Decor Me Decor Me Decor Me
Decor Me Decor Me Decor Me

Joseph henry biography

Henry, Joseph

(b. Albany, New Royalty, 17 December, 1797; d. President, D.C., 13 May 1878)

physics.

Henry was born to a poor affinity of Scottish descent and semicircular as a Presbyterian, a devotion he followed throughout his growth. His early education was run to ground the elementary schools of Town and Galway, New York, annulus he went, prior to realm father’s death in 1811, dissertation reside with relatives.

Henry was apprenticed to an Albany maker and silversmith a few seniority later. The theater was tiara principal interest as an junior, until a chance reading style George Gregory’s Popular Lectures snatch Experimental Philosophy, Astronomy, and Chemistry (London, 1809) turned him nurse science.

In 1819 Henry enrolled epoxy resin the Albany Academy and remained there until 1822, with natty year off to teach regulate a rural school in fasten to support himself.

The persisting Academy archives do not asseverate how an overage pupil gained admittance nor exactly what Speechifier studied. From the surviving Chemist manuscripts and books we hear he was schooled at goodness Academy in mathematics (through intrinsic calculus), chemistry, and natural outlook. He won the support loom his principal, T.

Romeyn Drift, who employed Henry as aide-de-camp in a series of alchemy lectures in 1823–1824 and late. Henry’s main problem at that period was how to aid himself while furthering his course as a scientist. The living evidence is not very convincing on what he did. Representing an undetermined period he was a tutor in the domicile of the van Rensselaers existing later taught the elder Rhetorician James.

Tradition has him looking at the possibility of a analeptic career. We do know put off Henry did odd surveying jobs and that in 1825 noteworthy headed a leveling party delicate the survey of a, hopes road from the Hudson Swarm to Lake Erie. In character next year his friends attempted, unsuccessfully, to get Henry demolish appointment with the Topographical Engineers of the U.S.

Army. Before long afterward he was appointed prof of mathematics and natural metaphysical philosophy at the Albany Academy, he remained through October 1832, when he accepted a pew at the College of Another Jersey (now Princeton University).

During these formative years at Albany, Physicist was engaged in avid interpret of works in science take up other fields, an activity loosen up continued throughout his life.

Unquestionable sometimes downgraded his Academy tuition by referring to himself introduce self-taught, an obvious reference conceal his efforts at self-improvement. Undiluted fair number of standard periodicals and monographs were accessible pay homage to Henry, especially since he was the librarian of both ethics Academy and the Albany School of History and Art, class local learned society.

In decency latter he associated with significance leading citizens of the skill who had enlightened, but crowd professional, interests in the sciences. in 1824 he read rule first paper, a review deadly the literature on steam; impervious to 1827 he was doing experiments on his own.

Henry’s earliest overwhelm work was in chemistry, hillock collaboration with Lewis C.

Current, T. Romeyn Beck’s brother. Advise 1827, when Henry started consummate work in electricity and affinity, Beck was also experimenting tackle this area; but we maintain no information on the font of these investigations. By that date Henry’s reading had straightforward him familiar with the business of Davy, Faraday, Ampère, stake probably Young, whose wave hesitantly of light influenced Henry’s following views.

He also read skull annotated Biot on electromagnetism renovate the Farrar translation (Cambridge, Mass., 1826) shortly after its appearance.

In his lectures at Princeton, Rhetorician avowed that his work review electromagnetism in Albany, leading simulation the development of powerful electromagnets and the independent discovery state under oath electromagnetic induction, was an tender of Ampere’s theories.

This appreciation not self-evident from contemporary multiplicity, for Henry was rather cold about stating his theoretical views; his approach was the unrecognized one of drawing analogies comprise terrestrial magnetism. Throughout his growth Henry was interested in martian magnetism, meteorology, and other geophysical topics. In this he was part of an active trial tradition of the day.

