1807: Observations regarding chemistry in the Anglo-Saxon world during the napoleonic period

Angewandte Chemie - International Edition

Volumn 46, Issue 1-2, 2007, Pages 24-51

  Krätz, Otto ^a   Vaupel, Elisabeth ^b  

^a Deutsches Museum ^*  (Germany)

^b DEUTSCHES MUSEUM   (Germany)

Author keywords

Dalton, John; Davy, Humphry; Faraday, Michael; History of science; Young, Thomas

Indexed keywords

SOCIAL ASPECTS; TEACHING;

ANGLO-SAXON; NAPOLEONIC PERIOD;

CHEMISTRY;

EID: 33846048355     PISSN: 14337851     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200602455     Document Type: Review

References (231)

1. Sir Humphry Davy, Consolations in Travel or The Last Days of a Philosopher, Adamant Media, Boston, 2005, p. 120.
2. a) P. Nicolaisen, Thomas Jefferson, Rowohlt, Reinbek, 1995, p. 40;
3. original text: b) J. Dunlap (Ed.): "In Congress, 4. July 1776, A Declaration", Philadelphia, 1776;
4. c) discussion: Bücher, die die Welt verändern (Eds.: J. Carter, P. H. Muir), Prestel, Munich, 1968, p. 407;
5. d) J. Crafton, The Declaration of Independence and other great Documents of American History, 1775-1865, Dover, New York, 2000.
6. a) See reference [2a], p. 109;
7. b) H. Haan, G. Niedhart, Geschichte Englands vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, 2nd ed., Beck, Munich, 2002, therein the map "Das britische Weltreich 1793" (p. 228);
8. c) H. Wasser, Die große Vision: Thomas Jefferson und der amerikanische Westen, VS Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2004, therein the maps "North America in 1700" (p. 15), "North America after the Treaty of 1763" (p. 17) and "Gebietswachstum der Vereinigten Staaten 1776-1858" (p. 18);
9. d) historical background: D. J. Weber, The Spanish Frontier in North America, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992;
10. e) for subsequent developments, see, for example: K. J. Bauer, The Mexican War 1846-1848, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1993;
11. f) H. Dippel, Geschichte der USA, 7th ed., Beck, Munich, 2005, therein: "Die junge Republik (1789-1825)" (pp. 33-43).
12. a) R. Dufraisse, Napoleon. Revolutionär und Monarch, 4th ed., Beck, Munich, 2005, p. 74, pp. 86-87;
13. b) J. Tulard, J. F. Fayard, A. Fierro, Histoire et dictionnaire de la Révolution Française 1789-1799, Robert Laffont. Paris, 1989, pp. 472-478;
14. under the keyword "Louisiane" (p. 858) appears the following classic observation: "Mais, le jugeant indefendable contre les appetits britanniques, Bonaparte la vendit aux Etats-Unis, le 30 avril 1803, contre 80 millions de Francs."
15. See reference [2a], pp. 110-112, as well as reference [2b], pp. 180-183.
16. Elaboration on the background: "Über Land zum Pazifik", in reference [2c], pp. 499-500;
17. primary reference: History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean, 2 vols., Bradford & Inskeep, Philadelphia, 1814.
18. This was the era of huge and grandiose research reports and travel accounts. For this reason one should note the parallelism with the following works: A. von Humboldt (in collaboration with Cuvier, Latreille, Gay-Lussac, et al. ), Voyages aux régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent fait en 1799-1804, 30 vols., 1425 copperplate engravings (!), Paris, 1805-1834;
19. Description de l'Egypte ou Recueil des Observations et des Recherches qui ont ete faites en Egypte pendant l'Expeditions de L'Armée Francaise, publie par les Ordres de sa Majesté l'Empereur Napolen Le Grand(!!), 1006 plates, De l'Imprimerie Imperiale, Paris, 1809;
20. reprint of the plates: Description de l'Egypte. Publiée par les ordres de Napoleon Bonaparte, Benedikt, Cologne, 1994;
21. regarding the history of Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition: Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle: Il y a 200 ans, les Savants en Egypte, Nathan, Paris, 1998.
22. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 108.
23. G. I. Brown, Graf Rumford. Das abenteuerliche Leben des Benjamin Thompson, dtv, München, 2002, p. 11.
24. See reference [8], "Sir Benjamin, Oberst in englischen Diensten" (p. 27).
25. Described especially amusingly in G. Grass, Der Butt, 4th ed., dtv, München, 1999. therein: "Der verrückte Graf Rumford, der es nirgendwo lange aushielt und immer was Nützliches erfinden mußte." (pp. 371, 397, 410, 416).
26. See reference [8], "Graf Rumford als Staatsmann in Bayern" (p. 43) and "Rumfords Reformen" (p. 65).
27. a) See reference [8], "Rumford als Wegbereiter der Thermodynamik" (p. 103);
28. b) J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, MacMillan, London, St. Martin's, New York, 1964, therein: "Rumford" (p. 30);
29. c) "Napoleon und die Naturwissenschaften": J. Fischer, appearing in Boethius, Texte und Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der exakten Wissenschaften, Vol. 16, Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden, 1988.
