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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished letters, on magnetic variation and poles from John Macdonald to Sir Humphry Davy

Reference number: AP/12/15

Date: September 1825 - January 1827

Description

A collection of letters from Macdonald to Davy regarding his reseach on magnetic variation and his quest to find the location of the northwest and southeast magnetic poles. The letters are dated 28 September 1825, 19 October 1825, 29 September 1825, 26 June 1826, 30 November 1826, and 18 January 1827.

Subject: Geodesy

Written by Macdonald in Summerlands, Exeter [Devon, England].

Reference number
AP/12/15
Earliest possible date
September 1825 - January 1827
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
30 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

John Macdonald

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Citation

John Macdonald, Unpublished letters, on magnetic variation and poles from John Macdonald to Sir Humphry Davy, September 1825 - January 1827, AP/12/15, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_12_15/unpublished-letters-on-magnetic-variation-and-poles-from-john-macdonald-to-sir-humphry-davy, accessed on 17 February 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_12_15/unpublished-letters-on-magnetic-variation-and-poles-from-john-macdonald-to-sir-humphry-davy

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  • Archived Papers

    The 'Archived Papers' collection is comprised of original manuscript scientific papers and letters submitted to the Royal Society which remained unpublished or were abstracted in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' published from 1830 onwards.

    Dates: 1768 - 1989

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