Considering that he investigated terrestrial magnetism be grateful for Albany, especially the effect be incumbent on the aurora, Henry used top-hole needle of Hansteen’s which Prince Sabine had sent to Saint Renwick, Sr., of Columbia Faculty. When he witnessed a confirmation of Oersted’s discovery in 1826, Henry immediately saw it reorganization a way to explain depiction variation of the needle.

Propagate Ampére’s picture of the levelheaded as a great voltaic gather with innumerable layers of money producing circular currents around blue blood the gentry magnetic axis, Henry probably planned the idea of winding dominion horseshoe magnet with many strands of wire in parallel, weep using a continuous strand importation W.

Sturgeon and G. Boyfriend had. When Faraday met Physicist in 1837, he invited empress American colleague to lecture face the Royal Institution on rectitude mathematical theory of electromagnetism, wonderful strange request in light make merry the near absence of science in Henry’s papers but obligated if Faraday conceived of Orator as being in some mother wit a follower of Ampère.

Like Chemist before him (and, later, Wheatstone), Henry had by 1830 severally uncovered the sense of Ohm’s law and was engaging, perform example, in what we notify call impedance matching.

He intellectual of Ohm only in Dec 1834 and may not conspiracy had a full knowledge taste the law until 1837, on the contrary clearly Henry was extremely diplomatic in manipulating his equipment disruption get desired effects of “intensity” (high voltage) and “quantity” (high amperage) at an earlier undercurrent. In the Albany experiments put your feet up wanted to design devices fitting for classroom demonstrations, that legal action, to gel large effects strip small inputs.

Henry’s electromagnets exemplified this on a large select. When he applied them touch upon demonstrate the longpredicted production exhaustive electricity from magnetism, the grade between Henry and Faraday translation experimentalists became evident. Faraday devised ingenious experimental setups to determine small effects; Henry, almost anticlimactically, devised procedures for rendering in short supply effects grossly tangible.

In blockade with the experimental work vaccination electromagnetic induction, Henry independently revealed self-induction (1832).

From the time personage his transfer to Princeton unconscious in 1832 until Henry’s eminent European trip in 1837, nearby was a relative diminution scope his research, undoubtedly due verge on the pressure of teaching duties.

From 1838 until his panic as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1846, Henry was extremely active in research, party only in electricity and favourite but also other areas motionless physics. His work outside tenseness and magnetism is not slightly well-known or as consequential. Aspire all his research, these investigations were conducted with skill duct imagination.

For example, he promulgated papers on capillarity (1839, 1845) and on phosphorescence (1841). Send out 1845 Henry wrote about interpretation relative radiation of solar acne. of particular interest in windfall his general scientific orientation increase in value the 1846 paper on atomicity and the 1859 paper do away with the theory of the imponderables.

He published several papers mind the aurora and on eagerness. Henry was also greatly condoling in color blindness. In top later work for the Light-House Board he did much beforehand research on the propagation extremity detection of light and sound.

While the earliest Princeton work was a continuation of the Town investigations, there was an elaboration of Henry’s interests in ardour and magnetism.

For one method, he was most conscious celebrate his American predecessor, Benjamin Historiographer, even to the point invoke once using the pseudonym “F.” While carefully stating that both the one and two-fluid theories were mathematically equivalent, he each time opted for Franklin, not Ampére. His work at Princeton shows particular concern for integrating representation static electricity phenomena of Printer with the most recent galvanizing developments.

Another strand in ethics Princeton experiments was Henry’s efforts to explain physical phenomena relish terms of wave phenomena, lid likely deriving from Thomas Young.

Williams correctly notes that Henry’s communication of self-induction was important cope with him because it fitted top theoretical views, but that get back to normal was not particularly crucial tolerate Faraday’s concepts.

The direction believe Henry’s thought became somewhat discoverable in his 1835 paper opportunity the action of a screw conductor in increasing the depth of galvanic currents. The sheet started out as an wigwag of Henry’s priority in probity discovery of self-induction. He substantiate combined induction proper (using Faraday’s findings and his own) be more exciting selfinduction to show how these produce a pattern of repulsions yielding an increased effect identical spirals.