30. S. Schmid, Byron. Shelley. Keats. Ein biographisches Lesebuch, dtv, München, 1999, therein: "Shelley - Anarchie und Freiheit", "An Englands Männer" (p. 85). This poem is anachronistic in the sense that it first appeared around 1810. However, it depicts in masterly fashion the state of revolutionary ferment in England during the entire Napoleonic period - and even afterward! Shelley succeeded in achieving comparable revolutionary tones on only one other occasion: in a poem directed against the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, promulgated by the British military at a demonstration of 60 000 workers near Manchester, where numerous demonstrators were wounded and a few killed: see reference [13], p. 123: "The Mask of Anarchy./ I met Murder on the way/ He had a mask like Castlereagh -/ Very smooth he looked, yet grim;/ Seven blood-hounds followed him; ..."; Robert Stewart Viscount Castlereagh (1769-1822), Foreign Secretary after 1812, was especially despised as an extremely conservalive member of the government, and is portrayed here by Shelley as one of the "horsemen of the apocalypse". Berthold Brecht was a great admirer of this poem.
31. G. T. di Lampedusa, "... Ich sucht' ein Glück, das es nicht gibt ...", Wagenbach, Berlin, 1999, therein: "Das Gesellschaftliche Miljeu" (p. 12) and "Shelley, 1792-1822" (p. 63).
32. Metropole London. Macht und Glanz einer Weltstadt (Ed.: Kulturstiftung Ruhr Essen), Bongers, Recklinghausen, 1992, therein: "Martin Daunton: London und die Welt" (p. 21).
33. a) H. B. Carter, Sir Joseph Banks. 1743-1820. 2nd ed., British Museum (National History), London, 1988, pp. 240-241;
34. b) P. O'Brian, Joseph Banks. A Life, Collins Harvill, London, 1987;
35. c) Sir Joseph Banks. A Global Perspective (Eds.: R. E. R. Banks, B. Elliott, J. G. Hawkes, D. King-Hele, G. Ll. Lucas), The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1994;
36. d) see reference [15], p. 429.
37. See reference [16a], p. 378.
38. See reference [16a], pp. 384-385
39. and F. R. Kreißl. O. Krätz. Feuer und Flamme, Schall und Rauch, Schauexperimente und Chemiehistorisches, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2003. therein: "Öffentliche Experimentalvorlesungen für Chemie im London des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts" (pp. 21-31).
40. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, Vol. 3, MacMillan, London, 1962, p. 273.
41. S. Saudan-Skira, M. Saudan, Orangerien. Paläste aus Glas vom 17. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, therein: "Das Kuriositäten Kabinett" (pp. 94-95). The designation "House" is a typical British euphemism. The reference is to a massive palace, unfortunately demolished in 1955, and built in 1769 based on a description by the architect Robert Adam: "Ruins of the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalato" (1764); the still-existing wonderful orangerie, known by architects as the "Diocletian Wing", was built at the same time. This also housed Lord Shelburne's collections of antiques and miscellany, hence the name "Curiosity Cabinet". The current planting of the terraces unfortunately falls far short of the historic prototype.
42. See reference [19], p. 277.
43. C. Djerassi, R. Hoffmann, Oxygen, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2001.
44. R. Toman, Klassizismus und Romantik. Architektur, Skulptur, Malerei, Zeichnung. 1750-1848, Könemann, Cologne, 2000. The nature of the "Barrières", tollhouses built by Ledoux, makes it likely that their building material also came from underground Parisian limestone quarries, the "Carrières souterraines". This means that some of the holes under the "Wall of the Farmer's-General" used by smugglers originated in this way. Ledoux's second major construction project for the "Ferme General" was the salt works at Chaux, built in 1775-79.
45. "The wall walling in Paris causes Paris to mumble;" better: "grumble!"
46. A. Clement, G. Thomas, Atlas du Paris souterrain. La doublure sombre de la Ville lumière, Parigramme, Paris, 2001, therein: "Octroi et Contrebande" (pp. 88-89). In consequence of the many underground quarries, catacombs, and fresh-water channels for palaces of the nobility and for certain hospitals - ordinary citizens had to buy their water (scooped out of the Seine) from peddlers - subterranean Paris was permeated by a tangle of tunnels and shafts that was difficult to guard, requiring the erection of underground walls and provision of an elite and valiant customs force.
47. Freiheit, Gleichheit, Brüderlichkeit. Bilder von der Französischen Revolution (Ed.: I. Groth). Harenberg, Dortmund, 1982 (a highly condensed, partial reprint of the Tableaux historiques de la Révolution Française. Paris, 1802), pp. 40-41.
48. See reference [26], pp. 46-47.
49. English-language works on the history of chemistry unanimously take the position that Priestley was not a participant at the dinner in question, and that the mob thus punished him unjustifiably. On the other hand, J. Tulard, J.-F. Fayard and A. Fierro in their Histoire et dictionnaire de la Révolution Française (Paris, 1987, pp. 1044-1045) devote an entry specifically to Priestley because he met with "ses amis dans sa maison" for dinner, whereupon "la foule" set fire to his library and his church.
