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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy of incomplete letter, from Sir John Herschel to Charles Babbage, dated at [Slough]

Reference number: HS/20/57

Date: 9 November 1818

Description

Copy of incomplete letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Welcome back to London. Explain Charles Babbage's demonstration of 'theorem in transcendental arithmetic.' John Frederick William Herschel's observations of 'new acid' [hyposulfurous] and optical phenomena in 'chrystals of nitre.'

Reference number
HS/20/57
Earliest possible date
9 November 1818
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, Copy of incomplete letter, from Sir John Herschel to Charles Babbage, dated at [Slough], 9 November 1818, HS/20/57, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_20_57/copy-of-incomplete-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-charles-babbage-dated-at-slough, accessed on 14 May 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_20_57/copy-of-incomplete-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