Joseph Henry's Letter to Joseph Patterson (April 19, 1878)

Summary

Letter from Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to Joseph Patterson, April 19, 1878. In the letter, Henry discusses a recent meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. He notes that future elections of members should be thought through carefully, and the qualifications for membership should be a spotless reputation, number of publications, and scientific discoveries instead of social standing. Henry also notes the exhibition and demonstration of a telephone and phonograph at the meeting.

Subject

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Notes

• The accompanying PDF contains SIA2012-3141 and SIA2012-3142, which are pages scanned from the edited transcript of the original version and notes in the Joseph Henry Papers Volume 11, pages 651-652 (Document 302).
• This document is a copy of the original made by Mary Henry.

Contained within

• Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7001, Box 12, Folder: 20 - April - May 1878
• Rothenberg, Marc, et al, eds., The Papers of Joseph Henry, Volume 11, The Smithsonian Years: January 1866-May 1878 (Smithsonian Institution in association with Science History Publications/USA, 2007), 651-652

Contact information

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

Date

April 19, 1878

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Elections
• Publications
• Telephone
• Meetings
• Letters
• Secretaries
• Exhibitions
• Phonograph
• Discoveries in science

Form/Genre

• Document
• Paper

ID Number

SIA2012-3617 and SIA2012-3618

Physical description

Number of Images: 2; Color: Color; Size: 7 3/4w x 7 1/4h; Type of Image: Document; Medium: Paper

Full Record

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