Autograph Letter Signed from Colin MacLaurin to Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, 5 February 1743
Item — Box: CLX-A-1702
Identifier: Coll-1848/21-0023
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a letter written, in French, by Colin Maclaurin, to Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, Perpetual Secretary of the French Académie des Sciences. Maclaurin first discusses his major work, the Treatise of Fluxions (1742), a rigorous and systematic defence of Newtonian calculus. Maclaurin acknowledges that foreign readers might be surprised by his methodology but explains that he wished to meet potential scientific and philosophical objections from prominent British anti-Newtonians like Bishop Berkeley. Maclaurin goes on to enquires about a French geodetic expedition to Peru, sponsored by the Académie des Sciences, to establish whether the earth’s circumference was greater around the equator or around the poles. Finally, he reports on recent attempts to correct the geography of the North of Scotland and promises to send Mairan a newly engraved map of the country. Maclaurin believed that it was crucial to map the Scottish coastline accurately in view of a possible French-backed Jacobite invasion.
Dates
- 5 February 1743
Creator
- MacLaurin, Colin, 1698-1746 (mathematician) (Author, Person)
Physical Description
3 pages (228 x 187mm). Small piece missing at top right corner, slight dust-staining, but otherwise good condition.
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
Extent
1 letter
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in January 2021. Accession no. SC-Acc-2021-0023.
Physical Description
3 pages (228 x 187mm). Small piece missing at top right corner, slight dust-staining, but otherwise good condition.
Processing Information
Catalogued in October 2021 by Aline Brodin and Paul Barnaby.
Creator
- MacLaurin, Colin, 1698-1746 (mathematician) (Author, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
is-crc@ed.ac.uk
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
is-crc@ed.ac.uk