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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter, from Mary Somerville to Sir John Herschel, dated at Rome

Reference number: HS/16/351

Date: 20 September 1845

Description

Autograph letter signed by sender. Mary Somerville thanks John Frederick William Herschel for providing her "with the means of making experiments on a light" [actinochemistry (photography)]. Pleased to send him some results of her experiments with plant juices she executes over the summer. Asks him to tell her about any mistakes she made, how to avoid them and whether he thinks she should continue with the experiments. Comments on family matter. Has heard no scientific news lately. Comments on astronomical observations by [Macedonio] Melloni. Describes summer in Rome.
[Attached to the letter PT/30/8 describing Somerville's experiments published in the 1845 Philosophical Transactions]

Reference number
HS/16/351
Earliest possible date
20 September 1845
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

Mary Somerville

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Citation

Mary Somerville, Letter, from Mary Somerville to Sir John Herschel, dated at Rome, 20 September 1845, HS/16/351, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_16_351/letter-from-mary-somerville-to-sir-john-herschel-dated-at-rome, accessed on 25 March 2025

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  • Herschel Letters

    This collection of nearly 10,900 letters, drafts, copies and notes is the largest repository of scientific correspondence from and to Sir John Herschel, leading figure of Victorian science.

    Dates: 1807 - 1875

    View collection