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Home , Copley Medal, Davy Medal, Dollar Academy, Edmund Davy, Henry Bence Jones, John Davy (chemist)

19th Century Archival Collections of The

The Royal Institution (Ri) is an independent charity, and has been at the forefront of scientific innovation, discovery and communication for the last 220 years. Founded in 1799 by, amongst others, Sir and the Massachusetts born (Count Rumford), it has always occupied the same magnificent Grade 1 listed building in the heart of Mayfair, .

The Core Collections of the Ri are made up of original scientific apparatus, archives, images, art and sculpture, books, periodicals, material in various electronic formats and furniture associated with those who have worked in the building. As well as this further historic material regarding the founding of the Ri, the programme of lectures, and the research which has taken place in the building, is preserved within the archival and reserve collections. These collections are supplemented by an exceptionally rich collection of images and artwork coveting the history of the Ri from its foundation.

The 19th Century archival holding within the Ri are specifically made up of administration papers of the Institution and its programmes, including the lecture series, and the personal papers of significant figures in science experimentation and communication from that time:

• John Barlow • Henry Bence Jones • Bragg - Superintendent of House, 1923-42; Director of the DFRL, 1923-42 • William T. Brande • Sir • Sir - Director of Laboratory, 1801-25 • • Sir - Superintendent of House,1887-1923; Director of Laboratory, 1887-1923; DFRL Director,1896-1923 • - Lab Assistant,1813-26; Director of Laboratory,1825-67; Superintendent of House, 1852-67 • • William Robert Grove • Thomas Harrison • Thomas Archer Hirst • E. Landseer • William Hazledine Pepys • Lyon Playfair • • John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh • Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford • - Superintendent of House, 1867-87; Director of Laboratory, 1867-87 • Louisa Tyndall • Thomas Webster

The collections of Brande, Frankland, Harrison, Hirst, Landseer, Playfair, Spottiswoode and Rayleigh are significantly smaller and made up of small amounts of notebooks, accounts and correspondence.

Major Collections

1. Barlow, John (1799-1869)

Administrative/Biographical history:

John Barlow was born the son of a parson in 1799. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge and took holy orders soon after. In 1822 he became curate of the Parish of Uckfield, Sussex; from 1830 to 1842 he was rector of Little Bowden, . In 1824 he married Cecilia Anne Lam (c 1796-1868). He became a member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in 1832 and a manager in 1838. In 1834 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. From 1837 to 1838 he was Secretary of the Zoological Society. In 1841 he succeeded Michael Faraday (1791-1867) as Secretary of the Lectures Committee at the Ri. In 1843 he was elected Honorary Secretary of the RI, a position he held until 1860. In this role he made many far-reaching administrative changes in the running of the Ri. He gave lectures at the Ri on the practical application of science. He published some of his research in The Discovery of the Vital Principle or Physiology of Man in 1838; he also published ‘On Man's Power Over Himself to Prevent or Control Insanity’, which highlighted the importance of moral management of the insane rather than the use of intimidation. In 1851 he became Minister of the Duke Street Chapel, London and from 1854 to 1859, he was Chaplain-in-Ordinary at Kensington Palace. He died in 1869.

Archive Content

Papers of John Barlow include scrapbooks containing letters, newspaper cuttings, biographical notes, autographs, reports and photographs, c1750-1875 (JB1-JB2).

2. Bence Jones, Henry (1813-1873)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Henry Bence Jones was born the son of Lieutenant-Colonel William Jones and Matilda Bence in 1814. He attended Harrow School and then Trinity College Cambridge gaining a BA in 1836 and a MD in 1849. He undertook medical studies at St George's Hospital and became a physician there from 1846 to 1872. He studied under at the University College, London, and in 1841 he went to Giessen, Germany to study under Justus Liebig. In 1842 he became licentiate to the Royal College of Physicians and was a Fellow in 1849. He married Lady Millicent Acheson. In 1846 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. He studied the aspects of chemistry in pathology and medicine and gave a course of lectures in `Animal Chemistry in its application to Stomach and Renal Diseases'. He became Secretary of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in 1860, a position he held until 1873. In 1868 he gave the `Croonian lectures on matter and force'. He was a friend and biographer of Michael Faraday (1791-1867). He published a book on ‘Animal Electricity’ in 1852. He died in 1873.

Archive Content

Papers of Henry Bence Jones, 1803-1873, including correspondence to and from various recipients, relating to the Royal Institution of Great Britain, its lectures (CG4/1&2).

3. Bragg, Sir William Henry (1862-1942)

Administrative/Biographical history:

