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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Alexander Wilson, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/22/206

Date: 12 October 1844

Description

Copy of letter, copied as part of the correspondence project led by Colonel John Herschel FRS following the death of his father. Critiques John Taylor's essay [see Alexander Wilson's 1844-9-26]. Views Alexander Wilson's position on currency measures as too vehement; urges caution. John Frederick William Herschel conceived similar plan years before. Gives reasons for disowning it. Protests John Frederick William Herschel's being painted as perpetrator of injustice simply because John Frederick William Herschel rejected Alexander Wilson's arguments.

Reference number
HS/22/206
Earliest possible date
12 October 1844
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, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to Alexander Wilson, dated at Collingwood, 12 October 1844, HS/22/206, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_206/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-alexander-wilson-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 12 May 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_22_206/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-alexander-wilson-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

    View collection