From the dust jacket.

Below, in chronological order, is a small sampling of documents we have transcribed, edited, and published in The Papers of Joseph Henry. The sample includes Henry's first surviving letter, an entry from his laboratory notebooks as well as one from his European diary, a letter Henry wrote to a newspaper editor about lightning rods, and a student's view of Henry as a teacher. Also included are letters touching on two of his scientific breakthroughs (in understanding the principles of electromagnetism and the electromagnetic telegraph in particular). A letter to his wife reveals the domestic side of Henry.

Facsimile, Henry to parents.

In addition to reading our transcriptions and accompanying editorial notes, you may also wish to see an electronic image of the original manuscript. Just click on the word "facsimile" at the end of each transcription. You will be taken to an image that is best for printing (a 100-200KB file); click on the image to see a larger one (200-400KB) for viewing on the web.

We hope this sample stimulates interest in Henry and gives some sense of the value of primary sources for understanding history. For a classroom exercise, teachers may wish to have their students fill out the document analysis worksheet provided here. For an excellent web site on using archival documents in the classroom, see the National Archives and Records Administration's "Digital Classroom."

Editorial Remarks: 1) We have revised the text of the original editorial notes to make them more suitable for this sample. But we wish to remind readers to consult the appropriate volume of The Papers of Joseph Henry for fuller context. 2) Some of our editorial conventions changed in the course of producing the volumes. For example, in the early volumes, Henry's and other author's deletions were italicized and enclosed in angled brackets, as in <deleted words>. Beginning with volume 7, strikeouts were used, as in deleted words. Another example: in the early volumes, the editors silently brought interlineations (words added by the author, usually above the line) into the line; beginning with volume 7, interlineations were represented by up and down arrows. In the samples below, they are represented, beginning with the document from volume 7, by being superscripted, as in ^{added word or words}. Also note that in the document from volume 7, superscripted capital letters are used to designate text notes (on, for example, the author's alterations or physical aspects of the paper or ink) that appear at the end of the document. A full explanation of our editorial policy is given in the front matter to each volume under the heading "Notes on Style."

Below is the earliest Joseph Henry letter we have found. Henry was ten years old at the time of writing. He was living in Galway, New York, some thirty-six miles from his parents in Albany. Though the poor grammar and misspellings are Henry's own, a characteristic he would only partially overcome with practical experience, the stilted language of the text came from the standard letter he followed.

Galway [New York]
July 26, 1808          

Joseph Henry

Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 1, December 1797-October 1832: The Albany Years (Washington, 1972), pp. 3-4.

When Henry penned the letter below, he was virtually unknown outside the scientific community of Albany, New York, where he was professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at the Albany Academy. The letter resulted in his first major publication, "On the Application of the Principle of the Galvanic Multiplier to Electro-Magnetic Apparatus, and Also to the Developement of Great Magnetic Power in Soft Iron, with a Small Galvanic Element," in the January 1831 issue of Silliman's Journal. In this article, Henry announced a significant breakthrough in constructing powerful electromagnets--"then the equivalents of our atom smashers, computers, and rockets," as Nathan Reingold has put it. The article would bring Henry to the attention of the international scientific community and establish his reputation as a leading American scientist.

Albany Dec 10^th 1830

I am with much respect
Your humble serv          
Joseph Henry                

Silliman Family Papers, Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 1, December 1797-October 1832: The Albany Years (Washington, 1972), pp. 301-302.

Henry gave the title "Record of Experiments" to his laboratory notebooks, which are preserved in three large manuscript volumes among his papers at the Smithsonian Archives. The entries begin in 1834, when Henry was professor of natural philosophy at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), and continue through 1863. They are an invaluable resource for understanding how a physical scientist of the nineteenth century actually worked. The entries recorded failures, as in the example below, as well as successes.

May 11 [1835]

Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 2, November 1832-December 1835: The Princeton Years (Washington, 1975), p. 392.