William Henry Bragg was born in Westward, Cumberland, the son of Robert John Bragg, a farmer, and Mary Wood in 1862. He was educated at Market Harborough and attended King William's College on the Isle of Man. In 1881 he went to Trinity College, Cambridge to study Mathematics. In 1884 he was third wrangler in part one of the Tripos and gained a first in part 3 of the Mathematical Tripos in 1885. In 1886 he became Elder Professor of Mathematics and of the University of Adelaide, Australia. In 1889 he married Gwendoline Todd and they had three children, William Lawrence, Robert Charles and Gwendoline Mary. He did not undertake much research until after addressing some scientific people in the country about current and past research in 1904. With the assistance of R. D. Kleeman, he decided to research into the radiations of , x-rays, radioactivity and the extent to which they were absorbed and scattered by gases and solids. He discovered that alpha-particles of radium were ceased in ionisation. In 1903 he became President of Section A of the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1907 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1909 he returned to as Cavendish Professor of the University of Leeds which he held until 1915. In 1912 Max Von Laue showed that x-rays are diffracted by the of a crystal. Using ionisation on such work and working with his son, William (known as Lawrence in order to distinguish him from his father), they developed the science of x-ray crystallography. In 1913 he used ionisation to reflect x-rays and together with his son Lawrence, published "X-Rays and Crystal Structure" in 1915. He won the for physics with Lawrence in 1915. He also gained several medals for his work on x-rays and crystallography, such as the in 1916 and the in 1930 from the Royal Society, and the Faraday medal in 1936 from the Institution of Electrical Engineers. From 1915 to 1923, he was the Quain Professor of Physics at the University of London. During the First World War, he worked on underwater acoustics for the Admiralty in order to detect submarines. He was knighted in 1920. He became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in 1923. He was known as a good lecturer and had many of his lectures published for example: ‘The World of Sound’ in 1920 and ‘Concerning the of Things’ in 1925, which were taken from his Christmas Lectures given at the Ri. He published papers such as `On the Absorption of X-rays and the Classification of the X-rays in Radium' in Philosophical Magazine in 1904, and others in Nature, Proceedings of the Royal Society and Transactions Royal Society South Australia; and books such as ‘Crystallography and X-Rays and Crystal Structure’. In 1932 he became President of the Physical Society. In 1935 he became President of the Royal Society. He died at the RI, London, in 1942.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir include: pocket diaries 1924-1942 relating to day to day engagements. Miscellaneous correspondence and notes c1898-1962; his work on and observations of crystals and x-rays; his papers and books; honours and meetings. Bragg-Rutherford correspondence 1904-1935. Father/Son correspondence and autobiography, relating to letters between William Henry Bragg and Lawrence Bragg discussing lectures; laboratory work; working together on research. A B Wood correspondence 1917-1962. Research notebooks c1900-1930 relate to his lectures, abstracts of literature and notes by Lawrence Bragg. General files on scientific work relate to notes on sound and light; colours from plants; anthracene (under Lawrence Bragg); clay; crystals; paramagnetism and diamagnetism. General files on crystallography relate to various aspects of his work on the subject such as, anthracene and naphthalene; proteins; liquid crystals; diamonds; calcium carbide as well as proofs on the Story of Electromagnetism; draft autobiography and biography; notes for a lecture on the solid state of matter and some correspondence on his research for the Admiralty in the First World War. General files on research relate to studies in radioactivity; notes on topics such as focal conics, fluid crystals, nematic liquids and optics; correspondence on topics such as crystallised substances, x-rays, density values and publications. Miscellaneous scientific notes and correspondence relate to discussions and drafts for the; discussions on other scientists' views for example Debye's 'relaxation time' argument. Press cuttings and draft lectures relate to drafts for articles and papers. Reprints 1891-1944 and synopses and reprints of lectures 1931-1942, relate to various publications by William Henry Bragg in journals such as Transactions Royal Society South Australia, Philosophical Magazine and Nature; also includes some articles about William Henry and Lawrence Bragg. Medals 1887-1939. Royal Institution administrative files 1923-1941. Lectures, manuscripts (MSS) and proofs 1938-1941; lecture notes 1886-1888, relate to lectures, speeches and addresses given by William Henry Bragg at various locations for instance the Royal Society, the RI and those given in Adelaide, Australia, on subjects such as x-ray analysis, crystals, Count Rumford, acoustics and elementary physics; also includes proofs and drafts of articles for journals such as Nature. Broadcast scripts 1928-1942, relate to scripts for radio broadcasts on topics such as Michael Faraday, crystals and x-rays. Letters of condolence to Lawrence Bragg on the death of William Henry Bragg, Mar-Jun 1942. Notebooks 1904-1913 relate to topics such as radioactivity and x-ray crystallography and Newspaper cuttings.

4. Crookes, Sir William (1832-1919)

Administrative/Biographical history:

William Crookes was born the son of Joseph Crookes, tailor, and Mary Scott in London, in 1832. His education was irregular but eventually he attended A W Hofmann's Royal College of Chemistry in London in 1848. In 1850 he became Hofmann's assistant until 1854. He attended lectures at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) given by Michael Faraday (1791-1867). In 1854 he was Superintendent of the Meteorological Department of the Radcliffe Astronomical Observatory in Oxford. In 1854 he worked with John Spiller on the collodion process of . In 1855 he taught chemistry at the College of Science in Chester. In 1856, he researched into photography and compiled a ‘Handbook to the Waxed-Paper Process in Photography’ (Chapman and Hall, 1857). He

