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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Letter from Edmund James Mills, on his paper 'On the chemical activity of nitrates' to the Secretary of the Royal Society

Reference number: RR/7/115

Date: 30 November 1871

Description

Letter from the author in response to his paper being rejected for publication. He insists he cannot have the paper published elsewhere (as one of the referees suggested) because he cannot offer it to any other society 'without candidly stating that it has been rejected by the Royal Society - or rather, by a single referee, who, in this case, represents the Royal Society'. He states that the referee who rejected his paper is known to him and that he 'cannot write his own equations accurately'. He claims that he has never before 'been so annoyed, and hurt, and powerless'. He asks that the Secretary give his paper another chance to be published.

Subject: Chemistry

[Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society, 1869].

Reference number
RR/7/115
Earliest possible date
30 November 1871
Physical description
Letter on paper
Page extent
5 pages
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Letter from Edmund James Mills, on his paper 'On the chemical activity of nitrates' to the Secretary of the Royal Society, 30 November 1871, RR/7/115, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_7_115/letter-from-edmund-james-mills-on-his-paper-on-the-chemical-activity-of-nitrates-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society, accessed on 18 April 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/rr_7_115/letter-from-edmund-james-mills-on-his-paper-on-the-chemical-activity-of-nitrates-to-the-secretary-of-the-royal-society

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  • Referee Reports

    This collection contains reports on scientific papers submitted for publication to the Royal Society. Started in 1832 when the system was formalised, it is a record of the origins of peer review publishing in practice.

    Dates: 1832 - 1954

    View collection