| Reference number | PP/7/11 |
| Previous numbers | PP/39/14 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Paper, 'On the geometrical construction of the cell of the honey bee' by Henry Hennessy |
| Date | 1885 |
| Description | Hennessy writes: 'The well-known problem of the bee's cell occupied the attention of eminent mathematicians early in the last century, and it is still presented as an interesting example of geometrical maxima and minima. In 1743 Maclaurin communicated to the Royal Society a solution of the question, which appears in the “Philosophical Transactions,” and it seems that the comparison between the mathematical results and the actual cells was effected by angular measurements. Long since a simple method occurred to me for the construction of the figure without employing angles, and as I have not been able to find it in any publication, I venture to submit it in this short paper.'
Annotations in pencil and ink.
Subject: Mathematics / Geometry
Received 20 October 1885. Read 26 October 1885.
A version of this paper was published in volume 39 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the geometrical construction of the cell of the honey bee'. |
| Extent | 3p |
| Format | Manuscript |
| Physical description | Ink and graphite pencil on paper |
| Digital images | View item on Science in the Making |
| Access status | Open |
| Related material | DOI: DOI: 10.1098/rstl.1742.0086 |
| DOI: 10.1098/rspl.1885.0019 |
| Related records in the catalogue | PP/9/14 |
| PP/10/21 |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | Name | Dates |
| NA5993 | Hennessy; Henry (1826 - 1901) | 1826 - 1901 |
| NA8377 | MacLaurin; Colin (1698 - 1746); mathematician | 1698 - 1746 |