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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter, from Pierre Maupertuis to [James] Bradley, dated at Paris

Reference number: EL/M3/60b

Date: 27 September 1737

Description

Discussing observations of the Lapland expedition about the figure of the Earth. Purportedly constitutes the first announcement confirming Newton's theory from the Lapland expedition.

Custodial history

Donated to the Royal Society by Augustus de Morgan in 1853 who found the letter in the collection of his friend Francis Baily (1774-1844) sometime after Baily's death. See EL/M3/60a

Reference number
EL/M3/60b
Earliest possible date
27 September 1737
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript
Also available on Early Modern Letters Online
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Creator names

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis

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Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis

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Citation

Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, Letter, from Pierre Maupertuis to [James] Bradley, dated at Paris, 27 September 1737, EL/M3/60b, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_m3_60b/letter-from-pierre-maupertuis-to-james-bradley-dated-at-paris, accessed on 18 January 2026

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/el_m3_60b/letter-from-pierre-maupertuis-to-james-bradley-dated-at-paris

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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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