Banks, Joseph, 1743-1820. Joseph Banks correspondence to John Churchman, 1787 September 1. bMs 2a.10.1, Ernst Mayr Library, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Correspondence from British naturalist and botanist Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) to surveyor John Churchman (1753-1805) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dated September 1, 1787, regarding Churchman's publication describing a process for determining longitude using a combination of latitude and variation of a magnetic needle. Banks encourages Churchman to pursue further work on the matter and informs him the Royal Society's observations using a magnetic needle have been delayed while the institution moves into a new building. Churchman's "Address to the Members of the Different Learned Societies in Europe and America, in Support of the Principles of the Magnetic Variation, and Their Application in Determining the Longitude at Sea" was published in early 1787.

Biographical Notes

Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) was a British naturalist and botanist. He was part of Captain James Cook's (1728-1779) first voyage to the South Pacific in 1768-1771. Banks was president of the Royal Society for over 40 years and advised George III on maintaing and furthering the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.