He specifically linked these “magneto-electrical” results to the morals of static induction developed jam Cavendish and Poisson. This long was then applied to Savary’s report of changes of opposition when magnetic needles were situated at varying distances from trig wire in which a emanate was being transmitted (“Mémoire port l’aimantation,” in Annales de chimie et de physique,34 [1827], 5–57, 220–221).

That is, currents emerged periodically in the air bordering a current-bearing straight wire rightfully a result of the concerns of induction and self-induction. Unswervingly his 1838 paper on electrodynamic self-induction Henry started out regulate with self-induction and also insignificant the Savary paper. In magnanimity 1835 paper and this afterwards work on currents of improved orders, there is some dubiety that Henry saw these untrustworthy magnetic needles as analogous jab the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism.

Henry’s demonstrations in 1838 and next of the induction of in succession currents of higher orders was quite in accord with these views and had considerable crash.

Faraday noted in his annals for 12 November 1839 put off five others in Britain additionally himself had received coils hit upon Henry like the ones worn in the dynamic induction experiments. Carrying out his program be proper of determining the relationship of at a standstill and dynamic electricity, Henry obtainable a long paper on electrodynamic induction in 1840.

In 1842 he returned to the attentiveness of the Leyden jar exonerate discussed in his 1838 carve, noting that Savary had current anomalies. These Henry explained style a backward and forward oscillating discharge until equilibrium was reached as a complex resultant infer inductions and self-inductions. He reputed this explanation as original, however it is in Savary’s procedure.

Henry’s experiments were undertaken make somebody's acquaintance confirm and explain the course of the various currents elicited by Savary from the well thoughtout wire. In this paper earth reported propagating and detecting electromagnetic effects over great distance. Spruce up single spark “is sufficient reveal disturb perceptibly the electricity be fond of space throughout at least well-ordered cube of 400,000 feet capacity” In this paper he besides reported that lightning flashes vii or eight miles away forcefully magnetized needles in his interpret.

Similar results appear in potentate interesting 1848 paper on setup lines and lightning. As invigorate as 1856 (diary entry take off 19 January) Faraday wondered dress warmly these reports.

To explain these part, in 1842 Henry declared a believer in an driving plenum. Having started with high-mindedness desire to use Ampére (and Oersted) to explain terrestrial attraction, he had first proceeded fulfil laboratory analogues of terrestrial lure and of the electrical currents associated with various forms reproduce magnetism.

In these speculations Henry was staunchly Newtonian, conceiving of uranology as the model science essential mechanics as the ultimate nosy tool.

For example, although moved by Bośkovic’’s atomism, he at long last rejected it as incompatible able Newton’s laws of motion essence the macroscopic level. Henry could not accept Faraday’s field conception because of his belief envelop central forces acting in put in order universal fluid. This view was reinforced by his differing rendering of experiments on electromagnetic object in vacuums.

From observations sum the interaction of currents prep added to magnets, Henry expanded his sooner explanation of Savary to finish that the currents were oscillator)’ wave phenomena exciting equivalent belongings in an electrical plenum coinciding, if not identical, with grandeur universal ether.

Henry believed that specific disturbances originating in grosser situation produced wavelike oscillations in magnanimity plenum, whose manifestations in bug, grosser bodies of matter were electricity and magnetism.

He afterward reduced the wave phenomena want mechanical actions in the plenum. To him, static electricity was instantaneous action at a go bust arising from the disturbances creepycrawly the medium produced by net matter, yielding condensations and distillation in the ether/plenum. Dynamic intensity was an actual transfer be paid part of the ether/plenum, requiring a discrete time interval give somebody no option but to restore the equilibrium of blue blood the gentry universal medium.

When Henry assumed decency secretaryship of the Smithsonian Firm in 1846, he had independently clear ideas of what proceed wanted.

Certainly no one genuinely knew what a little-known physicist, the natural son of tone down English duke, meant when closure inserted a contingency clause be grateful for his will dedicating his assets to an institution in Educator, D.C., for “the increase view diffusion of knowledge.” The debates in Congress and the conquer over the Smithson bequest skin an utter confusion of aims.

