Letter 2512

John Hadley to Hans Sloane – October 13, 1721


Item info

Date: October 13, 1721
Author: John Hadley
Recipient: Hans Sloane

Library: British Library, London
Manuscript: Sloane MS 4046
Folio: ff. 134-135



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Transcription

[fol. 135] 13 Oct:br 1721 Sr I take the Liberty to trouble You wth the body of a Hen Pheasant wch dyed this day among those we keep, in hopes that the examination of her inside may afford something curious, & unusual, she having about 5 or 6 years ago changed her appearance from that of an ordinary Mottled Hen to one much more resembling that of a Cock [?] she has carryed ever since. If as I suppose you care not for the trouble of opening her your self I beg the favour of having her delivered into the Hands of Dr Douglas or Mr St Andre. I hope in a very little while to beg your pardon in person for the liberty I take & In the mean time remain Your Most obedient humble servant J Hadley Humble services attend the Ladys & your self from all here

John Hadley was a natural philosopher and mathematician. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1717 and invented the navigational instrument known as the octant, or Hadley’s quadrant (Gloria Clifton, Hadley, John (16821744), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11860, accessed 16 July 2013]).




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