Crystal Clear takes you behind the scenes in the life of one of the most prominent scientists of the twentieth century, William Lawrence Bragg (WLB) - an innovative genius, who together with his father, William Henry Bragg (WHB) founded and developed a whole new branch of science, X-ray Crystallography. The main body of the text contains the hitherto unpublished autobiographies of both WLB and his wife, Alice. Alice Bragg was a public figure in her own right. She was Mayor of Cambridge and National Chairman of the Marriage Guidance Council among other roles. She and WLB were as different as chalk and cheese. Their autobiographies complement each other to give a rounded picture of the real personalities behind their public appearance. They write of their travels, their family life, their friends and their joys and sorrows. They write most of all about each other. Their younger daughter, Patience Thomson, provides anecdotes and vignettes, bringing her parents to life. She has also included extracts from previously unpublished letters and from articles which Alice Bragg wrote for National newspapers. The result is an unusual insight into the lives of two distinguished people. The two accounts reveal a fascinating interaction between these two characters, neither of whom could have achieved on this scale without the other. There is an underlying love story here which humanises and transforms. This is a unique book, adopting an original viewpoint, which will take the reader far beyond the scope of a normal biography.

Originally published in 1942, this book provides a well-researched biography of the British physicist Sir Joseph John Thomson. Thomson's revolutionary discoveries relating to atomic structure are covered in detail, together with the scientific climate of the time and other non-scientific aspects of his life. The text contains numerous excerpts from Thomson's writings, including his letters, together with a variety of photographic figures. Produced shortly after his death in 1940 and written on the advice of his family, this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Thomson's life and achievements.

Marianne North (1830 90), the Victorian amateur botanist and painter, travelled to distant countries of the world to paint exotic flora in their natural surroundings. This two-volume collection of her memoirs, edited by her sister and published in 1892, records North's remarkable travels. Laden with her palettes and easels, the independent North travelled alone and fended for herself. Her journals describe how she endured swarms of insects, scaled cliffs, trudged through wilderness and crossed swamps in order to reach the plants she wanted to paint. Volume 1 covers North's early upbringing and the origins of her enthusiasm for nature, and traces her travels through Canada and the United States, Jamaica, Brazil, Japan, Borneo, India and Sri Lanka. This fascinating autobiography reveals the stories behind North's art, which can still be appreciated today since she bequeathed her vivid paintings to Kew Gardens, where they are on display.

Marianne North (1830 90), the Victorian amateur botanist and painter, travelled to distant countries of the world to paint exotic flora in their natural surroundings. This two-volume collection of her memoirs, edited by her sister and published in 1892, records North's remarkable travels. Laden with her palettes and easels, the independent North travelled alone and fended for herself. Her journals describe how she endured swarms of insects, scaled cliffs, trudged through wilderness and crossed swamps in order to reach the plants she wanted to paint. Volume 2 covers North's travels to Australia and New Zealand, which she undertook at the suggestion of Charles Darwin. The work concludes with the last journey she made, to Chile in 1884 5, to paint the monkey-puzzle tree in its natural habitat. This autobiography reveals the stories behind North's art, which can still be appreciated today since her vivid paintings are displayed at Kew Gardens.

Sir Andrew Crombie Ramsay (1814 91) was a British geologist with a particular interest in the effects of glaciation on the landscape. He travelled in Europe and America, and was a keen climber. His first work, Geology of the Island of Arran (1840), also published in this series, attracted the attention of Roderick Murchison, who found him employment with the Geological Survey, and Ramsay later succeeded Murchison as its director. He carried out important fieldwork in Wales, taught at University College London and the Royal School of Mines, and published a successful textbook. Another major contribution was his work on the origin of lakes: his controversial 1862 proposal that glaciers could hollow out lake basins even in the absence of earth movements was eventually accepted. Ramsay's younger colleague at the Geological Survey, Sir Archibald Geikie (1835 1924), who also wrote a biography of Murchison, published this memoir in 1895.

John Stevens Henslow (1796-1861), professor of botany at Cambridge University and Anglican clergyman, is best remembered for his role as a mentor to Charles Darwin. First published in 1862, this biography by Henslow's colleague and brother-in-law, Leonard Jenyns, pays tribute to a man he describes as one of the most remarkable of his time. Through vivid accounts of times spent with Henslow both in the university and on travels around Britain, he paints a portrait of a modest and conscientious man, whose pursuits were intended solely for the benefit of others. Recounting Henslow's scientific work and religious endeavours, Jenyns also explores his pioneering contribution to botany and geology, his assistance to the farmers and the poor of his parish, and the role of his faith in his work. Compiled with help from Darwin and other colleagues, Jenyns' memoir provides a unique insight into an important figure in scientific history.