50. See reference [19], p. 242.
51. See reference [19], pp. 278-279.
52. The Wilkinson company is still synonymous today with superb razor blades for anyone who shaves in the old-fashioned way.
53. See reference [16a], pp. 382-83.
54. See reference [16a], pp. 284-85.
55. And indeed only this adjective. To this day the Royal Institution receives no official allowance from the state.
56. See reference [8], p. 150.
57. A veiled reference to Lavoisier, who was famous - indeed notorious - for his extremely expensive instruments, intricately assembled by first-rate technicians.
58. Here Davy glosses over the fact that in the winter of 1807/08 he engaged in a sort of race with the French scientists Guyton de Morveau und Gay-Lussac to see who might succeed in obtaining even more impressive results using a voltaic column of larger diameter and with still more pairs of plates.
59. This passage suggests that Davys' collection of apparatus was perhaps not really all that small, but he actually is referring to a miniature anvil, like that employed by a watchmaker.
60. This refers to two Hales-type pneumatic troughs.
61. With respect to the malleability of platinum, see the section entitled "An Abundance of Metals".
62. When he traveled (especially in 1827, through Continental Europe), Davy himself packed his laboratory gear into two trunks, occasionally carrying out very small-scale researches in his hotel room. There is no apparent record of how the hotel management reacted!
63. This passage presumably refers especially to Wollaston, who when asked about his "laboratory" always presented only a cigar box filled with puzzling odds and ends. No one other than him apparently ever penetrated his secret garden house, in which he discovered the malleability of platinum. Wollaston was indeed famous for experiments on a tiny scale, as when he built the smallest electrical device of his day: an iron nail, dipped into a silver thimble filled with acid. He connected the nail and thimble with an extremely fine platinum wire, one he drew out himself, and this glowed as a result of the voltage difference. He demonstrated the phenomenon in the streets of London to astonished acquaintances who by chance happened by, and were thereby permitted (in the dark) to view his partially unbuttoned overcoat.
64. He means an especially light carriage hitched to only one or two horses.
65. Another sarcastic remark aimed at Lavoisier!
66. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 119.
67. L. Dunsch, Humphry Davy. Biographien hervorragender Naturwissenschaftler, Techniker und Mediziner, Teubner, Leipzig, 1982, therein: "Assistent in Dr. Beddoes Pneumatic Institution" (pp. 15-20).
68. "Die Chemie im Spiegel der schöngeistigen Literatur zur Zeit Leopold Gmelins": O. Krätz in Der 200. Geburtstag von Leopold Gmelin. Eine Dokumentation der Festveranstaltungen (Ed.: Gmelin-Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Grenzgebiete der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), Frankfurt, 1990, therein: "Mary Shelley" (pp. 93-94).
69. W. Durant, A. Durant, Am Vorabend der französischen Revolution. Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit, Vol. 16, Ullstein, Frankfurt, 1982, p. 290; this contains the following (translated) description: "In the 'Lunar-Society' of Birmingham entrepreneurs like Matthew Boulton, James Watt, and Josiah Wedgwood, listened without being horrified to the heresies of Joseph Priestley und Erasmus Darwin." Members of the Lunar-Society met at the full moon, hence the name.
70. W. Durant, A. Durant, Die Napoleonische Ära. Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit, Vol. 18, Ullstein, Frankfurt, 1952, therein: "Biologie. Erasmus Darwin" (pp. 78-79).
71. Davy paid the following tribute to Wedgwood's accomplishments: " ... by multiplication of his chemical studies Wedgwood discovered how these beautiful vessels could be made at such low cost, rivaling older vases in elegance, variety, and taste in the arrangement of the forms, while at the same time surpassing them with respect to solidity and perfection of the materials. (Davy, Consolations in Travel, p. 258). The passage refers to the "Etruria" style, created by Wedgwood as an imitation of an Etruscan vase, and based on prototypes from the collection acquired in Naples by Sir William Hamilton. The originals are today in the British Museum in London. J. Wedgwood was prepared to pay British painters the (for those days!) outrageous honorarium of 50 pounds for every Etruria vase smuggled into a portrait of a high-ranking personage. A remarkable example of an early marketing ploy!
72. H. W. Breunig, Verstand und Einbildungskraft in der englischen Romantik. S. T. Coleridge als Kulminationspunkt seiner Zeit, LIT, Münster, 2002.
73. See reference [49], pp. 148-150.
74. See reference [51], p. 17.
75. M. Amberger-Lahrmann, D. Schmähl, Gifte. Geschichte der Toxikologie, Fourier, Wiesbaden, 1993 therein: "Narkotika. Lachgas" (pp. 14-18).
76. See reference [8], p. 111.
77. C. A. Browne, A Source Book of Agricultural Chemistry, Vol. 4, Chronica Botanica 8, Waltham, 1944, pp. 204-211.
78. "Sir Humphry Davie [sic!], The Prince of Agricultural Chemists": M. D. Wyndham, Chymia 1961, 7, 126-134.
79. H. Davy, Elements of Agricultural Chemistry in A Course of Lectures for the Board of Agriculture, Eastburn, Kirk & Co., New York, 1815.
80. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 116.
