Observations of Sun Spots, 1739-1743

Eleven-page notebook containing John Winthrop's handwritten observations and calculations. Titled by Winthrop "Observations of 'Spots' on ye Sun with ye Naked Eye," this is the first known record of his scientific observations and records what he saw while examining the sun "with an 8 foot telescope from 6 a.m. til sun set" on the Boston Commons and concluding with "a considerable aurora borealis" that night (April 20, 1739). It has been speculated that his reference to the aurora borealis in these observations may indicate that he recognized the interrelation of the aurora borealis and sun spots, a concept which was not definitively established until the mid-nineteenth century.

[Admittatur of William Lawrence (Harvard AB 1743)], 1739

Notebook with a handwritten copy of the 1735 College laws in English prepared by Harvard undergraduate William Lawrence and signed by President Edward Holyoke, Fellow Nathan Prince, and Tutor Daniel Rogers on September 9, 1739.

Annotated almanac, 1739

Almanac with sporadic annotations on the calendar pages (such as "1L" written next to the April 18, 1739 entry and "2L" written next to the April 25th entry). The only handwritten entry is on the October page: "22d day, tides higher yr for 16 years past."

Surveyors' division of Kittery farm between Nicholas Shapleigh and John Shapleigh, Jan. 12, 1739/40, with paper wrapper from 1798

Paper wrapper reads: "Nicholas Shapleigh & John Shapleigh / Division of farm at Kittery / Recorded January 31st, 1798 / 17 cents duty." The legal document establishing the division of the land is signed by each of the three surveyors: Nicholas Morrell(?), William Fry, and Daniel Emery.

Questiones propositae pro modulo discutiendae Comitiis publicis Harvardini Collegii quod est divin. provid. Cantabrigiae Nov-Anglorum a Laureae Magistralis candidatis, 1660-1753

The bound volume holds handwritten transcriptions of selected Harvard Commencement Quaestiones copied by Isaac Mansfield (Harvard AB 1742). The manuscript volume includes from the 1708 Quaestiones onward, the notation "N.B." next to questions performed by the candidate during the Commencement exercises; the original printed Quaestiones sheets do not note this information. The volume includes Quaestiones transcriptions for which no original broadsides are known to still exists.

Theses, in Comitiis publicis Harvardini Collegii quod est Cantabrigiae Nov-Anglorum, defensae & pro viribus propugnatae a Juvenibus in Artibus initiatis, [1660-1753]

The bound volume holds handwritten transcriptions of selected Harvard Commencement Theses copied by Isaac Mansfield (Harvard AB 1742). The manuscript volume holds only the Theses chosen for public disputation. The volume includes Theses transcriptions for which no original broadsides are known to still exists.

Papers of George Godfrey, 1739-1792

The bulk of this collection consists of brief records of civil actions heard by George Godfrey as a justice of the peace for Bristol County, Massachusetts. With only a few interruptions, these records run from February 1754 through the early 1780s. The other documents include several small volumes and loose pages of household accounts, as well as a handful of pages of court records and marriages heard by George Godfrey and his father, John Godfrey.

Student notebook of James Varney, 1721-1725

The bound notebook contains academic texts copied by Harvard student James Varney in the early 1720s. The texts are written tête-bêche (where both ends of the volume are used to begin writing). The front paste-down endpaper reads 'James Varney his book 1724,' and the rear paste-down endpaper reads 'Joseph Lovett' [AB 1728].

Diary, 1739

The diary is interleaved in an unbound copy of Ames’ An astronomical diary, or, An almanack for the year of our Lord Christ, 1739 ... (Boston, 1738). The entries, covering only the months of February through November, are written on blank pages and followed by the almanac calendar pages for January through August 1739. Each page holds a month of single-line entries that focus on Eliot’s lecture and sermon attendance. The entries also occasionally mention traveling to Boston and community news such as burials.

Almanac, annotated, 1739

Copy of Nathaniel Ames’ An Astronomical Diary: or, An Almanack for the Year of our Lord Christ, 1739 ... (Boston, 1739) annotated by Andrew Bordman II with brief entries in the margins, generally noting deaths in the community.

Central Europe Region, 1730-1739 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Routes des postes et des voitures pour les marchandises et pour les voyages par l'Empire dans les principaux Etats de l'Europe, T. Stemmers, sculp. It was published by chez Reinier & Iosue Ottens, between 1730 and 1739. Scale [ca. 1:2,500,000]. Covers the Central Europe region. Map in French. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Europe Lambert Conformal Conic coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, cities and other human settlements, roads, territorial and administrative boundaries, shoreline features, and more. Relief shown pictorially. Depths shown by shading.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.