long appeared to me insurmount­able; but I at length contrived a plan for the purpose, which, having been honoured with the approval of the late Meteorological Committee of this Society, was ordered to be carried into execution by the President and Council.

scholarly journals IV.—Remarks on the Genus Megalichthys, Agassiz, with Description of a New Species

1884 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Traquair
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
The Other ◽  
British Association ◽  
Zoological Nomenclature ◽  
The Real ◽  
Original Memoir ◽  
History Of ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Incontrovertible Evidence

There can be no doubt that the name Megalichthys was originally suggested to Agassiz by the gigantic teeth of the great round-scaled fish first brought into notice by the researches of Dr. Hibbert, in the quarries of Burdiehouse, though indeed some of its remains had long previously been figured by Ure in his “History of Rutherglen and East Kilbride.” Incontrovertible evidence of this may be found by referring to the Proceedings of the British Association for 1834, and to Dr. Hibbert's original memoir on the Burdiehouse Limestone published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. xiii. 1835. But with the remains of this enormous creature were also associated and confounded certain rhombic glistening scales, belonging really to a considerably smaller fish of a totally different genus, and when Agassiz, subsequently to the meeting of the British Association at Edinburgh in the year above quoted, found in the Museum at Leeds a head of this latter form, or at least of an allied species, he adopted it, by description and by figure, as the type of his Megalichthys Hibberti, relegating the other to the genus Holoptychius. This latter, the real “big fish,” is now known as Rhizodus Hibberti, the founder of the genus being Prof. Owen; and though it may be a matter of regret that it did not retain the name Megalichthys, the laws of zoological nomenclature do not admit of any alteration now.

‘In the tents of the King as well as the Muses’

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-90
Author(s):  
Alastair Compston
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
History Of Medicine ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Natural Philosophy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Muscular Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
Major Figure

Chapter 1, ‘In the tents of the King as well as the Muses: The life and reputation of Thomas Willis’, starts with the reaction to Willis’s death, aged 54, in 1675. From there, an account is given of Willis’s childhood and education in Oxford and his activities supporting the Royalist cause during the Civil War. After training in medicine, Willis’s casebook, involvement with the Oxford Experimental Philosophical Club and the episode of Anne Greene, spared from dissection through resuscitation after judicial hanging, and his lectures as Sedleian professor of Natural Philosophy in Oxford, are described. After moving to London in 1667, Willis was in demand as a physician and involved with the other Fellows of the Royal Society in reshaping ideas on respiration, fermentation, and muscular movement. The chapter ends with an analysis of the consolidation of Willis’s reputation as a major figure in the history of medicine.{146 words}

Scientific Method and Prose Style in the Early Royal Society

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D. Walters
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Scientific Method ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
The Other ◽  
Writing Style ◽  
Scientific Experimentation ◽  
Prose Style ◽  
History Of

This article discusses two conflicts occurring during the first decade of the Royal Society (1660–1670). One conflict concerned the proper method of scientific experimentation, the other the proper writing style for communicating scientific knowledge. Following the method proposed by taxonomists, language would be a vehicle for representing the order of reality in its undisturbed state. Following the method proposed by conjecturalists, language would be a means for constructing a theory and arguing for its validity. Members of the Society were divided over these crucial questions, as evident in scientific documents of the period as well as in Thomas Sprat's History of the Royal Society. Parallels to this division are present in contemporary issues in technical writing, and this article closes by discussing some implications for teaching, practice, and theory.

scholarly journals VII. On the means of discovering the distance, magnitude, &c. of the fixed stars, in consequence of the diminution of the velocity of their light, in case such a diminution should be found to take place in any of them, and such other data should be procured from observations, as would be farther necessary for that purpose. By the Rev. John Michell, B.D. F.R.S. In a letter to Henry Cavendish, Esq. F.R.S. and A.S

1784 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 35-57 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Velocity Of Light ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Optics

Dear Sir, The method, which I mentioned to you when I was last in London, by which it might perhaps be possible to ind the distance, magnitude, and weight of some of the fixed stars, by means of the diminution of the velocity of their light, occurred to me soon after i wrote what is mentioned by Dr. Priestley in his History of optics, concerning the diminution of the velocity of light in consequence of the attraction of the sun; but the extreme difficulty, and perhaps impossibility, of procuring the other data necessary for this purpose appeared to be to be such objections against the scheme, when I first thought of it, that I gave it them no farther consideration. As some late observations, however, begin to give us a little more chance of procuring some at least of these date, I thought it would not be amiss, that astronomers should be apprized of the method, I propose (which, as far as I know, has not been suggested by any one else) left, for want of being aware of the use, which may be made of them, they should neglect to make the proper observations, when in their power; I shall therefore beg the favour of you to present the following paper on this subject to the Royal Society.

scholarly journals XVIII. An account of an uncommon large hernia, in a letter from Dr. George Carlisle, to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, F. R. S

