INCOMING AND OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE, 1800-1878 AND UNDATED.

This series primarily contains correspondence written to Joseph Henry and by Joseph Henry. The correspondence covers the length of his professional life, from his days at the Albany Academy to his death while serving as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The main subjects of the correspondence are science and experiment related. Specifically they regard the telegraph, electromagnetism, leveling, terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, astronomy, geophysics, and various topics in the general field physics. They help to illustrate Henry's increasing respect in the scientific community. The correspondence comes from many sources: from students, scientific organization members, university professors, and national and international scientists. In the first folder of box 7 there are a few letters written to Joseph Henry's father, William Henry, in the early years of Joseph Henry's life.