Autograph letters from Colin Maclaurin to James Stirling
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of eleven letters from Scottish mathematician Colin Maclaurin addressed to his fellow mathematician James Stirling "at the Academy in Little Tower Street", London, or "at Leadhills". The correspondence is dated from 1728 to 1740, and discusses the 1728-9 controversy between Colin MacLaurin and George Campbell over complex roots, as well as other contemporary mathematical and scientific subjects. The letters Coll-2911/6, 7, 10 are annotated with mathematical calculations, likely by James Stirling.
Dates
- Creation: 1728-1740
Creator
- MacLaurin, Colin, 1698-1746 (mathematician) (Author, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Open. Please contact the repository in advance.
Full Extent
11 letters (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased in October 2025. Accession no. SC-Acc-2025-0119.
Processing Information
Catalogued in February 2026 by Aline Brodin, using information provided by the seller.
Subject
- Stirling, James, 1692-1770 (Scottish mathematician) (Recipient, Person)
- Title
- Autograph letters from Colin Maclaurin to James Stirling, 1728-1740
- Author
- Aline Brodin
- Date
- January 2026
- Description rules
- Isad(g)2
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk