Towards a history of the Royal Society in the eighteenth century

1996 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Stated Belief ◽  
History Of ◽  
Royal Society Of London

A long-standing impression persists among scholars - with a few exceptions - that the Royal Society of London was in decline during the eighteenth century. This misperception has stemmed from four major sources: from the often-stated belief that the Society failed to follow the illustrious example that its greatest Fellow, Sir Isaac Newton, had set in the Principia ; from the negative opinions, repeatedly quoted, of several literary lions of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; from the continued popularity of Babbage’s Reflections on the Decline of Science in England , published in 1830, which has cast a pall over the reputation of the Society in the eighteenth century ever since; and from the intensive study devoted to the Society’s early years, which has overshadowed later periods.

scholarly journals Bibliography of recent books and articles dealing with the history of the Royal Society

1970 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
New Haven ◽  
Yale University ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Charles Town ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
James Cook ◽  
John Hunter ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Sciences

Each number of Notes and Records contains a short bibliography of books and articles dealing with the history of the Royal Society or its Fellows which have been noted since the publication of the last number. If Fellows would be good enough to draw the Editor’s attention to omissions these would be added to the list in the next issue. Books Badash, L. (Editor). Rutherford and Boltwood: letters on radioactivity. (Yale studies in the History of Sciences and Medicine, Vol. 4.) New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969. $12.50. Begg, A. C. and Begg, N.C. James Cook and New Zealand . Wellington, N.Z.: A. R. Shearer, 1969. £ 2 5s. Berkeley, E. and Berkeley, Dorothy, S. Dr Alexander Gordon of Charles Town . University of North Carolina Press, 1969. $10.00. Bestcrman, T. Voltaire. London: Longmans, 1969. 8s. Bowden, D. K. Leibniz as a librarian and eighteenth-century librarians Germany . London: University College, 1969. 7s. 6d. Darwin, C. R. Questions about the breeding of animals . Facsim. repr. with an introduction by Sir Gavin Dc Beer. London: Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, 1969. £1 15s. Davis, N. P. Lawrence and Openhimer . London: Cape, 1969. 2s. Dobson, J. John Hunter. Edinburgh & London: E. & S. Livingstone, 1969. £ 2 10s. Eales, N. B. The Cole library of early medicine and zoology . Catalogue of books and pamphlets. Part 1. 1472 to 1800. Oxford: Aldcn Press for the Library, University of Reading, 1969. £$ 5s. Edleston, J. (Editor). Correspondence of Sir Isaac Newton and Professor Cotes . (1830.) (Cass Library of Science Classics. No. 12.) London: Frank Cass, 1969. £ 6 6s. Fothergill, B. Sir William Hamilton . Faber and Faber, 1969. £ 2 10s. French, R. K. Robert Whytt, the soul, and medicine . (Publications of the Wellcome Institute, No. 17.) London: Wellcome Institute of the History of Medicine, 1969. £ 2 5s.

‘The Ballad of Robert Crosse and Joseph Glanvill’ and the Background to Plus Ultra

1981 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas H. Steneck
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Early Years ◽  
New Science ◽  
Private Correspondence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Restoration England ◽  
Growth Of Science ◽  
Royal Society Of London

Joseph Glanvill is well known for his enthusiastic support of the early Royal Society. Even before Thomas Sprat's History of the Royal Society of London (1667) appeared in full, Glanvill had set a philosophic background for the new science in his Vanity of dogmatizing (1661), had attacked the outdatedness of contemporary Aristotelians in a revised edition of Vanity called Scepsis scientifica (1665), had praised the Society at length in a flowery address in Scepsis, and had defended the programme of the Society in his private correspondence. If propaganda and enthusiastic support were needed for the growth of science in Restoration England, no one seems to have done more to supply these ingredients during the early years of the Royal Society's existence than the colourful rector of Bath and Frome.

scholarly journals On a point connected with the dispute about the invention of fluxions

1851 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 599-600
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
History Of

An assertion made by Sir Isaac Newton in a letter to Conti, published in Raphson’s History of Fluxions, that the materials of the Commercium Epistolicum were “ collected and published by a numerous Committee of gentlemen of different nations , appointed by the Royal Society for that purpose,” appeared to be at variance with the list of the Committee as it was appointed on the 6th of March, 1711- 12, and which only contains the names of Arbuthnot, Hill, Halley, Jones, Machin and Burnet, who were all English. But on further search of the records of the Society with the aid of Mr. Weld, the Assistant Secretary, the author ascertained that other members were subsequently added to the Committee, among whom were Bonet, the Prussian minister, and De Moivre, both of whom were foreigners ; thus showing that the imputations which might have been cast on Newton’s veracity are groundless.

