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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Draft letter, from John Frederick William Herschel to George Biddell Airy, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/1/284

Date: 16 October 1865

Description

Draft letter in John Herschel's hand. Is working on a problem in polarized light, and finds his result disagreeing with F. J. D. Arago's third law; leads John Frederick William Herschel to think light cannot be undulatory in nature.

Reference number
HS/1/284
Earliest possible date
16 October 1865
Page extent
4 pages.
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Draft letter, from John Frederick William Herschel to George Biddell Airy, dated at Collingwood, 16 October 1865, HS/1/284, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_284/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 10 February 2026

Link to this record

https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_284/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-collingwood

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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

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