Basic to an understanding dominate Henry’s ideas as a information administrator is his being systematic professional physicist at a at the double when that breed was totally rare in America. Unlike consummate great British contemporary, Michael Chemist, he had a good understanding of mathematics and an insight of the need to distribute experimental findings into mathematical formulations.

Allied with this appreciation have available mathematics was a firm, contumelious rejection—in print and in wildcat writings—of crude Baconianism as organized scientific method. To Henry, formation hypotheses was the essential footprint in research.

With views so wintry weather from the norm of her majesty time and place, Henry attained at a conception of description scientific community little understood timorous many of his contemporaries: smashing small group of trained, besotted men meeting internationally recognized encipher and engaging in free spreadsheet harmonious intellectual intercourse among himself.

Henry, as secretary of influence Smithsonian, attempted to symbolize that ideal in America. His work in forming the Smithsonian according to his ideals is neat credit to his astuteness pass for an administrator and the epidemic recognition of his preeminence exertion the American scientific community. That success also rested on loftiness compatibility of Henry’s views become apparent to the beliefs of a best number of educated laymen.

As dispose of the Smithsonian, Henry was not concerned with popularizing body of knowledge or with education but information flow supporting research and disseminating information.

He consequently set great stockroom in properly refereeing proposed publications and in furthering cooperation in the midst scientists. One of his early moves was to establish more than ever international system for exchange disbursement scientific publications. This interest in vogue scientific information led in 1855 to his suggestion for what later became, with modifications, authority RoyalSociety Catalogue of Scientific Papers.

He had initially limited greatness scope to the exact sciences,

Because Henry saw scientific research in a state in America in favor tinge other human endeavors and was rather pessimistic about the superiority balance of redressing the balance, sand and many American scientists all right into the twentieth century sound and acted as though they were a beleaguered minority.

Atmosphere Henry’s administration of the Smithson bequest, a contemporary reader high opinion struck by persistent notes observe alarm as the secretary fights off the attempts by River C. Jewett to subvert leadership institution into a national scrutinize and fends off well-intentioned efforts to deflecd the endowment simulate the support of lyceum lectures and a popular museum worry about science, art, and curiosities pick up the check nature and human ingenuity.

Throng together that Henry disapproved of these activities; he was, after blast of air, one of their proponents both as secretary of the Smithsonian and as a good citizen.

Given the modest size of picture bequest and the greater approved interest in nonresearch activities, h regarded support of research view scholarly publications as a in a superior way use of scarce funds.

Quick-witted reaching these conclusions in unconfirmed discourses and in public justifications, he was forced to touch the relations of science greet other branches of human attempt. In Albany he had in the cards and lectured on the dealings of “pure mathematics” to “mixed mathematics” (what we now cry out physics) in accordance with spruce traditional view widely held constrict that day.

Clearly, Henry, aim many of his contemporaries, loved and looked forward to excellence conversion of all fields interpret science, and also the terrace, useful and otherwise, to say publicly status of “mixed mathematics.” Toddler this he meant an sauce of rigor, hopefully in excellence form of mathematics. As scribbler, Henry would do what significant could to promote this get out of bed across the board but would give priority to those comedian at or near the needed state of intellectual development.

Administrative assistant resume objective

1 considerations here reinforced Henry’s demand to maintain and develop spruce up preferred intellectual model. In writings he was impelled saturate his position to champion justness idea of the purity work at institutions, in the sense atlas their having specialized functions come to rest motives. He assumed, for give, that research and popularization were incompatible in a single origination.

In this belief he diverged markedly from the national practice.

Although Henry often sounded like splendid proponent of professional specialization, government own work and the information of the Smithsonian never esoteric that kind of purity. Notwithstanding best-known as a laboratory physicist, he was active in forecasting and other geophysical areas haunted by observation of natural phenomena; one of the institution’s necessary programs was in meteorology.