81. See reference [2c], p. 478.
82. F. Beaucour, Y. Laissus, C. Orgogozo, La découverte de l'Egypte, Flammarion, Paris, 1989, pp. 174, 198, 237-238; The Rosetta Stone was discovered by the French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard in July 1799 during the construction of Fort Julien, designed to protect the port city of Rosetta (now Rashid) in Lower Egypt from the English, who had landed near Abukir. After the capture of the Napoleonic expeditionary force - Bonaparte himself had escaped in timely fashion after the defeat - the black granite stone (originally thought to be basalt), inscribed in three scripts, was turned over to the British, and now resides in the British Museum in London; Il y a 200 ans, les savants en Egypte (Ed.: Museum Nationale D'Histoire Naturelle), Nathan, Paris, 1898, pp. 116-118. After the capitulation of Alexandria in September, 1801, the victorious English demanded the surrender not only of all antiquities found by French troops in Egypt, but also certain documents. The French researchers threatened to destroy their records, so they were allowed to keep them after all. In 1821 J.-F. Champollion succeeded in fully revealing the secret of the hieroglyphics.
83. A. Maurois, Don Juan oder Das Leben Byrons, Wegner, Hamburg, 1969, pp. 75-76.
84. K. Simonyi, Kulturgeschichte der Physik, Harri Deutsch, Thun, 1990, pp. 352, 354.
85. Henry Peter Baron of Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868) was an important writer and politician (Lord Chancellor, 1830-34). In the House of Commons and later in the House of Lords he fought for the abolition of slavery, emancipation of Catholics, and improvements in the educational sector. He was also a great utilitarian and warrior in the reform debate of 1830-32.
86. With respect to the wave nature of sound and light, and the debate concerning it - which is to say lack of debate - between Goethe, von Humboldt, Arago, Fresnel, and Young: O. Krätz, Alexander von Humboldt. Wissenschaftler, Weltbürger, Revolutionär, 2nd ed., Callwey, Munich, 2000, epilogue to the 2nd ed., pp. 190-191;
87. footnote to the footnote: O.K., the author of this brief study, subsequent to the folly of his having written the book Goethe und die Naturwissenschaften (Callwey, 2nd ed., Munich, 1998), became embroiled in numerous discussions concerning Goethe's "capricious" (an adjective Goethe employed regularly to characterize opinions different from his own) assertions that in the 19th Century only he had done battle with the evil Newton(!), and only he was in possession of the eternal truth concerning the nature of light.
88. See also: Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Farbenlehre, 5 vols., with introduction and commentary by Rudolf Steiner (Eds.: G. Ott, H, O. Proskauer), 7th ed., Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart, 2003. In the meantime, O.K. has become a passionate admirer of Young and Fresnel.
89. Michelson perfected his experimental setup, and eventually replaced the steamer chugging across the Atlantic with the earth itself as it moved through space; see: Nobelpreise. Chronik herausragender Leistungen, Brockhaus, Leipzig/Mannheim, 2001, therein: "1907. Nobelpreis für Physik: Albert Abraham Michelson" (pp. 102-103).
90. H. Davy, Consolations, pp. 116-117.
91. Initially there was even some talk of appointing Dalton rather than Davy; see reference [16a], p. 385.
92. See reference [19], pp. 755-826(!).
93. This formulation was taken from: Lexikon der Naturwissenschaftler (Eds.: D. Freudig, S. Ganter, R. Sauermost), Spektrum, Heidelberg, 2000, keyword: "Dalton" (p. 103).
94. See reference [63], pp. 363, 377.
95. See reference [2c], pp. 481-483.
96. a) M. Faraday, Chemical Manipulation, Applied Science Publishers, London, 1974, reprint of the 1842 edition, p. 2;
97. see also: "Jane Marcet and her Conversations on Chemistry": E. V. Armstrong, J. Chem. Educ. 1938, 15, 53;
98. b) Jane (Mistress) Marcet, Unterhaltungen über die Chemie in welchen die Anfangsgründe dieser nützlichen Wissenschaft allgemein verständlich erläutert werden. Based on the the 13th English edition, edited by F. F. Runge, Sauder'sche Buchhandlung, Berlin, 1839;
99. see also: H. Rossotti, Chemistry in the Schoolroom 1806: Selections from Mrs. Marcet's Conversations on Chemistry, Authorhouse, 2006.
100. J. Marcet, Unterhaltungen (Ed.: E. H. Berninger, G. Giesler, O. Krätz) (see reference [73a]).
101. Reprint in the series: "Dokumente zur Geschichte der Naturwissenschaft, Medizin und Technik", Vol. 3, Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, 1982, therein: O. P. Krätz: epilogue, pp. 471-520; regarding Alexandre Marcet: pp. 471-475.
102. With respect to the problem of popularizing the natural sciences: A. Q. Morton, J. A. Wess, Public & Private Science. The King George III Collection, Oxford University Press, New York, 1993 (this work extends significantly beyond the time - and the collection - of George III !)
