Reference code: GB 0100 KCLA Wheatstone
Born Gloucester, 1802;
moved to London, 1806;
school in Vere Street, London, 1813;
placed with uncle Charles, musical instrument maker, Strand, London, 1816;
worked under father, William, musical instrument maker, 1818-1823;
early demonstrations of experiments into acoustics and the
transmission of sound, 1821;
first paper published on 'New Experiments in Sound', in Annals of philosophy, 1823;
inherited musical instrument business belonging to uncle, Charles, 1823;
relocated business to Conduit Street, London, 1829;
invented kaleidophone, 1826-1827;
Michael Faraday delivers first lecture on sound on behalf of Wheatstone,
Royal Institution, London, 1828;
announces invention of concertina, 1830;
invents stereoscope, 1830-1832;
experiments to measure velocity of electricity, 1830-1837;
Professor of Experimental Philosophy, King's College London, 1834-1875;
work on electrical generation, [1834-1850];
lectures on sound at King's College London, 1836;
Fellow of Royal Society, 1836;
invents constant cell battery, [1836];
first patent on electric telegraph with William Fothergill Cooke, 1837;
first public demonstration of stereoscope, Royal Society, 1838;
installs five needle telegraph, Paddington to West Drayton, 1838-1839;
work on improvements to electric telegraph, [1840-1845];
on polarisation of light, [1840-1870];
'Wheatstone Bridge' invented, 1843;
conducts earliest submarine telegraph cable experiment in Swansea Bay, 1844;
invents iron core galvanometer, 1845;
assists work of Parliamentary Select Committee on Ordnance concerning
electrical detonation devices, 1855;
perfects first practical ABC telegraph, 1858;
establishes Universal Private Telegraph Company, 1861;
with Carl Wilhelm Siemens invents self-excited generator, 1867;
knighted, 1868;
died 1875.
Wheatstone bequeathed his books and scientific instruments to King's College London in 1875. Most of the scientific instruments, housed in the George III Museum, King's College London, were subsequently transferred to the Science Museum, South Kensington, 1926, though some examples were retained by the Department of Physics and gradually transferred to the Science Museum, 1955-1963; some electrical and physical apparatus was transferred to the Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, US, in 1964; while a number of items were loaned to the Archaeology Department, Queen's University of Belfast, in 1968; some items from the Physics Department were sold at auction, at Christies, in 1987 and 1992; some few examples of apparatus remain on permanent exhibition display or are stored in the College Archives. The photographic collection was purchased to support Wheatstone's work in stereoscopy. Wheatstone's book and pamphlet collection is housed in Special Collections, King's College London, to be distinguished from scientific literature physically housed in the sometime Wheatstone Library which was named after him. Wheatstone's personal papers were transferred from the Department of Physics via the College Library in 1970; most recently, papers relating to the transfer and sale of artefacts and recent exhibitions were deposited by Professor Ronald Burge in 2000.
The collection comprises mainly experimental notes,
working papers, correspondence and lecture summaries
compiled by Charles Wheatstone, 1836-1875,
and photographs collected by him in that period.
Notably including papers relating to the development and
testing of the telegraph, [1836-1960];
descriptions of experiments and test results concerning
the measurement of electromotive forces and electrical
potential, [1840-1875];
experimental observations on the nature of magnetism,
electricity and thermodynamics, including electromagnet
design, batteries and dynamos, [1834-1855];
working papers relating to optics including experiments
into refraction, colouration of compounds and polarisation,
[1850-1875];
drafts of lectures on sound and musical instruments
prepared by Wheatstone, [1832-1837];
material relating to the management of the Wheatstone
collection of scientific instruments and library, 1890-1992;
biographical material relating to the life of Wheatstone,
the invention of the telegraph and Wheatstone's musical
instrument manufacturing business, with unrelated newspapers,
1757-1975;
stereoscopic photographs and glass slides taken by Roger Fenton,
Samuel Buckle, Jules Doboscq and others, featuring landscapes,
still lifes, panoramic scenes of cities including Paris and
Moscow and the interior and exterior of the Crystal Palace,
Hyde Park/Sydenham, 1851, and especially the Exposition Universelle,
Paris, 1855, [1850-1901];
artefacts including telegraph apparatus, a nail fiddle and
other prototype musical instruments, [1834-1875];
exhibition of scientific and musical instruments [1834-1875].
Broadly chronological within a thematic framework.
Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form.
Some fragile photographs remain closed.
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be
supplied for
research use only.
Requests to publish original material should be
submitted
to the Director of Archives and Corporate Records Services.
English, with occasional items in French, German, Italian.
The books and pamphlet collection belonging to Charles Wheatstone
in King's College London Library Special Collections comprises
off-prints of scientific society proceedings, exhibition catalogues
and books relating to magnetism, electricity, optics,
sound and the electric telegraph;
until about 2004 The Department of Physics, King's College
London, maintained a small permanent exhibition of scientific and musical
instruments formerly belonging to Charles Wheatstone that included
a brass solar chronometer, concertina, kaleidophone, rheostat,
induction generator, two telegraph transmitters, silver microscope,
samples of sections of early telegraphic cables and an example of
Wheatstone's stereoscope, installed with twin aspects of the interior
of the Transept, Palais d'Industrie, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1855.
The Science Museum Library, London: papers and drawings, scientific
apparatus, [1832-1870], see John Anthony Chaldecott,
Handbook of the King George III collection of scientific instruments
(London, 1951), KCLCA K/MUS 26/1-2,
photographic catalogue of artefacts in the King George III collection,
Science Museum;
British Library Department of Manuscripts: letters to Charles Babbage, 1839-1843;
Ref: Add MSS 37,191-37,201;
Institution of Electrical Engineers Archives, London: correspondence
with William Fothergill and Sir Francis Ronalds, 1837-1848,
Ref: Sc MSS 1.3, 1.4, 7;
Royal Institution of Great Britain: letters;
Royal Society: papers. Biography by Brian Bowers, Sir Charles Wheatstone
(London, 1975).
Note: catalogue revised 2008 Jan
King's College London Archives and Corporate Records Services - catalogue
Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) - brief list
Title: WHEATSTONE, Sir Charles (1802-1875)
Dates of creation of material: 1757-1992
Level of description: collection (fonds)
Extent: 0.17 cubic metres or 17 boxes of papers
Introduction
Brief List
1 Working papers, experimental notes and correspondence
relating to the development of the electric telegraph,
[1836-1960]
2 Material relating to experiments designed to
measure electromotile forces and electric potential,
[1840-1875]
3 Series of notes describing experiments to investigate
the nature of electricity, magnetism and thermodynamics,
[1834-1855]
4 Working papers and experimental observations
relating to optics including polarisation, photometry,
spectra and the characteristics of light, [1850-1875]
5 Notes on lectures on sound delivered or prepared
by Charles Wheatstone, [1832-1837]
6 Material relating to the bequest to King's College
London by Charles Wheatstone of his papers,
books and scientific instruments, 1890-1992
7 Various papers including biographical material
relating to the life and career of Charles Wheatstone,
and patents, 1757-1975
8 Stereoscopic photographs by Roger Fenton and
others, [1850-1880]
9 Stereoscopic viewfinder cards, comprising small
stereo photographs mounted on card, [1850-1901]
10 Glass photographic slides, [1850-1880]
11 Scientific apparatus, musical instruments and
telegraph equipment, [1834-1875]
Papers of Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875)
INTRODUCTION
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Last modified: Thursday, 16-Jul-2009 12:17:51 BST