Trin: Coll: Dub:1 | 10 February 1857.
My dear Sir,
I am not a Fellow of the Royal Society2 & have been deterred hitherto from seeking that honour by pecuniary considerations. I have been told, however, that one may diminish the expense by being the author of a paper published in the Transactions3—I have been engaged for some years, during my leisure hours, (which are few) in carrying out the experiments on reflected polarized light, which I gave a description of in the Phil Mag.4 some years ago—I have already collected a valuable mass of observations on the Metallic Reflexion of Polarized light, particularly as compared with the Chemical Composition of a large series of Alloys of Zinc and Copper, Tin and Copper.
I have also succeeded in reducing under the domain of Mathematical Theory the Laws I published in the Phil Mag.5 as to the Circular Polarization of light, by Reflexion from Transparent bodies. All my results are, I believe, new, and many of them interesting—but I cannot bring myself to publish them in their present imperfect condition, and I cannot see my way to their speedy completion at present, as I have been directed by my medical adviser,6 to abstain from all ‘works of supererogation’7 for some months. What are the conditions for the bestowal of the Royal Medals8—they appear to have been given for very different degrees of merit hitherto.
I feel much obliged for your kindness,9 which, for the present, I am compelled to decline to avail myself of
I am, sincerely yours | Saml. Haughton.
RI MS JT/1/TYP/2/484
LT Typescript Only
Trin: Coll: Dub:: Trinity College, Dublin.
Royal Society: Haughton was elected FRS in 1858.
the Transactions: Phil. Trans.
a description of in the Phil. Mag.: S. Haughton, ‘On the reflexion of polarized light from the surface of transparent bodies’, Phil. Mag., 6 (1853), pp. 81–8.
I published in the Phil Mag.: S. Haughton, ‘On some new laws of reflexion of polarized light’, Phil. Mag., 8 (1854), pp. 507–20.
my medical adviser: not identified.
works of supererogation: any work or good deed done over and above what is required (OED).
Royal Medals: at this time the RS awarded annually since 1731 the Copley Medal for ‘outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science’ and twice a year since 1826 the Royal Medal for ‘the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge’ (a third Royal Medal began being awarded each year from 1965).
I feel much obliged for your kindness: possibly this is in response to a letter from Tyndall, which is missing.
Please cite as “Tyndall1334,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on