John Percy to Faraday   20 May 18581

My dear Dr. Faraday,

Forgive my presumption in addressing a few lines to you respecting the interview which has just taken place2. One man can speak with more freedom than three men. I wish I could adequately convey to you the earnest desire which prevails as to your acceptance of the office of President of the Royal Society. Your acceptance of it would be conducive to the best interests of science, and establish an important principle in reference to the society for which many have, as you know, so long and arduously struggled .... Forgive, I again say, my presumption. That after deliberation you may decide upon a yes, is the earnest prayer of,

Yours sincerely, with the highest respect, | John Percy

1
Dated on the basis of the reference to the Presidency of the Royal Society.
2
This was a deputation (depicted in plate 9) consisting of the President of the Royal Society, from 1854 to 1858, the astronomer John Wrottesley (1798-1867, ODNB), Grove and Gassiot to ask if Faraday would agree to be nominated for the Presidency of the Royal Society. For the discussion at the Royal Society Council (of which Percy was a member) surrounding this, which occurred earlier in the day, see White (1898), 117-8.

Bibliography

WHITE, Walter (1898): The Journals of Walter White, London.

Please cite as “Faraday3442,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3442