Davy Notebooks Launch

The Davy Notebooks Project is glad to announce that we have fully transcribed all 120 of Humphry Davy’s notebooks and sets of lecture notes, the vast majority of which are held at the Royal Institution in London, the rest in Kresen Kernow in Redruth. In total, including our pilot project that took place in 2019, our volunteers transcribed 13,121 pages. We are so very grateful for the 3,841 volunteers who have us in this work and who have also, helped us to write notes on the people, places, chemical elements and compounds and many other interesting things. You can now see the results of this work on Lancaster Digital Collections at https://digitalcollections.lancaster.ac.uk/

The notebooks can be explored and searched, but we encourage you to let us know if you find anything amiss (e.g. a transcription or annotation error) and let us know using the feedback back form, which looks like two speech bubbles at the top right-hand side of the page. 

We’d also like to invite you to the official launch of the Davy Notebooks Project, which will take place in-person and simultaneously online at Lancaster LitFest on Saturday 19th October, 6-7pm BST. Tickets (for both in-person and online) cost £5 and can be bought here. At this event, Prof Sharon Ruston will discuss some of the highlights of the project’s findings and it will be an opportunity for her to thank everyone who has been involved in the project since it began in 2019. Thank you to all who have been involved in this project since 2019!


 The Davy Notebooks Project Team, September 2024

Spring 2024 Talks in the Turba series on the history of alchemy

The Turba series on the history of alchemy is returning this spring with three online (Zoom) meetings scheduled in April and May.

Please join us for one or more of the following:

Friday, 12 April 2024
Antonio Clericuzio (Roma Tre) – ‘Thomas Willis’ Chemical Philosophy’

Friday, 26 April 2024
Matteo Soranzo (McGill) – ‘A Lullian Workshop in Quattrocento Venice: Preliminary Findings on Cristoforo da Parigi/Perugia’

Friday, 17 May 2024
Umberto Veronesi (Vicarte), ‘The Archaeology of Alchemy and Chemistry: Past, Present and Ideas for the Future’

The meetings are held from 6pm UK time, 7pm CET or 1pm ET for up to one hour.

If you are interested and don’t have the Zoom link (the same as last year), please write to johedesan [at] gmail.com

All the best,

Dr Georgiana D. Hedesan

Departmental Lecturer in History of Science

History Lab Plus 2023 Event for PhDs: Community and Collaboration

Are you in the latter stages of your PhD or post PhD?

Does/did that PhD involve historical research?

Then scroll no further!

To mark the relaunch of History Lab Plus you are warmly invited to attend History Lab Plus 2023: Community and Collaboration on 13 January 2023.

History Lab Plus is a national network, affiliated with the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), that supports early-career historians working within and outside of academia. History Lab Plus’s committee works with the IHR, learned societies, academics, and professionals across multiple sectors to provide members with tailored support including training and networking opportunities, resources, and a programme of events showcasing recent historical research and projects.

At ‘Community and Collaboration’, you will…

  • discover more about History Lab Plus and what we have lined up for our members in 2023
  • hear about early-career researchers’ ongoing research and projects
  • receive tips and advice about career development (including publishing and fostering external partnerships)
  • meet with and discuss the opportunities and hurdles faced by fellow early-career historians
  • shape the future of History Lab Plus

Speakers include: Claire Langhamer (Director of IHR), Catherine Clarke (Director of Centre for the History of People, Place and Community, IHR), Clare Stainthorp (Leverhulme Early-Career Fellow, Queen Mary), Elizabeth Howard (Commissioning Editor, Peter Lang), and members of the History Lab Plus Committee.

To find out more and book your place visit History Lab Plus 2023: Community and Collaboration information and booking form to reserve your place today!

To become a member of History Lab Plus, simply drop Sarah Holland (sarah.holland@nottingham.ac.uk) an email. To find out more, follow us on Twitter @historylabplus.