scholarly journals Historical notice to the supposed identity of the large mass of meteoric iron now in the British Museum, with the celebrated otumpa iron described by Rubin de Celis, in the philosophical transactions for 1786. Communicated in a letter from Woodbine Parish, jun., Esq., F. R. S., to Charles Konig, Esq., Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society

1837 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 213-213
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
The People

The mass of iron in question was transmitted to Buenos Ayres, for the purpose of being manufactured into fire-arms, at the period when the people of that country declared themselves independent of Spain; but a supply of arms having in the meanwhile arrived, it was deposited in the Arsenal, and afterwards given to Mr. Parish, who transmitted it to England. Its identity with the mass of iron described by De Celis, though probable, is not exactly determined.

scholarly journals IV. Notice as to the supposed identity of the large mass meteoric iron now in the British Museum, with the celebrated Otumpa iron described by Rubin de Celis in the Philosophical Transactions for 1786. Communicated in a letter from Woodbine Parish, Esq. F. R. S. to Charles König, Esq. Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society

1834 ◽  
Vol 124 ◽  
pp. 53-54
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
The Real ◽  
Gran Chaco ◽  
Native Iron ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Humphry Davy

As the identity of the large mass of meteoric iron in the British Museum with the celebrated Otumpa iron, described by Rubin de Celis in the Philosophical Transactions for 1786, has been the subject of frequent inquiry, the following short historical notice, relating to that mass, is communicated by Woodbine Parish, Esq. F. R. S., by whom, when His Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires at Buenos Ayres, it was sent to England. -C. K. “Dear Sir, “Agreeably to my promise, I have taken some trouble to ascertain the precise history of the large mass of native iron which I sent home to Sir Humphry Davy from Buenos Ayres, and which is deposited in the British Museum. There is no doubt of its coming from the same place as that described by Rubin de Celis, though whether it be a fragment of that particular mass upon which he made his report, or a smaller one in its immediate vicinity, I am not able to say, for there certainly is an impression at Buenos Ayres that there is not only one, but that several masses of this iron are to be found in that part of the Gran Chaco referred to by Rubin de Celis. I was under the impression that it had been sent for in order to be forwarded to Madrid; but in this I was led into error; and I have only lately ascertained through Mr. Moreno, the Buenos Ayrean Minister, that the real history of its being at Buenos Ayres is as follows.

scholarly journals VI. An anatomical description of a male rhinoceros

1801 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 145-152 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Internal Structure ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Large Mass ◽  
Upper Lip ◽  
East Indies ◽  
The People ◽  
Fresh Vegetables ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Soles Of The Feet

Our knowledge of this animal has hitherto been extremely limited, both with regard to its natural history, and also its internal structure. A paper by James Parsons, M. D. giving a very accurate description of a young rhinoceros, was read before the Royal Society, in June, 1743; but, as the Doctor does not attempt to describe more of it than the external figure and coverings, (which are delineated,) we may presume that he never had any opportunity of examining the internal parts : his account, however, as far as it goes, is in every respect correct ; I shall not, therefore, take up the time of this learned Society by a useless recapitulation, but proceed to describe such appearances as have not yet been noticed. The subject of the following observations was brought from the East Indies to England, where it was intended he should remain, until a favourable opportunity should offer of sending him to Vienna. During the passage from India, he appeared to enjoy a good slate of health, which continued uninterrupted, until a few days before his death ; at which time, he was attacked with difficulty of breathing, and died before he had attained his third year. In the course of this time, he had become perfectly docile and tame ; but never, by actions or otherwise, expressed the smallest regard or affection for his keeper, or for any of the people who occasionally fed him ; neither was he easily irritated, but preserved, on all occasions, the most perfect indifference and stupidity. He was fed chiefly upon hay and oats, also potatoes, and other fresh vegetables ; his consumption of which was prodigious, exceeding that of two or three working horses. It would appear, that this animal had not arrived to near its full growth : he was scarcely so high as a two year old heifer ; but the bulk of his body, by measurement, considerably exceeded the length. The horn, which is affixed to the upper lip of the adult rhinoceros, was here just beginning to sprout. The hoofs were divided into three obtuse parts: the soles of the feet were well defended, by a large mass of elastic matter, covered by a strong horn-like substance.

