Lardner, Dionysius (1793-1859), scientific writer

Correspondence and miscellaneous papers.

The material covers the dates 1827-29 and c.1853-56.

Dionysius Lardner (1793-1859), writer on science and public lecturer. Educated in Trinity College Dublin, he made a living in Dublin as a scientific writer and lecturer, contributing articles to the Transactions of the Irish Academy until his appointment as the first professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at the new London University in 1827. He ended his tenure in 1831 but by then had become a significant participant in the scientific culture in the capital. He lectured extensively and wrote a number of treatises on mechanics, pneumatics and Newton's optics. His most renowned contribution was his works on the steam engine: first overseeing seven editions of The Steam Engine Familarly Explained and Illustrated ; important articles for the Edinburgh Review , notably a clear account of Charles Babbage's calculating engine, and later on his systematic treatise Railway Economy (1850). Lardner was also acclaimed for his role in proposing and editing the Cabinet Cyclopedia , that was published between 1830 and 1844. He solicited contributions from eminent literary figures: Sir Walter Scott, Robert Southey, Sir David Brewster, John Herschel all contributed articles. Later on life, Lardner become involved in a series of controversies with railway and steamship engineers. He forecast that the speed of a train passing through the Great Western Railway's Box Tunnel would create a suffocating vacuum for the passengers; and in his most famous dispute he doubted that steamships could carry adequate coals to make a crossing from Britain to America practicable.