Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796 to John Page
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05974 Author/Creator: Rittenhouse, David, 1732-1796 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 18 August 1777 Pagination: 3 p. : address ; 32.6 x 20.2 cm. Order a Copy
Written by Rittenhouse, a well-known astronomer and instrument maker, as Pennsylvania state treasurer to Page as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. References Page's letter of 25 March 1777. Thanks him sending his observations on the eclipse of the sun and the transit of Mercury. Says he is going to do a write up of the eclipse and needs Williamsburg, Virginia's (where Page wrote from) true longitude. Says next eclipse of the sun in June will be total. Discusses in detail the angle of observation for an eclipse and the path of Venus. Says he will send something to Page for publication since "our Society" - the American Philosophical Society - has discontinued meetings because of disputes between Tories and Whigs.
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