also undertook the editorship of the Liverpool Photographic Journal in 1856, and in 1857 he became Secretary of the London Photographic Society, a position he held until 1858. He was also the editor and proprietor of the weekly Chemical News journal from 1859. In 1856 he married Ellen Humphrey and they subsequently had ten children. Crookes researched into spectra and in 1861 he discovered a new element which he called . In 1863 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (RS). In 1865 he discovered the process of extracting precious metals from ores, however it had already been discovered in America and Crookes had to negotiate half rights over patents for using sodium amalgam, only to be superseded by the discovery of cyanide as the best solvent of gold. From 1867 he became interested in , which affected his views on science. By 1870 he decided to investigate spiritualism as a scientist and prove the existence of force, an investigation which caused him to lose some respect as a scientist. Despite this, he developed the technique of determining the atomic weight of thallium. In 1873 he wrote the paper `Attraction and Repulsion resulting from Radiation' published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; this resulted in his invention of the radiometer in 1875. In 1876 he researched into radiant matter and found that molecular pressure was the result of radiant matter being affected by magnets. In the 1880s he worked on incandescent lamps for electricity. He became Director of the Electric Light and Power Company in 1881 and patented his designs on incandescent lamps, however he sold these as newer and better designs developed. In c1891 he became Director and later Chairman of the Notting Hill Electric Light Company which prospered in its time. In 1890 he was elected President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. In 1897 he was elected President of the Society for Psychical Research and in the same year he was knighted. He gave lectures on making diamonds at the Ri in 1897 and became its Honorary Secretary in 1900 a position he held until 1912. In 1908 he was elected Foreign Secretary of the RS until 1913 when he was elected President of the RS, a position he held until 1915. He published papers in journals such as Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, as well as Proceedings of the Royal Society and in Chemical News. He died in 1919.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir William Crookes include: laboratory notebooks VI to XXI covering topics relating to chemistry and physics and the spectroscope, 1881-1903; a 1926 edition of the book ‘Researches in the Phenomena of Spiritualism’ (William Crookes, 1898; Strong's Ltd, , 1926), as well as a 1953 edition by the Psychic Book Club; copies of the Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Vols 48-49, Numbers 765-771, 1975-1977; Notes for Investigators of Spontaneous Cases by the Society for Psychical Research, 1968; A Selective Guide to Publications in English of the Society for Psychical Research, 1972; nomination forms and publication lists for the Incorporation of the Society for Psychical Research; copies of Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research, Volume 56 part 209, 1974 and part 210, 1976; biographical information on Sir William Crookes such as part of Representative Subjects of the King, notes and folders containing research notes, correspondence and papers on the biography of Crookes, draft biography by E E Fournier D'Albe and photographs.

5. Davy, Sir Humphry (1778-1829)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Humphry Davy was born the son of Robert Davy, a wood carver, and Grace Millet in , . He taught himself a great deal through reading, but also attended local grammar schools in Penzance and Truro. In 1795 he was apprenticed to John Bingham Borlase, surgeon of Penzance, where he was introduced to the rudiments of science by Robert Dunkin, a saddler. In 1798 he joined the Pneumatic Institution at Bristol as an assistant to Thomas Beddoes. There he began researches into heat and light which he later published. In 1799 he published the first volume of ‘West Country Collections and Researches, Chemical and Philosophical’, chiefly Nitrous Oxide and its respiration. He experimented with nitrous oxide and suggested that it could be used for surgery due to its anaesthetic properties, however this was ignored and not used until much later in the century. In 1801 he gave his first lecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) and became Director of the Chemistry Laboratory. In 1802 he became Professor of Chemistry at the Ri which he held until 1812. In 1803 he gave his first lecture to the Royal Society, of which he was elected a Fellow and received its Copley medal in 1805. In 1804 he entered Jesus College Cambridge perhaps to finish his medical studies, but he never attended. As Assistant Lecturer at the Ri, he undertook research for the Managers, and he also became Chemistry Professor to the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement (a non-government organisation). He researched into the problems of using oak bark for the tanning of leather and discovered that catechu from mimosa of India was much better. In 1805-1806, he toured Ireland and Cornwall with Thomas Bernard to research into mineralogy. After this he was released from investigations for the Ri and in 1807 he won the Napoleonic Prize from the Institute of France for his discoveries of the constitution of oxymuratic acid and for demonstrating the existence of potassium, sodium and chlorine by agency of a galvanic battery, thus developing the theory of electrochemical action. In 1812 he was knighted by the Prince Regent and married a wealthy widow, Mrs Jane Apreece. He then retired from the Ri and was made Honorary Professor. In 1813 he visited laboratories in France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany with his wife and Michael Faraday (1791-1867) as his assistant, secretary and reluctant valet. He experimented with pigments and combustion of diamonds as well as iodine which he discovered at the same time as the French chemist, Joseph Louis Gay-Lusaac (who called it iode). On his return to London in 1815, Humphry was asked to investigate the problem of explosions in mines. He discovered that gas and the flames used to give light to miners caused the explosions, so he designed the miners safety lamp. He toured the continent again in the late 1810s. In 1820 he became President of the Royal Society which he held until 1827. During the 1820s, he discovered that by applying or to the copper bottoms of ships, could be prevented. However, it was deemed a failure as plant life in the sea would adhere to the ships thus causing dragging. In 1826 he travelled to Europe again where he continued to work until his death in 1829. He was buried in the cemetery of Plain-Palais, Geneva and there is a tablet in his memory at Westminster Abbey.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir Humphry Davy are extensive including the bond of indenture of apprenticeship, 1795 with its release, 1798; lecture notes of 1805-1812 relating to subjects such as the history of electricity, vegetable chemistry, electrochemical science, agricultural chemistry and geology; honours and diplomas relating to various institutions such as the Academy of Sciences, Saint

Petersburg for 1826, the Danish Royal Society of Sciences for 1821 and the Pilman Society of for 1823; laboratory notebooks of 1805-1829 relating to experiments on galvanism, sulphur and phosphorous, ammonia on potassium, sodium, metals, muriatic and oxymuriatic gas, copper, and decompositions amongst others; RI laboratory notebooks of 1830-1861 which includes Davy's work on copper and water; correspondence relating to his work and personal life, to and from his mother, Mrs Jane Apreece, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) and others; personal notebooks c 1795-1829; mathematical notebooks; scientific observations notebooks of 1799-1800 relating to phosphorous, the combustion of iron and the philosophy of heat and light; papers relating to his published works such as the Elements of Chemical Philosophy, Consolations in Travel and Salmonia; papers collected by Michael Faraday (1791-1867) which includes some of the above mentioned notebooks; papers collected by John Davy (1790-1868) his brother, relating to extracts from Humphry Davy's journals and John's observations of his brother; papers of his poetry and sketches; his Commonplace book 1812-1815; a ledger of (1785-1857) his cousin and appraisal for the miners safety lamp of 1815.

