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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished letter, 'Report upon a letter addressed by the Baron de Humboldt to HRH the President of the Royal Society and communicated by HRH to the Council' from S [Samuel] Hunter Christie and G B [George Biddell] Airy to the President of the Royal Society

Reference number: AP/20/8

Date: 09 June 1836

Description

Report by the Humboldt Letter Committee on Humboldt's recent letter on terrestial magnetism (AP/20/7), presenting an overview of Humboldt's letter. Christie and Airy recommend that Humboldt's plans for magnetic stations are presented to the government so that observatories can be established. Annotated in pencil throughout.

Subject: Magnetism

Read 9 June 1836.

This report was published in volume 3 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'Report upon a letter addressed by M. le Baron de Humboldt to his Royal highness the President of the Royal Society, and communicated by his Royal Highness to the council'.

Reference number
AP/20/8
Earliest possible date
09 June 1836
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
19 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator names

George Biddell Airy

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Samuel Hunter Christie

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Citation

George Biddell Airy, Samuel Hunter Christie, Unpublished letter, 'Report upon a letter addressed by the Baron de Humboldt to HRH the President of the Royal Society and communicated by HRH to the Council' from S [Samuel] Hunter Christie and G B [George Biddell] Airy to the President of the Royal Society, 09 June 1836, AP/20/8, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_20_8/unpublished-letter-report-upon-a-letter-addressed-by-the-baron-de-humboldt-to-hrh-the-president-of-the-royal-society-and-communicated-by-hrh-to-the-council-from-s-samuel-hunter-christie-and-g-b-george-biddell-airy-to-the-president-of-the-royal-society, accessed on 14 July 2025

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_20_8/unpublished-letter-report-upon-a-letter-addressed-by-the-baron-de-humboldt-to-hrh-the-president-of-the-royal-society-and-communicated-by-hrh-to-the-council-from-s-samuel-hunter-christie-and-g-b-george-biddell-airy-to-the-president-of-the-royal-society

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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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