Science and Technology
Scroll down this page to see four selections from our collection. Researchers interested in our collections should consult Research the page in this website.
Thomas BRADWARDINE (1290-1349) [Geometria]
A manuscript of the 15th century. This manuscript on geometry was the work of Thomas Bradwardine, the Archbishop of Canterbury and mathematician. It is an exceedingly rare manuscript in U.S.libraries.
The manuscript is written in a carolingian hand and is part of the Library's Nicolaus Pol Collection.
Published shortly after his death, De Homine established the philosophy of modern physiology based on the suggestion that man be viewed as a machine and part of the natural world.Our copy has the "phoenix rising" title page and the beautiful flap illustration of the heart. It is the first edition.
Georgius AGRICOLA (1494-1555) De re Metallica Libri XII. Basel, Froben, 1556.
Agricola, a physician for the mining towns of Joachimsthal and Chemitz, became very interested in the mining industry, its techniques and problems. In this famous work that took twenty years to complete, Agricola greatly increased our knowledge of geology, erosion and metals. It remained the most important textbook on mining for the next two hundred years. As a physician who had treated the ailments of miners, he studied the ventilation of mines. In Book IV he outlined various methods to bring fresh air into mines using windmills, bellows and by directing blowing winds down into the mine shaft. This work was translated into English in 1912 by Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964), a mining engineer and 31st President of the United States(1929-33).
Our copy of De re Metallica and the 1912 translation are both signed by Herbert C. Hoover.
Philosophical Transactions: giving some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenous in many Considerable Parts of the World. March 6, 1665 - to the present.
The first scientific journal to fulfill a need for communication among the world's scientific thinkers. Scientists were to report their findings in clear precise, unembellished terms using the universal language of mathematics. The experiments thus described could then be repeated by other investigators. Reading from these volumes is like a march through scientific history.
Our library has the complete journal except for facsimiles of volumes two and three.
Stephen HALES (1677-1761) Statical Essays . . . . 2 volumes. London, Printed for W. Innys and R. Manry . . . and T. Woodward, 1727 - 1733.
>Hales, a parish priest in Teddington, England, studied science at Cambridge. After leaving the university, he continued to conduct many experiments at home, producing seminal work in plant and animal physiology, ventilation, respiration and combustion. His contribution to the understanding of hemodynamics is considered second only to Harvey's. His research in blood physiology is to be found in the second volume of the above work.
Our holdings include three letters from Stephen Hales to William Lee of the Admiralty Office together with multiple editions of the Statical Essays and other works.
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