James Henry Coffin Papers | SIA.FARU7060 (original) (raw)

Summary

Collection ID:

SIA.FARU7060

Creators:

Coffin, James H. (James Henry), 1806-1873

Dates:

1848-1884

Languages:

Physical Description:

0.25 cu. ft. (1 half document box)

Repository:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Introduction

Introduction

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.

Descriptive Entry

Descriptive Entry

These papers consist of correspondence concerning temperature, wind, and weather reports of the Hudson Bay region, 1848; resolutions of condolence to Coffin's son, Seldon J. Coffin, from students and alumni of Lafayette College after Coffin's death, 1873; newspaper articles; an illustration of James H. Coffin; and the original manuscript of Winds of the Northern Hemisphere. Additional correspondence of James Henry Coffin exists elsewhere in the Smithsonian Institution Archives, especially in the Joseph Henry Collection, Record Unit 7001, and Meteorological Project Records, Record Unit 60.

Historical Note

Historical Note

James Henry Coffin (1806-1873) was a mathematician and meteorologist who specialized in the study of wind velocity. Coffin graduated from Amherst College in 1828 and taught at various schools and colleges. Coffin began his meteorological studies in 1838. While at Williams College, 1840-1843, he installed an apparatus on Mount Greylock, New York, for automatically recording the direction and the velocity of the wind. From 1846 until his death, Coffin held a chair of mathematics and natural philosophy at Lafayette College. In 1846, he began his collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution in meteorology. Two of Coffin's studies, Winds of the Northern Hemisphere and Winds of the Globe were published by the Institution in 1853 and 1875, respectively.

Administration

Author

Finding aid prepared by Smithsonian Institution Archives

Using the Collection

Prefered Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7060, James Henry Coffin Papers

More Information

Notes

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.

Smithsonian Institution Archives

Washington, D.C.

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