April 3^rd [1837] Went with Prof Wheatstone9 to see Mr Babage.10 Was ushered into the house of the Professor by a servant in livery.
    Found Mr B a very plesant person much younger in appearance than I had anticipated. Appeared not more than 40 although he has a son grown up and engaged in the business of an engineer.11
    We were informed (Prof. Bache12 and my self) that the celebrated calculating machine was to be exhibited to Mr Hume13 the radical member of parliament from Middlesex and his Brotherinlaw14 who is about to sail for america.
    The principal object of the request that the machine might be exhibited at this time is that the Brotherinlaw of Mr. Hume might know something of the machine before visiting America as he had been informed that every person comming from England would be required to explain the machine.
    Before the company arrived Mr B took us into an other room apparently his work shop to explain to us the general principles of a new machine15 of which he is now making the drawings and which will far transend the powers of the first machine16 even were it compleeted according to the original plan.
    The explanation given us was confined to the modus applicandi of the machine and to some very general principles of action. This machine is divided into two parts one of which Mr B calls the store house and the other the mill. The store house is filled with wheels on which numbers are drawn. These are drawn out occasionally by levers and brought into the mill where the processes required are performed. This machine will when finished tabulate any formula of an algebraic kind. It will also calculate the numerical value of an integral when the same is expressed approximately by an infinite series. Besides calculating all Logarithmetic functions it also will be of great use in calculating the mean results of astronomical and meterological observations.
    Before Mr B had finished his exposition the important person Mr Joseph Hume the member from middlesex his Daughter17 and his Brotherinlaw were anounced. We then adjourned to an upper parlor where the machine partly finished is placed. It is contained in a glass case about 2½ feet high 18 inches wide and 8 inches thick on the face where the figures are exhibited. It resembles something like the anexed figure and presents four cylenders of wheels. On these ie the periphery of the wheels numbers are painted. I should have said that each colum or cylender is composed of 4 wheels thus figured.
    The operation of calculating by this instrument is by an application of the principle of differences. For an account by Dr Lardner see Edinburgh Review No 120.18 The machine of which Mr B is now making the drawings is of a totally different nature and operates on interely different principles.
    We were favoured by a most admirable exposition of the use of the machine and of its importance in producing perfect accuracy without the possibility of committing an error.

Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 3, January 1836-December 1837: The Princeton Years (Washington, 1979), pp. 224-226.

The letter below on lightning rods illustrates Henry's concern over the exaggerated claims of some inventors and his impatience with non-scientists who ventured into scientific waters. Henry had been studying various aspects of lightning, including its conduction through lightning rods. In the 1840s, his advice would be sought on protecting the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington and Independence Hall in Philadelphia from lightning.

[August 1, 1838]19

F.25

With Respect & Esteem
In haste yours              
J.H.                              

Draft, Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 4, January 1838-December 1840: The Princeton Years (Washington, 1981), pp. 81-83.

Samuel F. B. Morse's development of the telegraph owed much to Henry's research in electromagnetism during the 1830s (see article on Henry and Morse). Morse used the letter below to help plead his case before the U.S. Congress for adoption of his telegraph, and Henry wrote it with that purpose in mind. But the letter is also the first instance of Henry's oft-repeated statement that Morse deserved credit not for priority of conception, but rather for the ability to realize an efficient system of telegraphy. This point would be of crucial importance later in Morse's legal travails over telegraph patents, as would be the interpretation of this letter.

Princeton29 Feby 24^th 1842

With much Respect & Esteem36
<I am as ever>Yours Truly      
Joseph Henry                            

Draft, Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Nathan Reingold et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 5, January 1841-December 1843: The Princeton Years (Washington, 1985), pp. 150-151.

Although Henry's skills as a research scientist brought him a measure of fame, during his years at Albany and Princeton he was first and foremost a teacher. And judging from contemporary letters, diaries, and student notebooks, he was an outstanding one, beloved and respected by students for his knowledge, sense of humor, and willingness to discuss issues outside the curriculum. The diary entries below by a senior at Princeton give us a starry-eyed glimpse of "Professor Henry."

General Manuscripts Bound, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library. Published in Marc Rothenberg et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 6, January 1844-December 1846:The Princeton Years (Washington, 1992), pp. 387-388; 425-426; 430.

When Henry became secretary of the newly created Smithsonian Institution in December 1846, he retained his position at the College of New Jersey until June 1848. During this period, Henry divided his time between Washington, D.C., and Princeton, where his wife, son, and three daughters remained until January 1848. Lonely and under tremendous pressure in his new position, Henry often poured out his feelings in letters to his wife Harriet. These letters provide us with insights into his family life as well as documentation about his various initiatives in the early days of the Smithsonian. As can be inferred from the letter below, Harriet was less than enthusiastic about the family's pending move to the nation's capital.

Washington wednesday 
morning 7 o'clock 1847
May 5                           

Your--H.

Family Correspondence, Henry Papers, Smithsonian Archives. Published in Marc Rothenberg et al., eds. The Papers of Joseph Henry, vol. 7, January 1847-December 1849:The Smithsonian Years (Washington, 1996), pp. 102-104.