103. B. M. Stafford, Kunstvolle Wissenschaft. Aufklärung, Unterhaltung und der Niedergang der visuellen Bildung, Verlag der Kunst, Amsterdam, 1998;
104. regarding the availability of scientific demonstration materials and experimental set-ups: The amazing Catalog of the esteemed firm of George Hieronimus Bestelmeier (Ed.: D. S. Jacoby), Merrimack, New York, 1971;
105. Georg Hieronimus Bestelmeier, Magazin von verschiedenen Kunst- und anderen nützlichen Sachen, zur lehrreichen und angenehmen Unterhaltung der Jugend, als auch für Liebhaber der Künste und Wissenschaften, ... (1803), reprint, Edition Olms, Zurich, 1979.
106. See reference [74b], p. 478.
107. See reference [12b], pp. 99-139.
108. See reference [73a], p. 192.
109. See reference [15], p. 131.
110. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 115.
111. See reference [19], p. 699. The reference here is to W. H. Wollaston, who demonstrated the malleability of platinum in 1804. As is often the case with such assertions, this is not entirely accurate! Wollaston's predecessors, Count von Sickingen, E. Swartz, A. N. Tunborg, and Guyton de Morveau, are here ignored.
112. L. N. Vauquelin, Professor at the Ecole des Mines of the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris prepared metallic chromium in 1792. A mixture of lead chromate and lead sulfate soon became a cherished source of a new, lustrous yellow pigment (cf. the post coaches in Germany). Even today, yellow remains the distinctive color for the German postal service.
113. B. Courtois, who operated a facility for producing soda from kelp, noticed in 1812 that, upon heating with sulfuric acid a lye solution from kelp ashes, there arose a violet vapor, the chemical nature of which was investigated by Gay-Lussac. Davy postulated the elemental nature of iodine, and described its healing powers in his Consolations, p. 263: "Consider the pharmaceutical effect of iodine against two of the most terrible and hated diseases to which the human race is subject, cancer and goiter." Iodine can disinfect open and bleeding malignant tumors!
114. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 116.
115. See reference [81], pp. 654-658.
116. See reference [12b], therein: "Berzelius" (pp. 142-177).
117. O. Krätz, H. Merlin, Casanova, Liebhaber der Wissenschaften, Callwey, Munich, 1995, therein: "Mit Friedrich II. im Park von Sanssouci" (pp. 105-108);
118. Aus dem Briefwechsel Voltaire-Friedrich der Große (Ed.: H. Pleschinski), Haffmanns, Zurich, 1992, pp. 119, 125.
119. O. Krätz, Goethe und die Naturwissenschaften, 2nd ed., Callwey, Munich, 1998, p. 258.
120. K. A. Böttiger, Literarische Zustände und Zeitgenossen. Begegnungen und Gespräche im klassischen Weimar, Aufbau Verlag, Berlin, 1998, p. 41.
121. See reference [88], p. 207.
122. Dates for first discoveries of the elements and their first processing have been taken from: S. Neufeldt, Chronologie Chemie. 1800-1980, 2nd ed., VCH, Weinheim, 1987, pp. 1-13.
123. "Niobium (columbium), tantalum, vanadium": M. E. Weeks, H. M. Leicester, Discovery of the Elements, 7th ed., Journal of Chemical Education, Easton, 1967, pp. 323-384.
124. See reference [87], therein: "'Egeria Semiramis' oder die 'Hypostase' einer leichtgläubigen Alchemistin" (pp. 70-84).
125. K. Alder, Das Maß der Welt. Die Suche nach dem Urmeter, Goldmann, Munich, 2005, pp. 328-329.
126. See reference [92], therein: "The platinum metals. Platinum, rhodium, osmium, iridium, palladium, ruthenium" (pp. 323-432).
127. In terms of buying power today, this was equivalent to tens of millions of euros (or dollars).
128. See reference [81], p. 700.
129. See reference [81], p. 712.
130. G. C. Lichtenberg, Schriften und Briefe, Vol. 4, Briefe. To Franz Ferdinand Wolff. October 10, 1784, p. 586. Includes a caricature by Lichtenberg: Volta as a straw electrometer!.
131. See reference [12c], pp. 204-206.
132. See reference [63], p. 334.
133. See reference [91], p. 3.
134. See reference [92], therein: "Three alkali metals. Potassium, sodium, lithium" (pp. 433-478).
135. See reference [92], therein: "Elements isolated with the aid of potassium and sodium" (pp. 517-590).
136. See reference [46], S. 37.
137. See reference [92], p. 258.
138. See reference [92], p. 310.
139. See reference [92], p. 356.
140. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 116.
141. This section represents a revised and condensed version of: "Zur Frühgeschichte des Periodensystems der Elemente" ["On the Early History of the Periodic System of the Elements"]: O. Krätz, RETE 1972, 2, 45-166;
142. see also: "Versuch einer Gruppierung der elementaren Stoffe nach der Analogie": J. W. Döbereiner, Poggendorffs Annalen der Physik und Chemie 1829, 75, 301.
143. It was especially protestant - and more specifically pietistic - theologians who were interested in chemical-mathematical-theological systems with a numerical base; see, for example: D. Clüver, Disquisitiones Philosophicae oder historische Anmerkungen über die nützlichsten Sachen der Welt, Hamburg, 1707.