Bibliography of recent books and articles dealing with the history of the Royal Society

1968 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-118
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Benjamin Franklin ◽  
Yale University ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
John James Audubon ◽  
History Of ◽  
William Osler

Each number of Notes and Records contains a short bibliography of books and articles dealing with the history of the Royal Society or its Fellows which have been noted since the publication of the last number. If Fellows would be good enough to draw the Editor’s attention to omissions these would be added to the list in the next issue. B ooks Adams, A. B . John James Audubon— a biography . London: Gollancz. 1967. £ 2 12s. 6d. Aggcbo, A. Sir William Osler, laege og livskunstner . Copenhagen: Astra, 1966. Allan, Mea. The Hookers oj Kew (1785-1911). London: Michael Joseph, 1967. £ 2 10s. Arcicri, G. P. Enrico Bottini and Joseph Lister in the method of antisepsis. Pioneers of antiseptic era . New York: Alcmaeon Editions, 1967. Ashmole, E. Elias Ashmole: his autobiographical and historical notes, his correspondence, and other contemporary sources relating to his and work . Edited by C. H. Josten. 5 volumes. Oxford University Press, 1966. £18 18s. Berzelius, J. J. Briefwechsel zwischen J. Berzelius und F. Wöhler . Hrsg. von O. Wallach. 2 volumes. M. Sandig. 1966. Darwin, Charles. Darwin and Henslow: The growth of an idea: letters 1851-1860 . Edited by Nora Barlow. London: John Murray, 1967. £1 15s. Franklin, B. The papers of Benjamin Franklin . Edited by L. W . Labaree. Volume 10. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966. Gray, C. J. A bibliography of the works of Sir Isaac Newton together with a list of books illustrating his works . 2nd edition (1907). Facsimile repr. London: Dawsons, 1966. £3 10s. Halm, Otto. A scientific autobiography . Translated and edited by W . Ley. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1967. £2 5s. Hamilton, Sir William Rowan. The mathematical papers of Sir William Rowan Hamilton . Volume 3. Algebra. Cambridge University Press, 1967. £10 10s

Richard Waller, S.R.S.: ‘In the pursuit of nature`

1984 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-233 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Robert Hooke ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Cotton Mather ◽  
History Of ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
Samuel Pepys

There is no puzzle more tantalizing than the fragments of a forgotten A life. Richard Waller (1660?—1715), linguist, artist, and amateur scientist, offers multiple challenges. A member of the Royal Society from 1681 and its Secretary from 1687-1709, 1710-1714, under the presidencies of Samuel Pepys and Sir Isaac Newton, Waller was a man of considerable standing during an important era in the history of science. His associates included Robert Hooke, Edmond Halley, James Pettiver, and Sir Hans Sloane. He conducted correspondence with some of the leading scientific figures and personalities abroad, such as van Leeuwenhoek, Malpighi, and Cotton Mather. History, however, has turned Waller into a footnote in the biographies of his more illustrious, or notorious, contemporaries.

XXIII.—On Three Huygens Lenses in the Possession of the Royal Society of London

1930 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Sampson ◽  
A. E. Conrady
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Focal Length ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Original Apparatus ◽  
Royal Society Of London

The three Huygens lenses in the possession of the Royal Society of London are the most remarkable long-focus lenses that were produced at that epoch; they are described in the Record of the Royal Society (1912) as follows:—3. Huygens's Aerial Telescope.(1) An object-glass of 122 feet focal length, with an eye-glass of 6 inches, and original apparatus for adjustment, made by Huygens, and presented by him to the Royal Society in 1691.(2) The apparatus for using Huygens's object-glass, constructed by Hooke.(3) Additional apparatus, by Dr. Pound. Presented by Dr. Bradley.(4) Ditto, by Mr. Cavendish.4. An object-glass by Huygens, of 170 feet focal length. Presented to the Royal Society by Sir Isaac Newton, P.R.S.5. An object-glass by Huygens, with two eye-glasses by Scarlet, for a telescope of 210 feet. Presented by the Rev. Gilbert Burnet, M.A., F.R.S., in 1724.

scholarly journals Anniversaries of other academies and societies

1946 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-211
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Intimate Relationship ◽  
Scientific Society ◽  
Sir Isaac Newton ◽  
Isaac Newton ◽  
Leonhard Euler ◽  
Albrecht Von Haller ◽  
Scientific Endeavour ◽  
Royal Society Of London

The Royal Society of London sends most cordial greetings to the Naturforschende Gesellschaft in Zürich on the completion of two centuries of activity which has contributed in rich measure to the advancement of knowledge in many fields of scientific research. It is with pride that the Royal Society recalls that, when men of science met together to discuss the formation of a scientific society in Switzerland, they were encouraged in their endeavours by colleagues in Britain. We remember that of the first three Foreign Secretaries of the Royal Society, two were of Swiss nationality, namely, Philip Henry Zollman and Johann Gaspar Scheuchzer; and upon them lay the task of creating the mechanism whereby the Royal Society of London has maintained intimate relationship with scientific endeavour in other lands. Many have been the contacts between the Royal Society and men of science in Switzerland. Johann von Muralt was among the earliest of the foreign contributors to the Philosophical Transactions . The de Duilliers were correspondents of Sir Isaac Newton. The brothers Bernouilli were numbered among our Foreign Members; so were Albrecht von Haller, Abraham Trembley, Charles Bonnet, Leonhard Euler, Jean André De Luc, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz and Rudolph Albert von Kölliker.

Hooke recommemorated

1996 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-140
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Domestic Life ◽  
Robert Hooke ◽  
Arts And Sciences ◽  
Personal Interaction ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Christ Church ◽  
History Of

Richard Nichols, The Diaries of Robert Hooke, The Leonardo of London, 1635-1703 . Lewes, Sussex: The Book Guild, 1994, Pp. 185, £15.00. ISBN 0- 86332-930-6. Richard Nichols is a science master turned historian of science who celebrates in this book Robert Hooke’s contributions to the arts and sciences. The appreciation brings together comments from Hooke’s Diaries , and other works, on each of his main enterprises, and on his personal interaction with each of his principal friends and foes. Further references to Hooke and his activities are drawn from Birch’s History of the Royal Society, Aubrey’s Brief Lives , and the Diaries of Evelyn and of Pepys. The first section of the book, ‘Hooke the Man’, covers his early years of education at home in Freshwater, at Westminster school and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he soon joined the group of experimental philosophers who set him up as Curator of the Royal Society and Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, Bishopsgate. Hooke’s domestic life at Gresham College is described - his intimate relationships with a series of housekeepers, including his niece, Grace Hooke, and his social life at the College and in the London coffee houses.

Recording the Aloes at Chelsea - a singular solution to a difficult problem

1996 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-57
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Singular Solution ◽  
Difficult Problem ◽  
General Series ◽  
History Of

In the Royal Society archives there is a collection of drawings of Aloes and other plants, made by two of the great botanical artists of the eighteenth century - Georg Dionysius Ehret and Jacob van Huysum. Although the Manuscripts General Series Catalogue records this manuscript only as a ‘Volume of 35 botanical paintings by Georg Dionysius Ehret’ of unknown provenance, the manuscript catalogue of the Arundel and other manuscripts, said to be the work of Jonas Dryander (1748-1810), provides the first clue linking these drawings to the two artists, and to the important collection of Aloes growing at that time in the Society of Apothecaries Physic Garden at Chelsea'. The history of the commissioning of the drawings is told briefly in the Journal Books of the Royal Society, and in the Minutes of Council, but the significance of these lovely and important drawings has been almost completely overlooked.

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