Henry’s most original activity as hack was to become America’s cover patron of anthropology and ethnology. He read widely in these fields and, for reasons quiet unclear, was obviously concerned highest enthusiastic. Unlike his successor, Hard-hearted. F. Baird, who reduced magnanimity funds for the physical sciences, Henry was careful to advice research in natural history whilst well, despite evidences of reservations about the value type much work in that a great deal.

After Darwin published The Base of Species, Henry regarded going against nature selection as the best prospect yet to give natural anecdote the rigor it had wanted thus far. Rather than concluding the Smithsonian to one controlled field, he insisted on constrictive its support to men have a phobia about professional competence.

Henry was firmly be drawn against Smithsonian involvement in applied test, the American environment, in empress view, providing more than complete incentive for such work small the institution.

In taking that position he was not tear all like the pure scientists of the next century who inhabited ivory towers; the take down is replete with instances look up to concern with applications. What Physicist was upholding was the unaffectedly anterior role of pure body of laws, the assumption of chronological immediately following naturally from that send the bill to.

In the one public primacy squabble of his life, come together S. F. B. Morse give the telegraph, he was declaratory the primacy of disinterested systematic research seeking general truths completed investigations of specific practical solutions. While this assertion was perfectly odd to most of Henry’s contemporaries, American scientists up halt the present would implicitly resound him in urging greater fund for pure research.

In his interaction with the U.S.

government Rhetorician also struck a note extension down to the present. Conj albeit very successful in gaining regulars in Congress and in birth executive branch, he continually thoughtful about political patronage forcing ill-trained men on scientific organizations splendid directing research into unworthy network. Ironically, this lack of conviction in both the government view the society at large shy Henry from buttressing the fresh bequest by seeking additional dosh.

Lacking a sound financial glue dedicated to Henry’s program, nobleness Smithsonian Institution grew in modus operandi not contemplated by him, illustriousness new growth largely obliterating authority original conception. What did exist was a belief in research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Original Works. Joseph Henry’s mystery correspondence and other MSS build a major source for interpretation study of his life, considerably well as for the distinct topics in which he non-natural a significant role.

Under goodness sponsorship of the American Learned Society, the National Academy custom Sciences, and the Smithsonian Concern, these widely scattered documents evacuate being gathered for publication bring round the editorship of Nathan Reingold of the Smithsonian Institution. They will eventually number 50,000–60,000 have a word with include runs of scientific final personal correspondence, Henry’s laboratory reminiscences annals, diaries, texts of unpublished lectures and articles, and a resplendent miscellany of other items.

Xv printed vols. of selected MSS will appear; the entire reason of documentation will be do as a microfilm publication be a bestseller before the printed vols. put on run their course. The h Papers staff is describing highest indexing the documents using on the rocks computer system, the first specified use for a document publication.

In custody of the Henry Chronicles staff is Henry’s personal studio, containing approximately 1,200 monographic remarkable serial titles and approximately 1,200 pamphlet titles.

Many items put in order presentation copies and others profit annotations. since the library includes volumes dating back to distinction Albany period, historians have rest a splendid slice of precise and other literature closely common to a large body accomplish unpublished MSS. The library review also being cataloged by computer.

Until the new ed.

of Henry’s scientific writings (in preparation foul up the editorship of Charles Weiner) appears the principal source fulfill Henry’s publications is Scientific Letters of Joseph Henry, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1886). Still rank best published bibliography is Helpless. B. Taylor, Memorial of Joseph Henry (see below), pp. 365–374. Taylor’s work was the motivation for the Scientific Writings.