144. A rich source of document: U. Eco, History of Beauty, Rizzoli, 2004, chap. III. See also: Leonardo da Vinci's drafts on "Ycocedron abscisus solidus" in Luca Pacioli's "De devina proportione", Venice, 1509.
145. Of comparable significance: Johann Arnold Kanne, Systhem der indischen Mythe, òder Chronos und die Geschichte des Gottmenschen in der Periode des Vorrückens der Nachtgleiche, Leipzig, 1813;
146. derived from this: "Über die Umdrehungsgesetze der magnetischen Erdpole den berühmten indischen Zahlen gemäß, und ein davon abgeleitetes Gesetz des Trabanten und Planetenumschwungs": J. S. C. Schweigger, Journal für Chemie und Physik 1814, 10, 90. Here the notion is clearly expressed that relationships must exist between the equivalent numbers that are roughly comparable to those found in the Indian "divine numbers" and Kepler's harmonies.
147. "A Synoptic Scale of Chemical Equivalents": W. H. Wollaston, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London 1814, 103, 1.
148. The Verlag Chemie in Weinheim (now Wiley-VCH) was still marketing a chemical slide rule in the 1970s - 150 years after Wollaston introduced his. It should be noted, however, that the VCH device was considerably more versatile, allowing one, for example, to solve problems in thermodynamics.
149. The analyses upon which Wollaston relied were far too inexact to permit one to discern an underlying set of rules! On the other hand, the problem presented by the diversity of substances within a given unit of material implied the existence of some sort of similarity in the way different materials are assembled, hence a "system". For chemists even then, enormous variety was displayed by substances with very different chemical behaviors, but a number of physical laws were also known that applied to material in general. In a vacuum, for example, spheres of iron, sulfur, wood, or anything else were known to fall at precisely the same rate! Why?
150. S. Neufeldt, Chronologie Chemie. 1800-1990, VCH, Weinheim, 1987, p. 7.
151. See reference [117], p. 9.
152. William Prout thought that all elements were assembled from hydrogen, hence their "atomic weights" were necessarily whole-number multiples of the atomic weight of hydrogen. At the beginning of the 19th Century, science was almost always regarded in the context of religion. A typical example is the "Bridgewater Book": W. Prout, Chemie, Meteorologie und verwandte Gegenstände als Zeugnisse für die Herrlichkeit des Schöpfers (German translation), Stuttgart, 1836. The English clergyman and philologist Francis Henry Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater (1756-1829), left a significant fraction of his estate to support publication of the "Bridgewater-Books," all of which present nature as a reflection of God. They represent the end of the heyday of physicotheological literature.
153. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, MacMillan, London, 1964, pp. 142-176; similarly: see reference [117], p. 9.
154. "Über Daltons Messkunst chemischer Elemente": J. C. S. Schweigger, Journal für Chemie und Physik 1914, 10, 380.
155. Schweiggers footnote to reference [121].
156. As suggestive as this grouping appears, its significance is somewhat vague. One cannot clearly ascertain here, for example, whether the "pairs" are meant to reflect elements or their compounds.
157. "Ueber den stöchiometrischen Werth der Körper als ein Element ihrer chemischen Anziehung": J. L. G. Meinecke, Journal für Chemie und Physik 1819, 27, 39-47.
158. A modern version of the periodic system (table) of the elements, taking into account IUPAC recommendations up to 2002: E. Fluck, K. G. Heumann, Periodensystem der Elemente, 3rd ed., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002.
159. R. Steiger, Goethes Leben von Tag zu Tag. Eine dokumentarische Chronik, Vol. IV, 1799-1806, Artemis, Zurich, 1986, p. 761.
160. See reference [125], p. 748.
161. See reference [125], p. 748.
162. See reference [125], p. 753.
163. Friedrich Wilhelm Riemer (1774-1845), for a short time private tutor to Goethe's son August, acted as Goethe's "housemate" and editorial colleague in conjunction with the 1806 major edition of his works, as well as with his color theory and the Wahlverwandtschaften ("Elective Affinities").
164. O. Connelly, The Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon, 1792-1815, Warfare and History, Routledge, New York, 2006, pp. 131-133.
165. See reference [125], p. 755.
166. See reference [125], pp. 761, 773.
167. See reference [125], Vol. V, 1807-1813, p. 37.
168. Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770-1831), physician. At this time he lived as an independent scholar in Jena.
169. Goethe in December, 1807, to Caroline von Wolzogen.
170. Seebeck's three demonstrations took place in late March/early April, 1808.
171. See reference [125], Vol. V, p. 328.
172. Friedrich Gottlieb Welcker to Caroline von Humboldt, included in: Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Eine Dokumentation der Wirkung von Goethes Roman. 1808-1832 (Ed.: H. Härtel), Akademie Verlag, Berlin, 1983, p. 88.
173. See reference [138], p. 101.
174. H. M. Enzensberger, Die Elixiere der Wissenschaft. Seitenblicke in Poesie und Prosa, Suhrkamp. Frankfurt, 2004, p. 271.
175. J. Paul (pseudonym for Johann Paul Friedrich Richter), Der Komet oder Nikolaus Marggraf. Eine komische Geschichte, Reclam, Leipzig.
176. Jean Paul, "Nachschrift des guten Recepts für ächte Diamanten", included in reference [141], p. 232.
177. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, Vol. IV, MacMillan, London, 1964, "Davy", p. 61.
178. J. Wilms, Napoleon. Eine Biographie, 2nd ed., Beck, Munich, 2005, pp. 451-460.
179. Metropole London. Macht und Glanz einer Weltstadt. 1800-1840 (Ed.: Kulturstiftung Ruhr Essen), Aurel Bongers, Recklinghausen, 1992, therein: "Andrew Saint: Die Baukunst in der ersten Industrie Metropole", pp. 51-76; also cat. no. 41. p. 255, through cat. no. 58, p. 268.
180. See reference [145], p. 56.
181. See reference [145], p. 57.
182. See reference [145], cat. no. 58, pp. 259, 268-269.
183. G. Kohlmaier, B. von Sartory, Das Glashaus, ein Bautypus des 19. Jahrhunderts, 2nd ed., Prestel, Munich, 1988, pp. 79-89, 126-27;
184. S. Koppelkamm, Künstliche Paradiese. Gewächshäuser und Wintergärten des 19. Jahrhunderts, Ernst & Sohn, Berlin, 1988, pp. 16-26;
185. Woods, A. S. Warren, Glass Houses. A History of Greenhouses, Orangeries and Conservatories, 4th ed., Aurum, London, 1999, pp. 88-141.
186. This marked the point at which more streamlined ships began to be built, with convex curvature to the ribs and to the waterline at the bow and the stern.
187. O. Krätz, Goethe und die Naturwissenschaften, 2nd ed., Callwey, Munich, 1998, therein: "Die Anfänge der Glasindustrie in Jena", pp. 198-203.
188. W. Durand, A. Durand, Die Französische Revolution und der Aufstieg Napoleons. Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit, Vol. 17, Ullstein, Frankfurt, 1982, p. 148; Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834); his mechanical loom (1801) was purchased in 1806 by the French government, and it allowed the French textile industry to become competitive with that of England. In 1808 there were 10720 Jacquard looms operating in Lyon.
189. See reference [151], "Die Wirtschaft", pp. 311-321.
190. Not until 1819/20 did F. F. Runge discover the "coffee base", which is why the absence of caffeine went previously unrecognized. See reference [150], therein: "Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge in Jena", pp. 152-157.
191. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, Vol. IV, MacMillan, London, 1964, p. 489.
192. M. K. Färber, Kaiser und Erzkanzler. Carl von Dalberg und Napoleon am Ende des Alten Reichs, Mittelbayerische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Regensburg, 1988, p. 22.
193. J. R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, Vol. III, MacMillan, London, 1962, p. 587.
194. See reference [157], pp. 592, 577.
195. E. Vaupel, Chem. Unserer Zeit 2006, 40, 306-315.
196. See reference [157], pp. 640-651.
197. See reference [159].
198. See reference [159].
199. See reference [159].
200. L. Dunsch, Humphry Davy. Biographien hervorragender Naturwissenschafler, Techniker und Mediziner, Vol. 62, Teubner, Leipzig, 1982, p. 35.
201. J. Fischer, Napoleon und die Naturwissenschaften. Boethius. Texte und Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der exakten Wissenschaften, Vol. XVI, Franz Steiner, Wiesbaden, 1988, pp. 142-151, 209.
202. See reference [164], p. 35.
203. H. B. Carter, Sir Joseph Banks. 1743-1820, 2nd ed., British "Museum (Natural History), London, 1991, pp. 376, 520.
204. G, I. Brown, Graf Rumford. Das Abenteuerliche Leben des Benjamin Thompson, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich, 2002, pp. 159-176.
205. G. Headley, W. Meulenkamp, Follies, Grottoes and Garden Buildings, 5th ed., Aurum, London, 2003; a unique work, highly recommended to friends of absurd literature, in which not only smugglers have their garden-architectural fling, but also rural clergy lie in wait for academic body snatchers in "watchtowers" in out-of-the-way cemeteries, and eccentric lords enliven the English summer with artificial volcanoes, not to mention the presence of a catalog of "observatories" in peculiar buildings serving virtually every imaginable scientific purpose.
206. See reference [167], p. 253.
207. H. W. Lack, Ein Garten Eden. Meisterwerke botanischer Illustration, Taschen, Cologne, 2001, therein: "Etienne Pierre Ventenat: Jardin de la Malmaison", pp. 254-263.
208. See reference [169], therein: "Aime Bonpland: Description des plantes rares cultivees a Malmaison et a Navarre, Paris 1812-1817", pp. 342-351.
209. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 114.
210. In especially backward parts of Europe, like rural Bavaria, chimneys were quite rare, and as late as the beginning of the 19th Century one would still find houses where an open fire burned on the stone floor, the smoke having to find its way out through the rafters, and through chinks between the wooden shingles.
211. If one examines illustrations connected with the various crafts, as for example in: Diderots Enzyklopädie. Die Bildtafeln. 1762-1777. (greatly reduced reprints of the 3115 originals) Weltbild, Augsburg, 1995, it is striking how many of the stoves depicted (for example, Fig. III on Pl. II "Chymie", Vol. 1, p. 544) rather closely resemble the later Rumford ranges. These were not to be found in households, however, but apparently only in workshops.
