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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Paper, 'On the geometrical construction of the cell of the honey bee' by Henry Hennessy

Reference number: PP/7/11

Date: 1885

Description

Hennessy writes: 'The well-known problem of the bee's cell occupied the attention of eminent mathematicians early in the last century, and it is still presented as an interesting example of geometrical maxima and minima. In 1743 Maclaurin communicated to the Royal Society a solution of the question, which appears in the “Philosophical Transactions,” and it seems that the comparison between the mathematical results and the actual cells was effected by angular measurements. Long since a simple method occurred to me for the construction of the figure without employing angles, and as I have not been able to find it in any publication, I venture to submit it in this short paper.'

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Mathematics / Geometry

Received 20 October 1885. Read 26 October 1885.

A version of this paper was published in volume 39 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the geometrical construction of the cell of the honey bee'.

Reference number
PP/7/11
Earliest possible date
1885
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
3 pages
Format
Manuscript

Creator name

Henry Hennessy

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Citation

Henry Hennessy, Paper, 'On the geometrical construction of the cell of the honey bee' by Henry Hennessy, 1885, PP/7/11, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/pp_7_11/paper-on-the-geometrical-construction-of-the-cell-of-the-honey-bee-by-henry-hennessy, accessed on 05 December 2024

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/pp_7_11/paper-on-the-geometrical-construction-of-the-cell-of-the-honey-bee-by-henry-hennessy

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  • Proceedings Papers

    Dates: 1882 - 1894

    The archival collection known as 'Proceedings Papers' is comprised of manuscripts and occasional proofs of scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which were read before meetings of Fellows and printed in full in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

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