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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Unpublished paper, 'Determination of the mean temperature of every day in the year as deduced from the observations taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich [London] in the years from 1814 to 1851' by James Glaisher

Reference number: AP/34/7

Date: 1852

Description

Glaisher aims to determine the true distribution of heat over the year based upon an extensive series of observations taken at the Royal Observatory during 38 years. In order to obtain a correct determination of the mean daily temperature of each month, necessary to the proposed object, Glaisher explains how the entire series of observations has been divided into groups, according to the recorded times of observation, for the purpose of applying the necessary corrections calculated from his tables of diurnal range published in Philosophical Transactions, for 1848 (see PT/34/8).

Includes a graph showing the mean temperature of every day in the year for the period 1 January 1814 to 31 December 1851.

Subject: Meteorology

Received 30 December 1852.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 6 of Abstracts of the Papers Printed in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London [later Proceedings of the Royal Society] as 'On the determination of the mean temperature of every day in the year, as deduced from the observations taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, in the years from 1814 to 1851'.

Reference number
AP/34/7
Earliest possible date
1852
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
21 pages
Format
Diagram
Manuscript

Creator name

James Glaisher

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Citation

James Glaisher, Unpublished paper, 'Determination of the mean temperature of every day in the year as deduced from the observations taken at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich [London] in the years from 1814 to 1851' by James Glaisher, 1852, AP/34/7, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_34_7/unpublished-paper-determination-of-the-mean-temperature-of-every-day-in-the-year-as-deduced-from-the-observations-taken-at-the-royal-observatory-greenwich-london-in-the-years-from-1814-to-1851-by-james-glaisher, accessed on 27 April 2025

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/ap_34_7/unpublished-paper-determination-of-the-mean-temperature-of-every-day-in-the-year-as-deduced-from-the-observations-taken-at-the-royal-observatory-greenwich-london-in-the-years-from-1814-to-1851-by-james-glaisher

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    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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