Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

Abstract

The majority of correspondence included is business correspondence related to Fisher's mathematics and his book, "Dial of the Seasons, or a Portraiture of Nature," on Fisher's theory of the effect of "the angles of incidence of the meridian sunlight." There are also a small number of letters of personal correspondence, generally letters of introduction for friends or family traveling to Philadelphia or New York.

Abstract

The collection consists almost entirely of autograph letters, signed, mostly addressed to Reuben Haines, 1793-1834, about one-third addressed to him personally, the other two-thirds addressed to him as Corresponding Secretary of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The writers of the latter were scientists, scholars, and statesmen from all over the world, including John James Audubon, 1785-1851, Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, Rembrandt Peale, 1778-1860, and many others.

Abstract Benjamin Sharp (1858-1915), a zoologist who was primarily affiliated with the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, attended Swarthmore College (1876) and earned a M.D. and Ph. D. from the University of Pennsylvania. A birthright member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), Dr. Sharp was the son of Benjamin and Hannah B. (Leedom) Sharp of the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pa. He was married to Virginia May of Ridley, Mass. The family moved to Massachusetts in the early 20th...