6. Davy, John (1790-1868)

Administrative/Biographical history:

John Davy was born the son of Robert Davy, a woodcarver and Grace Millet in Penzance, Cornwall. He attended preparatory schools in Penzance as a child and later assisted his brother, Humphry Davy, in the laboratory of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in 1808. In 1810 John studied medicine at Edinburgh University gaining his degree in 1814. He experimented on the muriatic theories of his brother in order to help prove them. He entered the British Army Medical Department as a surgeon. He became the Inspector General of Hospitals and it was in this capacity that he travelled over much of the British Empire during his foreign service thus producing several notebooks on his observations of various countries. In 1821 he published An Account of the Interior of Ceylon. In 1830 he married Margaret Fletcher. In 1836 he wrote the Memoirs of the Life of Sir Humphry Davy and he edited the collected works of his brother, producing nine volumes in 1839- 1840. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1834 and published over 100 papers on observations such as the structure of the heart and circulatory system of amphibians; these are listed in the Royal Society Catalogue of Scientific Papers. He lived in the West Indies for a time and returned to the Lake District in the for the remainder of his life. In 1862-1863 he published his Diseases of the Army. Upon his death in 1868, he bequeathed a piece of plate to the Royal Society which had been presented to Sir Humphry Davy by the mine owners for the invention of the safety lamp. His brother had wanted the plate to provide a medal for scientific research.

Archive Content

Papers of John Davy include notebooks and papers relating to his travels and observations whilst on foreign military service, detailing information such as the propagation of orange and lemon trees, the temperature and rainfall of the areas, buildings, antiquities, irrigation, landscapes, volcanoes, medical observations and general descriptions of places visited: notebooks on , Trinidad,

Tobago, Sicily, Lipard Islands, Italy, France and England, West Indies, Ceylon, Colombo, Africa, Corfu, Malta, Ithaca and St Helena are in the collection. Malta medical notes and observations 1827-1833; Malta memorabilia; Malta medical and meteorological notes 1821-1838; notes about Sicily; description of new volcano in Mediterranean 1831; notes on inquiry connected with hospitals in Turkey 1840-1841; notebook about Turkey 1841; notebook about Turkey and travels in Europe 1841; medical notes and notes on Murrayfield; voyage to West Indies 1844; notebooks about West Indies; journey from London to the Lake District 1855; tours to France and San Remo 1866. Notebooks and papers relating to scientific notes, experiments and lectures: notebook on Dr Higgins' chemistry course; notebook 1802-1843 on natural history, astronomy, history and mathematics relating to various topics such as vegetation, lions, elephants, bats, birds, the history of Agesilaus, Hannibal, Attila the Hun, addition, subtraction, the planets, earth, zodiac signs, and eclipses; scientific notes; notebook on animal chemistry lectures 1811-1813; course of chemical lectures 1814-1815; notes on reagents of animal textures and lime 1831-1832; experiments on small animals 1864-1867; notebook on scientific and philosophical notes; animal chemistry and digitalis experiments; chemical and medical experiments 1811; chemical and medical notes 1811; observations of the human body; analysis of minerals and notes of medical phenomena; chemical, medical and geological notes 1817- 1829. Drawings and sketches indicating landscapes, scenes, volcanic rocks, ploughs and other topics; book of pencil drawings; book of sketches and notes 1831-1842; sketch book 1790-1868. Papers relating to publications such as drafts, copies and reprints, which relate to John Davy's articles in journals for example the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, the Journal of Public Health and Philosophical Transactions; files of reprints 1823-1866; drafts of papers; notebook of fair copies of papers; draft of The Angler from Home or Fishing Excursions and Piscatory Colloquies in Kenry, Isle of Lewis and Sutherlandshire; draft of Salmon and Sea Trout, Isle of Lewis 1857-1857. Correspondence relating to various issues such as defending his brother's (Sir Humphry Davy) honour; notebooks of angling observations 1850-1866; Report on the diseases etc of the Garrison of Malta for the year ending 20 December 1828.