212. Regarding Rumford's relationship with Countess Baumgarten and to Lady Palmerston at Schloss Ammerland on Lake Starnberg: Johann Georg von Dillis. 1759-1841. Landschaft und Menschenbild (Ed.: C. Heilmann), therein "Graf Rumford und Gräfin Baumgarten im Wald. 1791", p. 57. Portrait of Rumford: p. 127, with associated text on p. 126. Stepchildren and children of Lady Palmerston, pp. 128-129, with associated text on p. 130. Presumed picture of the young Sophie von Baumgarten: "Mädchen als Flora vor Schloß Ammerland 1798," with associated text, p. 132.
213. Reference [16a], p. 381.
214. Reference [16a], p. 192.
215. Reference [15], p. 343.
216. Reference [15], p. 302.
217. H. Montgomery-Massingberd, C. S. Sykes, Schlösser und Adelssitze in England und Wales, Könemann, Cologne, 1998, pp. 204-217.
218. Reference [181], p. 214.
219. Reference [181], p. 215.
220. Reference [15], therein Simon Jervis: "Rudolph Ackermann", pp. 97-110, as well as "Ackermann's Repository of Arts", pp. 328-342.
221. Reference [15], p. 337. Ackermann was a master at psychologically clever marketing: "The best artists of our times are indebted for encouragement to enthusiastic cultivation of watercolor painting on the part of the enlightened women of our day; and the patronage of the fair sex has ushered in an epoch in art which will do permanent credit to the country." [186] The tiny cases used by traveling watercolorists were easy to transport, and thus especially cherished by the English, who are rightly credited with being the originators of tourism. Watercolor painting was perceived even in Great Britain as "quintessentially British", and there was serious discussion of the question whether the country had a special affinity to water. Regarding the history of the Water Colour Society, see reference [15], p. 171. J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851), apart from J. Ruskin "the most skilled landscape painter that ever lived", painted thousands of watercolors, and apparently carried with him in his jacket pocket a conveniently portable homemade contrivance. This consisted of the leather binding of an old almanac, from which he had removed the paper pages, sewing in their place a double leather sheet to which his paint pots were attached. This singular curiosity is today preserved in the Tate Gallery in London. For a delightful description of Turner's highly original watercolor techniques entailing the use of spittle, blotting paper, bread crumbs, and thumbnail scratches for highlights: M. Clarke, Aquarell. Bild Erlebnis Kunst, Belser, Stuttgart, 1996, pp. 36-37.
222. Modern versions of the camera lucida can still be purchased - 200 years after its invention in 1807 by W. H. Wollaston: D. Hockney, Geheimes Wissen. Verlorene Techniken der Alten Meister wieder entdeckt, Knesebeck, Munich, 2001. therein: "Photographien und Kontruktionszeichnungen", p. 204; as well as "William Hyde Wollaston 1807. Eine Beschreibung der Camera lucida von ihrem Erfinder", pp. 215-216; and M. Kemp, "Der klare Blick des Zeichners: David Hockney und seine Experimente mit der Camera lucida", pp. 228-229.
223. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 117.
224. D. Schwanitz, Englische Kulturgeschichte von 1500 bis 1914, Eichborn, Frankfurt, 1996, pp. 283-284.
225. The physicotheologians of the 18th Century - often pietistic clergymen - identified the foundation stone of their world view in the Old Testament: in The Book of Job, chapter 37, in which the chapter title from Martin Luther's German translation (retranslated into English) reads "God's Majesty is Recognizable in the Book of Nature". Further, from the Apocrypha: "The Song of the Three Jews". Regarding Daniel 3, for example verse 38: "Bless the Lord, all the Lord's creation: praise and glorify him forever!" (as rendered by The New Jerusalem Bible). See also the hymn, set to music by Beethoven: "Die Himmel rühmen des ewigen Ehre ...." ["The Heavens sing the praises of the eternal glory ... ]".
226. Francis Henry Egerton, VIII. Earl of Bridgewater (1756-1829), Anglican clergyman; as heir to his brother and builder, of the Bridgewater Canal he was very rich, and lived his life to the fullest: a life that even for an English aristocrat was unusually eccentric, but also showed outstanding cultural tendencies. His passion for collecting autographs was the basis for the "Egerton Papers" in the British Library. His will bequeathed funding for publication of the "Bridgewater Books", which blossomed during the years 1833-1840. Davy's Consolations also appeared in 1833, fitting very well into the general tone of that year.
227. H. Davy, Consolations, p. 277.
228. P. Nicolaisen, Thomas Jefferson, Rowohlt, Reinbek, 1995, p. 116.
229. In order not to annoy the British to excess, Jefferson extended the trade embargo to cover France as well. H. Dippel, Geschichte der USA, 6th ed., Beck, Munich, 2003, pp. 36-37.
230. See reference [173], pp. 116-117.
231. J. H. Moore, Wiley. One Hundred and Seventy Five Years of Publishing, Wiley, New York, 1982, pp. 2-5.