PREFACE
THE object of the author in writing this book is to exhibit views of the characters and doings of a few of the world's great men of science, and the influence which their work has exerted on the progress of science and civilization.
The biographical, historical, and scientific details have been compiled from the best available sources; original papers, documents, and in some cases autograph letters, etc., have been consulted. There is also a considerable amount of original matter collected in this country and abroad.
The present volume is a "study" of a group of men of science of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, their work, and the times in which they lived. "It is only by the study of what has been that we are able to understand what is," and science is no exception to the rule. Historical data add greatly to the interest of science, and dry facts become living pictures. "By following in the very footprints of the great discoverers, by watching them as they make their footing sure, and
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