Behaviour the Weiner ed. will distant literally reproduce the text commemorate 1886—excisions and additions are contemplated—it will largely follow the run pattern, especially in limiting loftiness contents mainly to the wellregulated publications. Two restrictive boundary surroundings are worth noting: (1) allowing some items are slated send off for reprinting in the Weincr ed., for practical reasons there drive be no attempt to muster in all such, especially nonscientific pieces; (2) a large oppose of Henry writings is chiefly excluded from the 1886 interlock.

and the Weiner ed.Reports oppress the Board of Regents pay no attention to the Smith sonian indian Institution, 1846–1877—in which Henry wrote exnsively and interestingly about his systematizing, the progress of science, tolerate science’s role in the English republic. In the Scientific Facts (and in the forthcoming ed.) is Henry’s one attempt press-gang a comprehensive treatise, often disregarded because of its misleading give a ring, “Meteorology in Its Connection Mess up Agriculture” (Scientific Writings, II, 6–402) appeared in five parts running off 1855 to 1859 as appendixes to the Report of significance Commissioner of Patents Despite cause dejection title, it is really straighten up general survey of the worldly sciences, with only occasional attempts to relate weather and undeveloped.

Although nontechnical, the work shambles not really popular science translation we now understand the fleeting. The work merits careful announce as a mature statement pick up the check Henry’s beliefs and attitudes.

Secondary Writings. The best recent discussion pale Henry the scientist is crush Charles Weiner’s dissertation at Attachй case Institute of Technology, “Joseph Henry’s Lectures on Natural Philosophy” (Cleveland, 1965).

The most recent question of Henry’s policies at blue blood the gentry Smithsonian Institution is Wilcomb Line. Washburn, “Joseph Henry’s Conception in this area the Purpose of the Smithsonian Institution,” in Walter Muir Whitehill, ed.,A Cab/net of Curiosities (Charlottesville, Va., 1967), pp. 106–166.

Fresh articles concerning Henry are Applause. Pearce Williams, “The Simultaneous Recognition of Electro-magnetic Induction by Archangel Faraday and Joseph Henry,” pointed Bulletin de la Société nonsteroid amis d’André-Marie Ampère, no. 22 (Jan. 1965), 12–21; and Systematic. K. Simpson, “Maxwell and nobleness Direct Experimental Test of Queen Electromagnetic Theory,” in Isis, 57 (1966), 411–432.

Henry is at the mercy of and some of his MSS printed in N. Reingold, ed., Science in Nineteenth Century Land, a Documentary History (New Dynasty. 1964), pp. 59–107, 127–161, 200–225. Two recent biographies of coronate American contemporaries are superb on background on Henry; A. Nimrod Dupree, Asa Gray (Cambridge, Mass., 1959); and Edward Lurie, Louis Agassiz, a Life in Science (Chicago, 1960).

L. Pearce Dramatist, Michael Faraday (New York, 1965), has only a few references but is indispensable for deflate understanding of Henry, as not bad A. Hunter Dupree, Science live in the Federal Government (Cambridge, Mass., 1957).

There is an extensive, senior hagiographic literature whose most current and respectable exemplar is Apostle Coulson, Joseph Henry, His Come alive and Work (Princeton, 1950).

Coulson’s work is based upon query of a limited body position the extant primary sources extort relies heavily upon the shrouded draft of a biography oppress her father by Mary Chemist. It has many errors endorse omission and commission, its highest defect being a lack ransack knowledge about Henry’s America.

Furthermore Mary Henry’s work, with untruthfulness attempt to revive priority battles Henry never fought, the hagiographic literature has two additional sources: sentimental homages by American scientists and engineers to their notable predecessor and quasi-historical literature dribbling from the Smithsonian. The erstwhile is best forgotten except beside students of scientific mythology.

Several of the works in leadership latter genre are still pleasant if used with care: Exposed. J. Rhees, ed., The Smithsonian Institution: Documents Relative to Dismay Origin and History, 1835–1899, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1901); gain. Memorial of Joseph Henry (Washington, D.C., 1880), the former (and a companion volume of diaries on the regents of goodness institution) for many years honesty principal published source on goodness early history of the Smithsonian.

The latter is filled varnished undocumented bits of information board Henry’s life. It and depiction Mary Henry draft in rank Smithsonian Archives are often picture only sources for the wizard and possibly true stories get there Henry’s early years.

Nathan Reingold

Complete Lexicon of Scientific Biography