Cotton Mather Anguishes Over the Consequences of His Son's Inoculation Against Smallpox

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 756-756
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
New Method ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Inoculation Technique ◽  
Cotton Mather ◽  
The People ◽  
Small Pox ◽  
Contemporary Science ◽  
Historical Writings ◽  
The Town

Cotton Mather (1663-1728), usually remembered for his theological and historical writings, was also much concerned with medicine. He was interested in many aspects of contemporary science and became one of the few colonial members of the Royal Society of London. In 1721, when a smallpox epidemic hit Boston, Mather urged Boston physicians, particularly Zabdiel Boylston, to employ the inoculation technique used by the Turks as a means of preventing fatal cases of the disease. In his Diary, Mather records the anguish he suffered for having taken this stand. [May] 26 [1721]. The grievous Calamity of the Small-Pox has now entered the Town. The Practice of conveying and suffering the Small-pox by Inoculation, has never been used in America, nor indeed in our Nation, But how many Lives might be saved by it, if it were practised? . . . [June] 13. What shall I do? what shall I do, with regard unto Sammy? He comes home, when the Small-pox begins to spread in the Neighbourhood; and he is lothe to return unto Cambridge. I must earnestly look up to Heaven for Direction. . . . [July] 16. At this Time, I enjoy an unspeakable Consolation. I have instructed our Physicians in the new Method used by the Africans and Asiaticks, to prevent and abate the Dangers of the Small-Pox, and infallibly to save the Lives of those that have it wisely managed upon them. The Destroyer, being enraged at the Proposal of any Thing, that may rescue the Lives of our poor People from him, has taken a strange Possession of the People on this Occasion.

The Greatest Beauty for the Greatest Number

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-122
Author(s):  
Anton Howes
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Flat Rate ◽  
Guiding Principle ◽  
The People ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Masses

This chapter introduces Henry Cole, who was heavily influenced by the ideas of the philosopher Jeremy Bentham and became the conduit for utilitarianism into the Royal Society of Arts. It analyzes Bentham's proposed alternative that based everything on a fundamental guiding principle of achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. It also mentions utilitarian reformers inspired by Bentham that introduced improvements for the benefit of “the masses” or the “people.” The chapter talks about Rowland Hill, a utilitarian reformer who tried to create a national prepaid postage system. It examines Hill's scheme to replace the messy postal system that favoured only the rich and powerful by promoting a flat rate so that any letter weighing under an ounce might be sent to anywhere in the country for just a penny.

scholarly journals XIX. On the photographic arc spectrum of iron meteorites

1894 ◽  
Vol 185 ◽  
pp. 1023-1028
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Solar Spectrum ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Iron Meteorites ◽  
Electrolytic Iron ◽  
Comparison Spectrum ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Previous Communication ◽  
Oxyhydrogen Flame ◽  
Made In

In a communication to the Royal Society in 1887, I gave an account of certain experiments which I had made in connection with the spectra of various meteorites at various temperatures. The spectra were observed at the temperature of the oxyhydrogen flame and the electric spark without jar, and when glowed in vacuum tubes. Some larger specimens of the iron meteorites, Nejed and Obernkirchen, cut so that they were of a size and shape suitable for forming the poles of an arc lamp, having afterwards been kindly placed at my disposal by the Trustees of the British Museum, it became possible to study the arc spectra of these meteorites under very favourable conditions, all impurities introduced by the use of the carbon poles being thus avoided. The region of the spectrum photographed extends from K to D, in the case of each meteorite, and in addition to the solar spectrum, that of electrolytic iron, prepared by Professor Roberts-Austen, referred to in a previous communication, has been used as a comparison spectrum in one case.

scholarly journals THE OLDEST FIGURES OF NORTH AMERICAN INSECTS

1882 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
H. A. Hagen
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Small Volume ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Thin Plates ◽  
Rare Book ◽  
Small Band

The Gazophylacium of Jacob Petiver, Apothecary in London (died 1715) is a very rare book, as the plates and the catalogues were printed and published at different times between 1695 and 1715. They were collected later and published by Mr. Empson, an officer of the British Museum and a natural son of Sir Hans Sloane, in 1764, in London, with the title, “Jacobi Petiveri Opera, etc., or Gazophylacium, 2 vol. fol.” A small volume in 8vo contains the original sheets published by Petiver between 1695 and 1706. The library of the Museum of Comp. Zool. at Cambridge possesses a copy presented, June 1765 by Emanuel Mendez da Costa, Librarian of the Royal Society, to Thomas Knowlton. The collection of J. Petiver, at least the Lepidoptera, is still preserved in the British Museum, and was seen by me in 1857. Every butterfly is placed between two thin plates of mica, fastened with a small band of paper around the margin, and glued with one flying slip to the pages of a book in quarto, so that every species can be examined above and beneath.

