Books

Tyndall Continues Scientific Experiments and Marries Louisa Hamilton

Letters Covering Tyndall’s Infamous Belfast Address

Letters Showing Tyndall’s Widespread Esteem and Increasing Social Status

Letters Showing Tyndall as an Established Man of Science

The 161 letters in this volume encompass a period of dramatic change for the young John Tyndall, who would become one of Victorian Britain’s most famous physicists. They begin in September 1843, in the midst of a fiery public conflict with the Ordnance Survey of England, and end in December 1849 with him as a doctoral student of mathematics and experimental science at the University of Marburg, Germany.

The 230 letters in this inaugural volume of The Correspondence of John Tyndall chart Tyndall’s emergence into early adulthood, spanning from his arrival in Youghal in May 1840 as a civil assistant with just a year’s experience working on the Irish Ordnance Survey to his pseudonymous authorship of an open letter to the prime minister, Robert Peel, protesting the pay and conditions on the English Survey in August 1843.

In the period covered by this volume, Tyndall completed his degree, published his first scientific papers, became a regular participant in the British Association meetings, established friendships with leading men of science in Berlin and London, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. As the volume ends, he was preparing his first lecture to the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the catalyst for a profound transition in his life. The letters offer a behind-the-scenes view of nineteenth-century publishing processes, the practices and challenges of diamagnetic research, the application procedures for university positions, the use of patronage in establishing a scientific career, and the often anxious and weary-worn personality of Tyndall, the ambitious protagonist.

The 329 letters in this volume represent a period of immense transition in John Tyndall’s life. A noticeable spike in his extant correspondence during the early 1850s is linked to his expanding international network, growing reputation as a leading scientific figure in Britain and abroad, and his employment at the Royal Institution. By December 1854, Tyndall had firmly established himself as a significant man of science, complete with an influential position at the center of the British scientific establishment.

Volume 5 contains 266 letters covering a period of twenty-two months, when Tyndall was in his mid-thirties and had been employed by the Royal Institution as professor of natural philosophy since September 1853.

This sixth volume of Tyndall’s correspondence contains 302 letters covering a period of twenty-eight months (1856–1859).

The Ending of Tyndall’s Relationship with the Drummond Family, Disputes about His Glaciology Work, and More

Public Disputes, Tyndall’s Dramatic Mountain Climbing Escapades, Efforts to Promote Science to a Wide Audience, and More

The tenth volume of The Correspondence of John Tyndall spans from January 1867 to December 1868. It begins with Tyndall publicly enmeshed in a controversy that revealed his views on race, politics, and justifiable violence. Further pressure is exerted on him personally by the death of his mother Sarah, and the numerous ...

Letters Detailing Highly Productive and Wide-Ranging Research

Letters Revealing the Increasing Scope of Tyndall’s Activities