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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7060

Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873

James Henry Coffin Papers, 1848-1884

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873
Title:James Henry Coffin Papers
Dates:1848-1884
Quantity:0.25 cu. ft. (1 half document box)
Collection:Record Unit 7060
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These papers consist of correspondence concerning temperature, wind, and weather reports of the Hudson Bay region, 1848; resolutions of condolence to Coffin's son, Seldon J. Coffin, from students and alumni of Lafayette College after Coffin's death, 1873; newspaper articles; an illustration of James H. Coffin; and the original manuscript of Winds of the Northern Hemisphere. Additional correspondence of James Henry Coffin exists elsewhere in the Smithsonian Archives, especially in the Joseph Henry Collection, Record Unit 7001, and Meteorological Project Records, Record Unit 60.

Historical Note

James Henry Coffin (1806-1873) was a mathematician and meteorologist who specialized in the study of wind velocity. Coffin graduated from Amherst College in 1828 and taught at various schools and colleges. Coffin began his meteorological studies in 1838. While at Williams College, 1840-1843, he installed an apparatus on Mount Greylock, New York, for automatically recording the direction and the velocity of the wind. From 1846 until his death, Coffin held a chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at Lafayette College. In 1846, he began his collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution in meteorology. Two of Coffin's studies, Winds of the Northern Hemisphere and Winds of the Globe were published by the Institution in 1853 and 1875, respectively.

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Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

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Descriptive Entry

These papers consist of correspondence concerning temperature, wind, and weather reports of the Hudson Bay region, 1848; resolutions of condolence to Coffin's son, Seldon J. Coffin, from students and alumni of Lafayette College after Coffin's death, 1873; newspaper articles; an illustration of James H. Coffin; and the original manuscript of Winds of the Northern Hemisphere. Additional correspondence of James Henry Coffin exists elsewhere in the Smithsonian Institution Archives, especially in the Joseph Henry Collection, Record Unit 7001, and Meteorological Project Records, Record Unit 60.

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7060, James Henry Coffin Papers

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Container List

Series 1

Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings

Box 1

Folder 1 Correspondence, 1848, 1873

Box 1 of 1

Folder 2 Newspaper Articles; and an illustration of James Henry Coffin, 1873, 1884

Box 1 of 1

Series 2

Manuscripts

Box 1

Folder 3 Winds of the Northern Hemisphere

Box 1 of 1

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