7. Dewar, Sir James (1842-1923)

Administrative/Biographical history:

James Dewar was born the son of Thomas Dewar, vintner and innkeeper, and Ann Eadie in Kincardine-on-Forth, . As a child he attended local schools such as the and he also learnt the art of violin making. In 1858 he attended Edinburgh University under James David Forbes, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Lyon Playfair, Professor of Chemistry. He became an assistant to Lyon Playfair from 1867 to 1868, subsequently becoming assistant to Alexander Crum Brown from 1868 to 1873. In 1867 he invented a mechanical device to represent Alexander Crum Brown's graphic notation for organic compounds. He worked on heat, chemical reactions, atomic and molecular weight determinations and . In 1869 he became a lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College of Edinburgh. In 1871 he married Helen Rose Banks. In 1873 he became assistant chemist to the Highland and Agricultural Society. He was elected Jacksonian Professor of Natural Experimental Philosophy, Cambridge, in 1873, and became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at The

Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in 1877. At the Ri, Dewar worked on cryogenics and from 1877 to 1904, he wrote 78 papers about spectroscopy with George Downing Liveing. During his work on cryogenics he invented the silver vacuum vessels known as the Dewar or Thermos flask. In 1878 he achieved the liquefaction of . From 1892 to 1895, he worked with A. Fleming, Professor of Electrical Engineering at University College London. He worked on conduction, thermo electricity, magnetic permeability and dielectric constants of metal and alloys. In 1896 he became Director of the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory at the Ri. He worked on the liquefaction of gases and in 1898 he liquefied . He was a member of the Explosives Committee from 1888 to 1889, inventing cordite with Sir Frederick Abel. From 1904 to 1914, he worked on low temperature calorimentry investigations; he later studied bubbles and thin films and infrared radiation from the sky by day and night. In 1904 he was knighted. He gained several awards for his work such as the , the Copley medal and the Rumford medals of the Royal Society; the Albert medal of the Royal Society of Arts; and the Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize for 1900-1904 of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He died, in office, in 1923.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir James Dewar include: correspondence and general papers relating to membership of institutions, scientific work and the views of individuals, written papers. Biographical papers and cuttings 1911-1925 and personal and biographical papers c.1891-1924, relate to Dewar and his work. Photographs 1890-1894, relate to various aspects such as rooms in the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) and apparatus; photographs and reprints including discourses 1875-1923 include an album of photographs of soap films, reprints of Dewar lectures at the RI, notes on courses and lectures by Dewar and others such as John Tyndall. Notebooks relate to experimental observations 1907-1909; notebooks on radiation, dissociation, analyses; low temperature work 1874-1919, notebooks and other papers; spectroscopy notebooks 1879-1912; rare gases 1885-1923, notebooks and papers; laboratory apparatus notebooks, 1881-1905; notebooks and papers on bubbles, 1917- 1923; notebooks on the work of and , 1907; lecture notebooks and experimental notes 1869-1918, relate to topics such as hydrogen, thermal values, latent heat and decomposition of gases. Notes on lectures include (DIV) lecture notes and lists 1878-1891, relates to soap bubbles, and Christmas lectures at the RI; lecture notes 1877-1906, relates to lectures at the RI; lecture notes and correspondence 1885-1940, relates to lectures at the RI including Christmas lectures and correspondence of various recipients particularly with William J. Green. Discourses 1894-1923, relate to the Friday Evening Discourses at the RI as well as other notes on experiments. Various forms of notes include: general laboratory notes 1864-1923, on temperature, thermo electric properties, analysis of water; sound experiments; notes on scientists and scientific work 1845-1903, relate to Dewar; experimental notes 1904-1922 and 1919-1923, relate to topics such as dielectric constants of liquid hydrogen, soap films, vacuum tubes, radium, low temperature and radiation from the sky; laboratory notes 1897-1930, 1914-1920, pre-1900 and 1875-1910, relate to topics such as silvered vacuum flasks, specific heats, diffusion, apparatus, charcoal absorption and spectroscopic examination of gases; bubble measurements 1815-1822, notes and observations; experimental notes and correspondence 1893-1922, relate to topics such as

densities at low temperature, charcoal, soap film and gases; miscellaneous experimental notes 1878- 1922 and miscellaneous notes 1871-1925, relate to topics such as critical temperature of gases, radiation curves and bubbles. Reprints 1866-1913, relate to issues such as Friday Evening Discourses at the RI, the Michael Faraday Centenary of 1891, Christmas lectures at the RI and notes and reports on experiments. Royal Institution 1885-1924, relates to messages and letters to, from or concerning Dewar, his role at the RI and general administrative issues. Diplomas, drawings and graphs relate to Dewar's Fullerian Professorship at the RI, apparatus and experiments. W. J. Green papers include correspondence, notes, photographs and notebooks on experimental discussions and personal issues such as health. Scott controversy 1911, Gordon case 1912-1917, early Scott case 1891-1892 and Ruhemann controversy 1890-1891, correspondence and papers. J. E. Petavel papers - St Louis exhibition 1904, relates to the reproduction of Dewar's low temperature work for the exhibition with notes on the exhibition. War work 1915-1918, includes letter and papers on work for the war effort, World War One.

