| RefNo | MS/242/17a |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Draft letter from Thomas Young to Jöns Jacob Berzelius |
| Date | 1813 |
| Description | Draft of answer to the preceding letter, written on the last page and around the enveloppe.
Agrees with Berzelius' description of [Humphry] Davy, but factually Davy was not appointed at the Bristol Pneumatic Institution solely due to his connection with Dr [Thomas] Beddoes, as the decision was made by all its subscribers.
Comments on Davy's caricature saying that it doesn't prove a great deal as Young is meant to be the main character in it - whereas it depicts an incident that happened at the Royal Institution the previous year when Dr [Thomas] Garnett administered nitrous oxide to Sir John Coxe Hippisley, not Young. [Likely Berzelius and Young were writing about different caricatures, Young is referring to the 1802 Gillray at the Royal Institution, while Berzelius refers to one where Davy and Beddoes are administering laughing gas to their wives], the confusion between Davy and Berzelius wasn't helped by Young's letters being delayed, but hopes that the matter is now resolved.
Sad to say that his plans to publish a Pharmacopea Britannica were met considerable opposition [this was not realised until 1858].
Discusses further Young's translation of Berzelius's work intended for publication by [Alexander] Tilloch in the Philosophical Magazine, unfortunately could not be made longer but glad to report that the missing sheets of [Ludwig Wilhelm] Gilbert's Annalen have now been located. |
| Language | French |
| Extent | 2pp |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| RelatedRecord | MS/849 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7947 | Young; Thomas (1773 - 1829); physician, physicist and Egyptologist | 1773 - 1829 |
| NA3362 | Berzelius; Jons Jakob (1779 - 1848) | 1779 - 1848 |