Smithson's First Scientific Paper Read

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Summary

James Smithson's first scientific paper entitled, "An Account of Some Chemical Experiments on Tabasheer," is read before the Royal Society of London and published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume LXXXI, part 2, p. 368. The paper details his many experiments on this substance found in bamboo. It is signed James Louis Macie, the name he used until c. 1800.

Subject

  • 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. 11.

Contact information

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

Date

July 7, 1791

Topic

  • Professional associations
  • Chemistry
  • Firsts
  • Museums
  • Museum publications

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