JOSEPH HENRY - MANUSCRIPT LETTER SIGNED 05/15/1869 - HFSID 32070

JOSEPH HENRY
Joseph Henry writes a letter saying that he does not have the report that is being asked about and is not sure where a copy can be but gives a suggestion of where to look for a miniature report.
Manuscript Letter signed: "Joseph Henry" as Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1p, 7¾x9¾. Washington, D.C., 1869 May 15. To A. P. Rockwell, Boston, Massachusetts. In full: "I regret to inform you that I have no copies of the Report of the Commission to test building material in 1854, nor do I know where one can be procured. A brief account of the results obtained by the Commission is given in the Smithsonian Report for 1856, which you will find in the public libraries of Boston. Yours respectfully," Joseph Henry (1797-1878), a physicist and scientific administrator, discovered electromagnetic induction and self-induction. He is also credited with the invention of the electric motor (1829) and later invented low-resistance and high-resistance galvanometers. In 1893, his name was given to the standard electrical unit of inductive resistance, the henry. In 1846, Henry became the first Secretary of the newly organized Smithsonian Institution, where he established a continuing tradition of research. Under his leadership, weather reporting stations were connected by telegraph in the U.S. In the spring of 1863, Henry was one of the founding members of the National Academy of Science and served as Academy President from 1867. He was both President of the National Academy of Science and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution until his death. Alexander Twilling developed the first commercially viable ice-making machine in 1856. Vertical and horizontal folds not near signature. Overall, fine condition.