The lost world of James Smithson : science, revolution, and the birth of the Smithsonian / Heather Ewing.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ewing, Heather P.

Contributor:

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Smithson, James, 1765-1829.

Smithson, James.

Smithsonian Institution--History.

Smithsonian Institution.

Scientists--Great Britain--Biography.

Scientists.

History.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 432 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, genealogical tables, maps ; 25 cm

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Other Title:

Science, revolution, and the birth of the Smithsonian

Place of Publication:

New York : Bloomsbury, 2007.

Summary:

Fascinating and magisterial, Ewing's biography presents a sweeping portrait of a remarkable man at the center of the English Enlightenment and the creation of America's greatest museum.

Contents:

Maps: The Journey to Staffa ix

The Grand Tour 1791-1797 x

1 Descended from Kings 19

2 Oxford: The Lure of Novelty, 1782-l784 49

3 Staffa: The Cathedral of the Sea, 1784 70

4 London: Science Like Fire, 1784-1788 98

5 Science and Revolution, 1788-1791 125

6 Grand Tour, 1791-1797 151

7 London: Citizen of the World, 1797-1803 193

8 The Hurricane of War, 1803-1807 218

9 Vibrating between Existence and the Tomb, 1807-1810 238

10 London: A New Race of Chemists, 1810-1814 259

11 Paris: Private Vices, Publick Benefits, 1814-1825 271

12 London: The Will, 1825-1829 295

13 America: The Finger of Providence 315

Epilogue 1832 343

Appendix Genealogy Chart 350.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

1596910291

9781596910294

OCLC:

106154387