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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

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

Reference number: HS/1/45

Date: 29 December 1830

Description

Draft in John Herschel's hand. Comments on Airy's and Edward Sabine's work on the figure of the earth; describes some results Herschel obtained from using quartz for polarizing light, and is unhappy with the proposed recipient of the Royal Astronomical Society medal, M. C. T. Damoiseau, whose lunar theory Herschel cannot understand.

Reference number
HS/1/45
Earliest possible date
29 December 1830
Page extent
3 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 Slough, 29 December 1830, HS/1/45, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_45/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-slough, accessed on 11 February 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_1_45/draft-letter-from-john-frederick-william-herschel-to-george-biddell-airy-dated-at-slough

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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