Smithson Presents Scientific Paper

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Summary

James Smithson reads his second paper, entitled "A Chemical Analysis of Some Calamines," before the Royal Society of London, and it is published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume XCIII, page 12. This is the first known instance of his use of the name James Smithson. Smithson successfuly challenges the claim of the abbe R. Hauy that calamines are mere oxides of zinc. Smithson establishes calamines as true minerals in the rank of carbonates. In all, Smithson wrote 27 papers as contributions to scientific literature, 8 published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, and 19 in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy. These are reproduced in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 21, no. 327, edited by William J. Rhees in Article II.

Subject

  • Haüy, René Just 1743-1822
  • Smithson, James 1765-1829
  • Royal Society of London

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • In all, Smithson wrote 27 papers as contributions to the scientific literature, 8 published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London and 19 in Thomson's Annals of Philosophy. These are reproduced in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 21, no. 327, 1881, edited by William J. Rhees.
  • Goode, George Brown, ed. The Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1896, The History of Its First Half Century. Washington, D.C.: De Vinne Press, 1897, p. 12-13.
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 21, no. 330, Article I. "James Smithson and his Bequest," by William J. Rhees. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1880, p. 3, 9.
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. 21, no. 327, Article II. "The Scientific Writings of James Smithson," ed. by William J. Rhees, with contributions by Walter R. Johnson and J. R. McD. Irby. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1879, p. 166.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

November 18, 1802

Topic

  • Professional associations
  • Chemistry
  • Geology
  • Mineralogy
  • Museums
  • Museum publications

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