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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Deflt

Reference number: EL/L1/15

Date: 14 August 1675

Description

Signed autograph
Further observations of blood corpuscles; observations of arum leaves; concerning the sap in plants and its taste; concerning the sense of taste in regard to sugar and salt; concerning manna (from the bark of 'Fraxinus ornus') and its laxative effects; an account of digestion in humans and the effects of poison
Partial translation of the account of digestion in humans see EL/L1/12
Transcribed and translated in 'Alle de brieven van Antoni van Leeuwenhoek', edited, illustrated and annotated by Committee of Dutch Scientists, part 1, p 296
For summary see 'The correspondence of Henry Oldenburg', ed and trans by A Rupert Hall & Marie Boas Hall, vol 11, p 443
English extract printed in 'Philosophical Transactions', vol 10, no 117, p 380

Reference number
EL/L1/15
Earliest possible date
14 August 1675
Page extent
12 pages
Format
Manuscript
Also available on Early Modern Letters Online
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Creator names

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

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Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

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Citation

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Letter, from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek to Henry Oldenburg, dated at Deflt, 14 August 1675, EL/L1/15, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_l1_15/letter-from-antoni-van-leeuwenhoek-to-henry-oldenburg-dated-at-deflt, accessed on 18 June 2025

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  • Early Letters

    The archival collection known as 'Early Letters' is composed of original manuscript letters sent to, or collected by, the Royal Society from English and foreign correspondents.

    Dates: 1613 - 1740

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