Three Monuments in the History of Science Arrive at Bancroft
The Bancroft Library recently acquired three monuments in science. The first paper on differential calculus, written by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz in 1684, arrived at the library in October. These volumes played an important role in the history of science. In 1681 Leibniz had studied the proportions between a circle and a circumscribed square, and the resistance of solids. Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis ("New Method for the Greatest and the Least") was published as an exposition of his differential calculus.
What was then called the "infinitesimal calculus" originated in the 17th Century with the researches of Kepler, Cavalieri, Torrecelli, Fermat, and Barrow, but the two independent inventors of the subject were Newton and Leibniz. A controversy developed in the beginning of the 18th Century as to just who had been first with the discovery. This controversy led to an unfortunate split between English and Continental mathematics that lasted through the first quarter of the 19th Century.
In 1714 the English Parliament issued "An Act for Providing a Publick Reward for such Person or Persons as shall Discover the Longitude at Sea" which led to the creation of the Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea. The printed document is another of the new science acquisitions in the Bancroft. As English trade and empire needs increased, so did the need for long distance measurements at sea.
The Commission was empowered to award up to £2000 for any scheme that seemed worthy of further investigation and then to award between £10,000 and £20,000 depending on the accuracy of the device or method. The prize remained unclaimed for most of the 18th Century, finally being awarded in 1773 to John Harrison.
After experimenting with two large, cumbersome marine clocks, Harrison came up with a large watch. His invention was tested on a voyage to Jamaica in 1761. On arrival, more than nine weeks later, it was only five seconds slow, within the limits of arc or longitude required. He received the first half of the prize following a second test, and the final payment twelve years later after facing numerous obstacles.
The third scientific arrival at the Bancroft this fall is the first edition of the seminal work that led to the internationally recognized metric system. The threevolume work by Pierre François André Mechain and Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre was published in 1806-10.
In 1790 the Académie des Sciences in Paris set up a commission to consider an internationally uniform system of measurement which could replace the various systems in use throughout the world. The commission recommended in 1791 that the unit of measure should derive from a dimension of the earth: a ten-millionth part of a quadrant of the earth's meridian extending between Dunkirk and Barcelona. The corresponding unit of weight would be the gram: the weight of one cubic centimeter of water at 4° C.
The Constituent Assembly then set up a commission under the astronomers Mechain and Delambre to put the proposals into practice. The French Revolution hindered their work. Mechain was once arrested at one of the measuring points at Essonne near Paris by citizens who thought his activities were counter-revolutionary. In 1799 they completed their task of measurement. The original platinum bars on which they marked the length of a meter and the weight of a gram survive today in Paris.
The three volumes contain the history of the enterprise, the observations, and the calculations. The third volume was finished in 1810, twenty years after the project was begun. When Delambre presented a copy of this work to Napoleon, the emperor responded, "Conquests pass and such work remains."
Camilla Smith,
Council of the Friends of The Bancroft Library
Volume 116
Spring 2000
Table of Contents
The Silent Multitude of Voices in the Reading Room
From the Director: Bancroft Goes Digital
Highlights from Bancroft's Web Resources
Paramount Theatre Archives at The Bancroft Library
Three Monuments in the History of Science Arrive at Bancroft
Ancient Lives: The Tebtunis Papyri in Context
From Mine to Natural Reserve: ROHO records the transition
Chemistry Symposium in Honor of Kenneth S. Pitzer Held January 9 to 13, 2000: Oral History Presented
Welcome, Iris Donovan, Circulation Supervisor in Bancroft