1766 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 133-141
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Good Friend ◽  
Dead Body ◽  
Outward Appearance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Right

My Lord, When I shewed you the drawing of an uncommon large hernia at Rose, you were pleased to say, you should be glad to have the history of it, and of what occurred in examining the body after death, in order to communicate it to the Royal Society: from that time I determined to draw out the case, but have been prevented by various other engagements, till now, that I take the liberty to present it to your Lordship; and shall be extreamly rejoiced if it prove agreeable to you, and the learned body; with it I inclose an outline of the drawing, Tab. VII. Fig. 1. and an explanation, which may make the description more intelligible. I was sorry, that for want of a proper draftsman, my good friend the captain being out of town, I could not have the situation of the stomach, with the other parts left in the abdomen, taken; but my painter was so squeamish, it was with difficulty we got the outward appearance taken from the dead body.

scholarly journals The Röntgen celebrations, November 1945

1946 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-44
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Early History ◽  
The Other ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Inaugural Meeting ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Great Discovery ◽  
The Impact

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of X-rays by William Conrad Rontgen, which was made on 8 November 1895, a series of meetings were held in London during November 1945, twelve Societies participating. The inaugural meeting was held under the auspices of the Royal Society at Burlington House on 8 November, and was opened by the reigning President, Sir Henry Dale. He referred to the early history of the discharge in vacuo and gave a lively account of the impact of the discovery on men of science at Cambridge, where he was an undergraduate at the time. The discussion, devoted to various aspects of Rontgen’s great discovery and to its influence, was opened by Sir Lawrence Bragg, who gave an account of the contents of the two chemical papers in which Rontgen announced his findings to the world, one dated December 1895 and the other March 1896. Sir Lawrence drew attention to the wide range of this pioneer work and also to an important early letter of Schuster’s on the rays, published in Nature on 23 January 1896, with a full translation of Rontgen’s first paper.

Theodor W. Adorno

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby Dickinson
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One

In his somewhat controversial book Remnants of Auschwitz, Agamben makes brief reference to Theodor Adorno’s apparently contradictory remarks on perceptions of death post-Auschwitz, positions that Adorno had taken concerning Nazi genocidal actions that had seemed also to reflect something horribly errant in the history of thought itself. There was within such murderous acts, he had claimed, a particular degradation of death itself, a perpetration of our humanity bound in some way to affect our perception of reason itself. The contradictions regarding Auschwitz that Agamben senses to be latent within Adorno’s remarks involve the intuition ‘on the one hand, of having realized the unconditional triumph of death against life; on the other, of having degraded and debased death. Neither of these charges – perhaps like every charge, which is always a genuinely legal gesture – succeed in exhausting Auschwitz’s offense, in defining its case in point’ (RA 81). And this is the stance that Agamben wishes to hammer home quite emphatically vis-à-vis Adorno’s limitations, ones that, I would only add, seem to linger within Agamben’s own formulations in ways that he has still not come to reckon with entirely: ‘This oscillation’, he affirms, ‘betrays reason’s incapacity to identify the specific crime of Auschwitz with certainty’ (RA 81).

The World after the End of the World

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kas Saghafi
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
End Of The World

In several late texts, Derrida meditated on Paul Celan's poem ‘Grosse, Glühende Wölbung’, in which the departure of the world is announced. Delving into the ‘origin’ and ‘history’ of the ‘conception’ of the world, this paper suggests that, for Derrida, the end of the world is determined by and from death—the death of the other. The death of the other marks, each and every time, the absolute end of the world.

Med. Dr. Adalbert Wraný (1836–1902) – doctor of medicine, mineral collector and donor to the National Museum in Prague

2019 ◽  
Vol 188 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-146
Author(s):  
Martin Bohatý ◽  
Dalibor Velebil
Keyword(s):  
Natural Science ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
National Museum ◽  
Industrial Chemistry ◽  
Pediatric Pathology ◽  
Geological Institute ◽  
History Of ◽  
Precious Stones

Adalbert Wraný (*1836, †1902) was a doctor of medicine, with his primary specialization in pediatric pathology, and was also one of the founders of microscopic and chemical diagnostics. He was interested in natural sciences, chemistry, botany, paleontology and above all mineralogy. He wrote two books, one on the development of mineralogical research in Bohemia (1896), and the other on the history of industrial chemistry in Bohemia (1902). Wraný also assembled several natural science collections. During his lifetime, he gave to the National Museum large collections of rocks, a collection of cut precious stones and his library. He donated a collection of fossils to the Geological Institute of the Czech University (now Charles University). He was an inspector of the mineralogical collection of the National Museum. After his death, he bequeathed to the National Museum his collection of minerals and the rest of the gemstone collection. He donated paintings to the Prague City Museum, and other property to the Klar Institute of the Blind in Prague. The National Museum’s collection currently contains 4 325 samples of minerals, as well as 21 meteorites and several hundred cut precious stones from Wraný’s collection.

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