8. Faraday, Michael (1791-1867)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Faraday was born the son of a blacksmith in Newington Butts, Southwark. It is not known where he was educated as a child, but the family moved north near Manchester Square. At 13, he worked as a newspaper boy for George Riebau of Blandford Street. He then became an apprentice for seven years in bookbinding under Riebau. In 1810 and 1811, he attended lectures on science given by silversmith John Tatum (1772-1858) in the city of London and took notes. These were shown to the son of a Member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) who in turn showed them to the Member who was so impressed he gave Faraday tickets to see Humphry Davy (1778-1829) lecture at the RI in 1812. After writing to Davy to ask for a job, he was appointed as a chemical assistant at the laboratory at the iI in 1813. In 1813 he travelled with Davy to France as an assistant, secretary and valet; subsequently visiting laboratories in Italy, Switzerland and Germany until April 1815. In 1816 he began his `Commonplace Book' and was elected Member of the City Philosophical Society from 1816 to 1819 giving lectures on chemical subjects. From 1816 to 1828, he published his work results in journals such as Quarterly Journal of Science, Philosophical Magazine and Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1821 he was appointed Superintendent of the RI to maintain the building. In 1825 he was appointed Director of the Laboratory and in 1833 he became Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Ri. In 1821 he discovered electro-magnetic rotations, the principle of the electric motor. In 1831 he discovered electro-magnetic induction; also, in the early 1830s, he discovered the laws of electrolysis and coined words such as , cathode, anode and ion. In 1845 he discovered the magneto-optical effect and diamagnetism developing the theory of the electromagnetic field. In 1824 he was elected to the Royal Society. He gave lectures at the Ri between 1825 and 1862, establishing the Friday Evening Discourses and the Christmas Lectures for the young. In 1827 he delivered a course of lectures on chemical manipulation to the London Institution and he also gave lectures for medical students from St George's Hospital from the mid- 1820s onwards. In 1829 he was appointed Scientific Adviser to the Admiralty. In 1830 he was

Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich until 1851. In 1836 he was appointed Scientific Adviser to the Corporation of Trinity House, the English and Welsh lighthouse authority, until 1865. During the 1850s and 1860s, he introduced electricity to lighthouses under this position. In 1844 he conducted an enquiry with the geologist (1797-1875), into the Haswell Colliery, , explosion.

Faraday was a religious man of Sandemanian belief; he married Sarah Barnard, also of Sandemanian faith, in 1821. He was Deacon in the church between 1830 and 1840, an Elder between 1840 and 1844 and again between 1860 and 1864. He was given the Grace and Favour House at Hampton Court by Queen Victoria in 1858 where he retired to in 1861 and later died in 1867; he was buried in Highgate Cemetery.

Archive Content

The papers are extensive covering Faraday's work in science. Details of his work on electro-magnetic induction, the laws of electrolysis and the theory of electro-magnetism are in the form of laboratory notebooks, lecture notes and various publications on experimental researchers in electricity. There are some administrative papers on the Royal Institution of Great Britain including cash books. The correspondence covers his work for the Admiralty and the Corporation of Trinity House whilst acting as Scientific Adviser; they also detail his general communication with people and other organisations. Other items include his book collection, scrapbooks, portfolio of portraits and apparatus. A few lacunae have been identified. There are no documents on his personal life or his work as Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

9. Grove, Sir William Robert (1811-1896)

Administrative/Biographical history:

William Robert Grove was born the son of John Grove, a magistrate, and Anne Bevan, in , Wales, in 1811. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford and graduated in 1832. In 1835, he became a barrister at Lincoln's Inn and in the same year became a member of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) in the same year. In 1837 he married Emma Powles and they subsequently had six children. Despite his occupation in law, he was interested in science and researched into . He developed the `Grove gas voltaic battery' in 1839 and developed the `Grove cell' using for increased voltage. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1840 and gained their in 1847. In 1841 he became Professor of Experimental Philosophy at the London Institution, in Finsbury Square, London, where he also gave lectures. In 1846 he published On the Correlation of Physical Forces, which established the theory of the mutual convertibility of forces. He was a member of the ; a Member of the Council of the Royal Society from 1846 to 1847 and became Secretary of the Royal Society from 1848 to 1849. He retired from being a barrister in 1853 due to ill health, but he also became part of Queen's Counsel in the same year. He then became a member of the Royal Commission on the Law of Patents in 1864, and a

Judge in the Court of Common Pleas in 1871. In 1871 he was knighted. He became a Judge of the Queen's Bench in 1880 and Privy Councillor in 1887. He died in London in 1896.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir William Robert Grove include correspondence to and from various recipients, 1839- 1877; Grove papers: printed and manuscript drafts, including notes on a tour of Wales (possibly by his father, John Grove); notes on electricity and on electrolytic and disruptive discharges, 1848; notes on magnetism and heat; notes on the influence of light on polarised , 1856; a dialogue of continuity; drafts for a presidential address, 1866-1867.

10. Pepys, William Hasledine (1775-1856)

Administrative/Biographical history:

William Hasledine Pepys was born the son of W H Pepys, cutler and maker of surgical instruments, in London, in 1775. His educational background is not known. In 1796 he founded the Askesian Society, which led to the foundation of the British Mineralogical Society, the Geological Society and the London Institution, in Finsbury Square, London. He was an original manager of the London Institution and was Honorary Secretary from 1821 to 1824. He became the Treasurer and Vice- President of the Geological Society. He worked on soda-water apparatus in 1798 and researched into using mercury contacts for electrical apparatus and tubes coated in India rubber to convey gases, inventing the mercury gasometer as a result. In 1807 he invented a type of eudiometer, and in 1808 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. He extended his father's business into making instruments for the philosophical discipline. He was active in the management of the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) and was its Vice-President in 1816. He published papers of his work in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and in Philosophical Magazine with William Allen (1770-1843). He was a Quaker and he died in Kensington, London in 1856.

Archive Content

Papers of William Hasledine Pepys include correspondence to and from various recipients, relating to numerous issues such as surgical instruments, club nominations and the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri), c1805-1862 in. A bound volume containing various notices of meetings, proposed bye- laws and accounts relating to the RI, 1806-1810.

