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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Charles Babbage, dated at Slough

Reference number: HS/20/54

Date: 26 April 1818

Description

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Please send the third volume of J. E. Montucla's Histoire de mathematiques. Is running into difficulties with his history of mathematics owing to lack of translations. Regarding kaleidoscopes. Has been reading David Brewster's experiments on Mother of pearl.

Reference number
HS/20/54
Earliest possible date
26 April 1818
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator names

John Frederick William Herschel

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Sir; John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Sir; John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Charles Babbage, dated at Slough, 26 April 1818, HS/20/54, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_20_54/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-charles-babbage-dated-at-slough, accessed on 07 November 2025

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_20_54/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-charles-babbage-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