John Winthrop's proposal respecting electrical globes and jars, ca. 1758

• Main Author: Winthrop, John , 1714-1779
• Language: English
• Published: Harvard University Archives 1758
• Subjects: Winthrop; John > 1714-1779; Franklin; Benjamin > 1706-1790; Harvard University > Faculty; Harvard University. > Hollis Professorship of Mathematicks and Natural Philosophy; Harvard University > Scientific apparatus collections; Mathematics > Study and teaching (Higher) > Massachusetts > Cambridge; Astronomy > Study and teaching (Higher) > Massachusetts > Cambridge; Physics > Study and teaching (Higher) > Massachusetts > Cambridge; Scientific apparatus and instruments; Electricity; Canada; Hannah; Venus; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:16732631; http://ids.lib.harvard.edu/ids/view/51416520?width=150&height=150&usethumb=y; http://colonialnorthamerican.library.harvard.edu/prod/cna/12772802

In this proposal, John Winthrop explains the need to replace damaged "electric globes" used in the College's collection of scientific apparatus. He states that Benjamin Franklin, at the time residing in London, was willing to seek replacement globes for the College's collection. Winthrop then proceeds to assert that the College should acquire "square bottles, of a moderate size, fitted in a wooden box, like what they call case bottles for spirits" instead of the large jars included in the scientific apparatus, because those jars cracked frequently. Title supplied by cataloger. Open for research. John Winthrop's proposal respecting electrical globes and jars, ca. 1758, was previously classified as UAI 15.960. John Winthrop (1738-1779), astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, served as Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy from 1738 to 1779. Winthrop was one of the most distinguished scientists of the eighteenth century and established a transatlantic reputation for his studies of astronomy, meteorology, and seismology. Winthrop also shared an interest in the study of the principles of electricity with his friend Benjamin Franklin and his experiments in electricity and magnetism attracted students and scholars. Winthrop modernized scientific instruction at Harvard College by introducing his students to the experimental methods of Isaac Newton (1643-1727), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), and Robert Boyle (1627-1691). In May 1761, Winthrop led Harvard College's first scientific expedition to Newfoundland, Canada with an octant and telescopes, to view the transit of Venus across the Sun. For over forty years, Winthrop wrote and lectured regularly about his electrical experiments, transit observations, studies of eclipses, comets, whirlwinds, and the origins of earthquakes. Winthrop twice served as acting president of Harvard College (1773-1774), was a member of the Royal Society in London (1766) and a member of the American Philosophical Society (1769). Additionally, he received Harvard College's first honorary LL.D. degree in 1773. Winthrop was also a member of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress during the American Revolution. The Hollis Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy was founded in 1726 by Thomas Hollis (1659-1731) a wealthy English merchant and benefactor of Harvard University. Winthrop, John, 1714-1779. John Winthrop's proposal respecting electrical globes and jars, ca. 1758. UAI 15.1068, Harvard University Archives. Additional materials on the Hollis Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy are held in the Harvard University Archives. These include: 1) Rules and orders relating to a Professor of the Mathematicks, of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, in Harvard College, 18 January 1726 (UAI 15.1067); 2) Papers of John and Hannah Winthrop, 1728-1789 (HUM 9).