Draft letter, from John Frederick William Herschel to George Biddell Airy, dated at Collingwood
Reference number: HS/1/314
Date: 8 May 1869
Description
Draft letter.
- Reference number
- HS/1/314
- Earliest possible date
- 8 May 1869
- Physical description
- Draft letter in John Herschel's hand. Has read the syllabus of George Biddell Airy's lectures on magnetism; it reminds John Herschel of his attempt to solve the problem of "Mahommet's coffin", which Herschel still believes would work. The problem was published in 1868 in an article by G. Johnstone Stoney FRS in the Philosophical Magazine (36; 1868) describing the use of electrical charge or magnets to give the impression that the coffin was flying.
- Page extent
- 4 pages.
- Format
- Manuscript
- Also available on Epsilon
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Citation
John Frederick William Herschel, Draft letter, from John Frederick William Herschel to George Biddell Airy, dated at Collingwood, 8 May 1869, HS/1/314, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_314/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 15 January 2026
Link to this record
https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_314/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-collingwood
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Related Records
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Copy of draft letter, from Sir John Herschel to George Biddell Airy, dated at Collingwood
Creator: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS/24/256
Hierarchy
This item is part of:
-
Correspondence of Sir John Frederick William Herschel
1812-1870 Creator: John Frederick William Herschel Reference number: HS -
Correspondence of John Frederick William Herschel: volume 1 Abbe-Auwers
1819-1875 Reference number: HS/1
Related Fellows
-
John Frederick William Herschel
Creator -
George Biddell Airy
Recipient
Map
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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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