11. Thompson, Sir Benjamin, Count von Rumford (1753-1814)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Benjamin Thompson was born the son of Benjamin Thompson and Ruth Simonds, in Woburn, Massachusetts, North America, in 1753. He had little formal schooling and educated himself by reading books. Later, he attended lectures at Harvard University and became a schoolteacher. He moved to Concord, New and in 1772, he married Sarah Walker Rolfe, a wealthy widow; they had one daughter. In 1775, they separated permanently. Thompson then became an active

member of the Tory party and fled to London, England at the fall of Boston. He was given employment at the Colonial Office and occupied himself with various experiments such as the optimal position of firing vents in canons and the velocity of shot. In 1779 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1780 he was made under-secretary for the colonies and later returned to America as Lieutenant-Colonel in the American Dragoons of George III. In 1784 he was knighted. From 1784-1795, he joined the service of the court of the elector of Bavaria and became head of the Bavarian Army. In 1793, he was made a Count of the and took the name of Count (von) Rumford. He continued his scientific work and showed that heat was lost through convection and as a result he made military cloth to be more insulating. He made soup a staple and nutritional diet for the poor. He also designed a drip-type coffee maker, the double boiler and pots and pans to be used on his `insulated box' more commonly known as a stove. He later designed more efficient fireplaces whereby the size of the throat was enlarged according to the size of the fireplace in order to reduce the amount of smoke emissions. He studied light and made standard candles, and later used steam for efficient production in the manufacture of soap and dye and in breweries. In 1796, he gave a large amount of money to the Royal Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston, America, for scientific research prizes into heat and light. In 1799, he helped found the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) with the idea of making it into a museum for technology to educate the poor. He established lectures and gained money from the aristocracy in order to fund the RI, introducing Humphry Davy (later Sir) and Thomas Young as early professors. However, he lost interest in the running of the Ri and went to Paris, France, where he married Marie-Anne, widow of Antoine Lavoisier. The marriage failed and he retired to Auteuil, France, where he later died in 1814. Many of his papers were reprinted, for example under S. C. Brown, ‘The Nature of Heat’, 1968; ‘Practical Applications of Heat’, 1969; ‘Devices and Techniques’, 1969; ‘Light and Armament’, 1970; ‘Public Institutions’, 1970.

Archive Content

Papers of Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford include: volume of letters to and from various recipients such as William Savage, Bessey Williams and Joseph Banks, 1798-1832; a daybook of 1799 and a notebook of expenses for 1802; printed papers relating to Rumford 1819-1964, such as 'Sir Benjamin Thompson, Comte Rumford' by J. D. Dumas in Journal des Savants 1881-1882 and Count Rumford's Concept of Heat by S. C. Brown, 1952; typescripts of letters in the bound volume, Rumford 1; MSS consisting of receipts, postcards and a sketch of Rumford's tomb with a transcript of the inscription and notes by C. E. S. Phillips, 1805- c1935; Dr Stollard's correspondence in connection with the Rumford papers, 1972-1973.

12. Tyndall, John (1820-1893)

Administrative/Biographical history:

John Tyndall was born the son of John Tyndall, a shoemaker, in Leighton Bridge, , Ireland, in 1820. He attended the National School in Carlow until the age of 19. He supplemented his schooling by reading and thus became fascinated by science. He began work as a draftsman and civil

engineer in the Irish Ordnance Survey but was later transferred to the English division in Preston, Lancashire in 1842. He was strongly against political principles in England and was transferred back to Ireland after protesting against them. He later returned to England as a surveyor and engineer during the railway development of 1844-1845. He became acquainted with George Edmondson of Queenwood College in Hampshire in 1847 and began teaching mathematics and drawing there. At Queenwood College, Tyndall was introduced to German science through his involvement with Thomas Archer Hirst and Edward Frankland. In 1848, he attended the University of Marburg in Germany, and studied science under Bunsen, gaining his PhD in 1850. He remained at Marburg and worked in the laboratory on diamagnetism with Karl Herrmann Knoblauch. Together, they published a paper on their work in Philosophical Magazine, in 1850-1851. Like many natural philosophers, Tyndall had to write, lecture and examine in order to earn a living and gain a name as a first-rate natural philosopher. Nevertheless, in 1852 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1853 he became Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri). Under Michael Faraday's guidance, he became a very good lecturer giving over 300 lectures at the RI alone. He succeeded Faraday as Superintendent of the RI in 1867, which he held until 1887. He became Scientific Adviser to Trinity House in 1865 and to the Board of Trade in c1867. Tyndall undertook various forms of research in his time, from electromagnetism to thermodynamics to bacteriology. From 1851 to 1856, he studied the compression on crystalline substances; 1854-1856 he looked at Penrhyn slate and investigated the Penrhyn quarries; 1856-1859, he studied glacial movements; 1860-1870 he undertook work on the effects of solar and heat radiation on atmospheric gases; 1870-1876 he considered the scattering of light particles and the blue colour of the sky, as well as spontaneous generation and defending Pasteur in his work. John Tyndall is known for verifying the high absorptive and radiative power of aqueous vapour; measuring atmosphere and the transmission of heat by gases and liquids; explaining the selective influence of the atmosphere on sounds, and establishing the principle of `discontinuous heating', otherwise known as `Tyndallisation', as a sterilizing technique. His work on glacial movement was inconclusive. Tyndall was kept busy outside of the laboratory through other activities such as being the Examiner for the Royal Military College 1855-1857; Professor of Physics at the 1859-1968; lecturer at Eton College 1856 and at the London Institution 1856-1859. He regularly wrote articles for the Saturday Review from 1859 and became Scientific Adviser to The Reader 1863-1867. In 1869 he inaugurated the journal Nature and pushed for public knowledge and access to science. In 1866- 1867, he was on the British Association Committee for teaching science. He published many papers through the Royal Society, as well as books such as Glaciers of the Alps in 1860 and Heat Considered as a Mode of Motion in 1863. He received the Rumford Medal from the Royal Society, in1869. In 1874, he gave a presidential address to the British Association in Belfast which caused a great deal of controversy since he questioned theistic explanations for natural phenomena. In 1876, he married Louisa Charlotte Hamilton. During the 1870s and 1880s, Tyndall was often ill. He resigned from his position as Scientific Advisor to Trinity House and the Board of Trade in 1884, over Joseph Chamberlain's policy for lighthouses. He rejected Gladstone's policies for home rule in Ireland in 1885, and by 1886 he became so ill that he was eventually bedridden. He retired from the RI in 1887, and after an accidental overdose of medication by his wife, Louisa, he died in 1893.

