FOSTER, HENRY.

Account of Experiments made with an invariable pendulum at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, and at Port Bowen, on the eastern side. etc. etc. The printed report on geomagnetism, velocity of sound, atmospheric refraction gravity etc. observed at Port Bowen on the Parry Expedition in the years 1824-1825. In all 9 papers by Foster.

London, W.Nicol, 1826. 4to. "Philosophical Transactions" 1826 - Part IV. With titlepage to Part IV. V,230 pp., 3 engraved plates, 1 large folded table and 16 other tables.

Henry Foster was involved with geophysical observations throughout his career in the British navy. Foster joined the Royal Navy in 1812. Early projects included surveys and, on a trip to South America with Captain Basil Hall, determination of the acceleration of gravity. In 1824 Foster was made lieutenant and became a fellow of the Royal Society. He performed most of his investigations while on expeditions to the Arctic in 1824 - 1825 and to the South Seas in 1828 - 1831. He spent the winter of 1824 - 1825 at Port Bowen, north of the Arctic Circle, as astronomer of an expedition led by Sir William Edward Parry; he studied geomagnetism, the velocity of sound, atmospheric refraction, and the acceleration of gravity. The Board of Longitude printed a detailed account of his observations. In 1827 Foster received the rank of commander and the Copley Medal of the Royal Society for these researches. In the spring of 1828 he sailed to the South Seas as commander of a sloop sent on a geophysical expedition, at the suggestion of the Royal Society, to study geomagnetism, gravity, meteorology, and oceanography.

Order-nr.: 46068