scholarly journals On the hour lines of the ancients

1837 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 17-20
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Plane Surface ◽  
Computing Time ◽  
British Museum ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conical Surface ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Double Curvature ◽  
The Right ◽  
Straight Lines

The hour lines on the sundials of the ancient Greeks and Romans correspond to the division of the time between sun rise and sun-set into twelve equal parts, which was their mode of computing time. An example of these hour lines occurs in an ancient Greek sundial, forming part of the Elgin collection of marbles at the British Museum, and which there is reason to believe had been constructed during the reign of the Antonines. This dial contains the twelve hour lines drawn on two vertical planes, which are inclined to each other at an angle of 106°; the line bisecting that angle having been in the meridian. The hour lines actually traced on the dial consist of such portions only as were requisite for the purpose the dial was intended to serve: and these portions are sensibly straight lines. But the author has shown, in a paper published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, that if these lines are continued through the whole zone of the rising and setting semidiurnal arcs, they will be found to be curves of double curvature on the sphere. In the present paper the author enters into an investigation of the course of these curves; first selecting as an example the lines indicating the 3rd and the 9th hours of the ancients. These lines are formed by the points of bisection of all the rising and setting semidiurnal arcs; commencing from the southern point where the meridian cuts the horizon, and proceeding till the line reaches to the first of the always apparent parallels, which, being a complete circle, it meets at the end of its first quadrant. At this point the branch of another and similar curve is continuous with it: namely, a curve which in its course bisects another set of semidiurnal arcs, belonging to a place situated on the same parallel of latitude as the first, but distant from it 180° in longitude. Continuing to trace the course of this curve, along its different branches, we find it at last returning into itself, the whole curve being characterized by four points of flexure. If the describing point be considered as the extremity of a radius, it will be found that this radius has described, in its revolution, a conical surface with two opposite undulations above, and two below the equator. The right section of this cone presents two opposite hyperbolas between asymptotes which cross one another at right angles This cone varies in its breadth in different positions of the sphere; diminishing as the latitude of the place increases. The cones to which the other ancient hour lines belong, are of the same description, having undulations alternately above and below the equator; but they differ from one another in the number of the undulations: and some of these require more than one revolution to complete their surface. The properties of the cones and lines thus generated, may be rendered evident by drawing the sections of the cones on the sphere, in perspective, either on a cylindrical or on a plane surface: several examples of which are given in the paper.

Additional observations on the osteology of the iguanodon and hylæosaurus

1851 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 804-806
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Vertebral Column ◽  
Spinal Column ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Previous Knowledge ◽  
The South ◽  
Isle Of Wight ◽  
Fossil Remains ◽  
Private Collections

This memoir is supplementary to the author’s former communications to the Royal Society on the same subject, and comprises an account of some important additions which he has lately made to our previous knowledge of the osteological structure of the colossal reptiles of the Wealden of the South-east of England. The acquisition of some gigantic and well-preserved vertebræ and bones of the extremities from the Isle of Wight, and of other instructive specimens from Sussex and Surrey, induced the author to resume his examination of the detached parts of the skeletons of the Wealden reptiles in the British Museum, and in several private collections; and he states as the most important result of his investigations, the determination of the structure of the vertebral column, pectoral arch, and anterior extremities of the Iguanodon. In the laborious and difficult task of examining and comparing the numerous detached, and for the most part mutilated bones of the spinal column, Dr. Mantell expresses his deep obligation to Dr. G. A. Melville, whose elaborate and accurate anatomical description of the vertebræ is appended to the memoir. The most interesting fossil remains are described in detail in the following order.

The Royal Society and the foundation of the British Museum, 1753-1781

1979 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-216
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
British Museum ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Early Years

The accounts of the foundation, in 1753, of the British Museum and the development of its early years, have little to say of the influence of the Royal Society as an institution. Whether one turns, for instance, to two works a century apart, such as Edward Edwards’s Lives of the Founders . . . of 1870 or to Edward Miller’s Noble Cabinet of 1973, or to a number of summaries in the years between, the fact is not brought out (1). So many of the executors of Sir Hans Sloane’s Will and of the various classes of Trustees appointed to implement it were Fellows of the Society, that the influence of the Society itself has come to be taken for granted, or perhaps ignored. Nevertheless, it is strange that no convenient record should exist of the names of those whose participation or interest in the first quarter of a century of the Museum’s existence constituted what was in effect a consensus of opinion in the development of a national institution. Those twenty-five years from 1756, when the Sloane Collections were moved into Montagu House, to 1781, when the Royal Society’s Museum was made over as a gift to the British Museum, were in fact the Museum’s formative period. By 1781 it had come of age.

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