Archive Content

Papers of John Tyndall include: Correspondence - c4,300 letters [and 13 typescript volumes] to and from various recipients and on various issues; Journals (Louisa Tyndall, Thomas Archer Hirst, Edward Frankland and Lady Claud Hamilton): Journals of John Tyndall relating to issues such as railway work, travels, and his general day to day life; Notebooks - the notebooks and experimental diaries of John Tyndall refer to his work, experiments and observations. There are notes on glaciers, heat and light experiments, putrefaction, lighthouses, the sky, sound, the Alps, [Michael] Faraday, travels and other miscellaneous notes such as philosophy and other people's experiments. Notebooks relating to the X-Club. Lecture notes - the volumes of lecture notes consist of notes by John Tyndall for lectures given at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri) and the London Institution as well as various addresses and speeches for example at St. Andrew's Hall, Glasgow and Belfast. The notes refer to lectures on heat, radiant heat, light, magnetism and electricity, sound, the discoveries of [Michael] Faraday, John Tyndall's American tour as well as the apparatus for the lectures; Biographical Material - the biographical material contains notes made and materials collected for biographies of John Tyndall. These include articles, newspaper cuttings, handwritten notes, drafts by C N Creasey and A S Eve, written attempts by Louisa Tyndall and other papers with biographical notes such as hand-written copies of Pasteur letters and chronologies. There are two boxes of Thomas Archer Hirst material which refers to his journals and contain biographical notes; Press Related Material - Press related material includes written articles and letters for the Times and Saturday Review, newspaper cuttings relating to John Tyndall and his works and activities for example of lighthouses, his American tour, as well as obituaries and miscellaneous pieces on religion and scientific affairs; Publications/Articles - the publications and articles consist of various off prints and copies of publications and articles by John Tyndall and others. Various miscellaneous items consisting of bound volumes of manuscripts relating to issues such as John Tyndall's life, work, poetry written or collected by John Tyndall, valentines and travel notes, portraits, drawings and sketches of John Tyndall. Newly attributed notebooks from Tyndall’s studies in Germany, including notes on lectures by Bunsen have been added to the archival collection.

13. Tyndall, Louisa Charlotte (1845–1940)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Louisa Charlotte Hamilton married John Tyndall, then Superintendent of the House and Director of the Laboratory at the Royal Institution, in Westminster Abbey on 29 February 1876, when he was in his 50s, and she just over 30. For the next 10 years Louisa was effectively chatelaine of the Royal Institution (Ri), hosting dinners and gatherings around Discourses and other lectures.

She was the eldest daughter of Lord Claud Hamilton, whose brother the Duke of Abercorn was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Louisa’s mother joined as a member of the Royal Institution in 1874, allowing her an opportunity to meet John Tyndall.

Louisa worked closely with John on his research and writings and could be frequently found in his laboratory taking notes and writing accounts of observations. Louisa was an organising force behind the building and furnishing of their idyllic Alpine chalet above Bel Alp and their house in Hindhead.

On December 4th 1893 Louisa gave John Tyndall the wrong medicine, an overdose of chloral hydrate. Desperate attempts were made to counter its effects but failed.

Louisa outlived John by 47 years, guarding his papers closely and attempting to produce a thorough biography of her husband’s life and work. A biography eventually appeared in 1945, after her death.

Archive Content

Papers of Louisa Tyndall consists of correspondence, to and from, family, friends and colleagues of John Tyndall. Further material relating to John Tyndall memorials and biographies makes up part of the collection

14. Webster, Thomas (c 1772-1844)

Administrative/Biographical history:

Thomas Webster was born in the Orkney Islands, Scotland in c 1772. He was educated in Aberdeen, Scotland before travelling to England and France, making architectural sketches on his journey. He became an architect in London and in 1799 he was Clerk of the Works at the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri), employed to design the lecture theatre. He was also a geologist and in 1814 he wrote a paper called `On the Freshwater Formations of the Isle of Wight, with some Observations on the Strata Over the Chalk in the South East Part of England' in Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 2 (1814) 161-254. This study highlighted aspects of British geology not known before indicating upper secondary and tertiary strata and was very important at the time. Thomas Webster became Curator of the Geological Society's museum and was Professor of Geology at University College London from 1842 to 1844. He died in London in 1844.

Archive Content

Papers of Thomas Webster consist of a bound volume, c1799-1845, containing the autobiography of Thomas Webster, 1837, a copy of the obituary on Webster and various letters including some to Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford.