| Reference number | MS/603/1/161 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from J [John] Brown, Longhurst, Dunmurry, Belfast, to [Joseph] Larmor |
| Creator | Brown; John (1850-1911); British manufacturer |
| Date | 30 May 1898 |
| Description | He cannot recall if he has spoken to Larmor about the possibility of becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society, a distinction which he desires. He has thought to produce work worthy of it but thinks his best days for science are over - his genius, never dazzling, has ceased burning. Looking over the list of newly elected Fellows in Nature, he thinks that several have not done as much as he has, but Larmor will use his candour and kindness to give an opinion. Brown can send him a list of published papers and a dozen or more mutual friends would think kindly of Brown. He was sorry not to see Larmor at Easter and he intended to drop in while he was in London wth a new instrument he had designed for testing road surfaces. He wished to try to shame Irish authorities into giving better roads. He has induced Maurice Fitzgerald to work out the 'dogged details' of the new motor car, which is electrically powered and has appeared on paper as a 'fearful and wonderful shape unlike anything ever seen before'. He thanks Larmor for his letter of the 23rd and notes a comment on the mercury electrode. Gives an account of Jack's progress at school: he seems to want an engineering career nearer home and feels the loss of his brother. Fitzgerald has advised that Jack should go to some engineering college, such as Liverpool. |
| Extent | 7p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| Physical description | Ink on paper |
| Access status | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | Name | Dates |
| NA5620 | Brown; John (1850 - 1911) | 1850 - 1911 |