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Scottish physicist and mathematician (1831-1879) who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism, and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism achieved the second great unification in physics, whereas the first had been realized by Isaac Newton. Exceptionally rare ADS, one page, 7 x 4.5, October 16, 1878. Addressed from the legendary Cavendish Laboratory of Physics in Cambridge, a boldly penned handwritten receipt: “Received this day of the Harvard College Observatory Vol IX of its Annals.” Signed below with his rare full signature, “James Clerk Maxwell,” who has added to the left, “(From Leipzig.” The reverse is docketed by an unknown hand and not a signature. In fine condition.
While fellow revolutionary minds Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton are rare and desirable in their own right, autographic material from Maxwell remains virtually unobtainable, especially those bearing any scientific relation or academic associations. Our example, the first in our long history, links the iconic institutions of Cambridge and Harvard and is dated a year before Maxwell’s untimely death at the age of 48.
Maxwell’s discoveries helped usher in the era of modern physics, laying the foundation for special relativity and quantum mechanics. Many physicists regard Maxwell as the 19th-century scientist to have had the greatest influence on 20th-century physics, and his contributions to science are considered by many to be of the same magnitude as those of Newton and Einstein.
In 1922, when Einstein was told by his host at Cambridge University that he had achieved greatness because he stood on the shoulders of Newton, Einstein replied: ‘No I don't. I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell.’ Maxwell was Einstein’s personal scientific hero and was said to have kept a portrait of him on his study wall alongside pictures of Michael Faraday and Isaac Newton. Maxwell’s work served as a direct inspiration to Einstein and his Theory of Relativity.
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