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The Sir John Herschel Collection
The preparation of the print Calendar of the Correspondence of Sir John Herschel (Michael J. Crowe ed., David R. Dyck and James J. Kevin assoc. eds, Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1998, viii + 828 pp) which was funded by the National Science Foundation, took ten years. It was accomplished by a team of seventeen professors, visiting scholars, graduate students, advanced undergraduates, and staff working at the University of Notre Dame.
The first online version of Calendar was created in 2009 by Dr Marvin Bolt and Steven Lucy, working at the Webster Institute of the Adler Planetarium, and it is that data that has now been reformatted for incorporation into Ɛpsilon.
Further information about Herschel, his correspondence, and the editorial method is available online here: http://historydb.adlerplanetarium.org/herschel/?p=intro
No texts of Herschel’s letters are currently available through Ɛpsilon.
Admires her manuscript [Mechanism of the Heavens]. Wishes [P. S.] Laplace would have lived to see it. Notes a problem with the principle of virtual velocity.
Sends 40 pages of her manuscript [Mechanism of the Heavens] along with suggestions for improvement. Suggests clarifying the principles of the first chapter and a fuller explanation of various other principles.
Sends new translation of [P. S. Laplace's] Mécanique céleste. Says her revision [of MS's Mechanism of the Heavens] has been effective. Still doubts the derivation of the fundamental equation. Discusses force, resistance, and reaction with regard to this equation.
Says manuscript [Mechanism of the Heavens] cannot be improved materially except perhaps on one or two small points. Will look at it again when it is together in a whole. Announces birth of JH's daughter [Caroline] that morning.
Will bring her manuscript [Mechanism of the Heavens]. Apologizes for holding it so long. Critiques various passages concerning permanent rotation and equations of stability. Sends condolences on Dr. Somerville's loss.
Explains to MS P. S. Laplace's method of indeterminate coefficients in mathematics. Thanks MS for her praise of his book [Prelim. Discourse], which JH values more highly than newspaper reviews.
Returns proofs and sends a few remarks concerning them. Discusses difficulty of measuring Eta Coronae. Anxious to see her [Mechanism of the Heavens]. Has another daughter [Isabella].
Sending papers on actinochemistry (photography). Discusses [James] Forbes's viscosity theory, nebulae of Southern Hemisphere, great refractor at Collegio Romano, and Lord Rosse's telescopes.
Augustus DeMorgan and [Henry Fox] Talbot are sending their papers to her. Family is well. Outlines a process of photography.
Discusses MS's light experiments. JH will present the results to Royal Society. Describes apparatus that may help her. Recently attended a meeting concerning continental magnetics and meteorology.
Has noticed a resemblance between [Alexander von Humboldt's] Kosmos and MS's chapter, 'On Man,' in her manuscript. Advises her to revise. Sends results of observations at the Cape.
JH's new position [Master of Mint] took him by surprise. People seem 'wild' over renewed agitation of Papal aggression issue. Describes the discovery of Saturn's new ring.
Poem, entitled 'Intelligence,' celebrating creation of mankind.
The year has been peaceful for the Herschels and JH is doing little scientific work. Discusses the 'delusion' about 'turning tables,' which JH finds ridiculous.
Feeling better, but writing still painful. Writing articles on meteorology and geology for Encyclopaedia Britannica. May use information from her Physical Geography.
Lists facts from various astronomical catalogues, such as the number of fixed, double, and binary stars. Discusses parallax. Thanks her for second edition of Physical Geography.
Thanks MS for sympathy letter. Discusses present situation in Italy. Discusses his children and their scattered locations, e.g., a son fighting in the Indigo affair. Discusses his articles for Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Is sending manuscript with comments. Congratulates her 'activity of mind.' Critiqued her paper according to the effect it will have when published. Working on catalogue of nebulae.
Comments on the political change within Italy. Answers questions about spectrum analysis, spectra of nebulae, and [solar] 'willow leaves.' Says the view of universe as a collection of billiard balls is problematic. Includes postscript from JH's daughter Bella describing family events.
Commentary on manuscript [Personal Recollections?] that [MS] sent to JH one month ago. Career of scientific learning and domestic happiness will inspire future generations. Suggests publishing it posthumously for greater impact. Corrects passages about Charles Babbage. Gives purpose, history, and membership of each of two Standards committees, one of 1819 and one of 1838. Suggests avoiding topic of bitter controversy over invention of electric telegraph.