Carl Linnaeus (1707 88), father of modern taxonomy, was one of the most important scientists of the eighteenth century. This biography was written by Richard Pulteney (1730 1801), a physician and botanist who greatly admired Linnaeus' methods and aimed to promote them in England. The first edition was published in 1781 and contains a thorough account of the major works of Linnaeus and his unpublished papers. As well as details of his academic career, the work also gives insights into Linnaeus' character and personal life. The second edition, reissued here, was edited by William George Maton (1774 1835), a physician and member of the Linnean Society, and published in 1805. It contains in addition a memoir of Pulteney and a translation of a Swedish life of Linnaeus based on his own notes. The book is a rich source of information on a central figure in the history of botany.

Richard Owen, F.R.S. (1804-92) was a controversial and influential palaeontologist and anatomist. Originally from Lancaster, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital. He grew interested in anatomical research and, after qualifying as a surgeon, became assistant conservator in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and then superintendent of natural history in the British Museum. He became an authority on comparative anatomy and palaeontology, coining the term 'dinosaur' and founding the Natural History Museum. He was also a fierce critic of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and engaged in a long and bitter argument with Thomas Huxley, known as 'Darwin's bulldog' for his belligerent support of the theory. Published in 1894, this two-volume biography draws on Owen's diaries and a wealth of correspondence. Volume 1 covers Owen's life up to 1854, just before his appointment to the British Museum.

Richard Owen, F.R.S. (1804-92) was a controversial and influential palaeontologist and anatomist. Originally from Lancaster, he studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital. He grew interested in anatomical research and, after qualifying as a surgeon, became assistant conservator in the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and then superintendent of natural history in the British Museum. He became an authority on comparative anatomy and palaeontology, coining the term 'dinosaur' and founding the Natural History Museum. He was also a fierce critic of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, and engaged in a long and bitter argument with Thomas Huxley, known as 'Darwin's bulldog' for his belligerent support of the theory. Published in 1894, this two-volume biography draws on Owen's diaries and a wealth of correspondence. Volume 2 includes an essay on Owen's contributions to anatomical science written, surprisingly, by Huxley.

Manchester-born Sir Joseph John Thomson (1858-1940), discoverer of the electron, was one of the most important Cambridge physicists of the later nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. Succeeding Lord Rayleigh as Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, he directed the research interests of the laboratory, and eight of his students, including Rutherford, went on to win Nobel Prizes, as Thomson himself did in 1906. He was knighted in 1908, received the Order of Merit in 1912, and became Master of Trinity College in 1918. He also served as President of the Royal Society from 1915 from 1920 and was a government advisor on scientific research during World War I. This autobiography, published in 1936, covers all aspects of his career - his student days in Manchester, arrival in Cambridge, and growing international reputation. It gives a fascinating picture of Cambridge life and science at a dynamic period of development.

English physician William George Maton (1774-1835) was a polymath who had a special interest in botany: a shell and a parrot were among species named in his honour. His writings on natural history included a catalogue of the plant and animal life around Salisbury, Wiltshire, which was published posthumously in 1843 and is reissued as the second part of this composite work. The first part contains a sketch of Maton's life and work by fellow physician and writer John Ayrton Paris (c. 1785-1856), first presented to the Royal College of Physicians, and subsequently published in 1838. Paris discusses Maton's early life, his contributions to the growing field of botany, his other scientific and antiquarian interests, and his distinguished medical career, during which he was appointed physician-extraordinary to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, and later physician-in-ordinary to the duchess of Kent and the young Princess (later Queen) Victoria.

Leonard Jenyns (1800-93; he changed his name late in life to benefit from a legacy), was a clergyman, and a respected naturalist and zoologist. A distinguished member of a dozen scientific societies, he was educated at Eton, and then at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1822. During his tenure as vicar in Swaffham Bulbeck, he made important contributions to zoology, becoming one of the original members of the Zoological Society of London. In 1831, unwilling to spend years away from his parish responsibilities, he turned down the chance to travel as the naturalist on-board H.M.S. Beagle. Published in 1889, this is the second edition of Jenyns' autobiography, which he had first had privately printed. It starts with the major events of his life, then shares a series of scientific anecdotes, including his decision to recommend Darwin instead of himself as the naturalist for the Beagle voyage.

Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was a hugely influential chemist, inventor, and public lecturer who is recognised as one of the first professional scientists. His apprenticeship to an apothecary in 1795 led to his introduction to chemical experiments. A chance meeting with Davis Giddy in 1798 introduced Davy into the wider scientific community, and in 1800 he was invited to a post at the Royal Institution, where he lectured to great acclaim. This two-volume memoir was published by his brother, Dr John Davy, in 1836, in response to Paris' biography of 1831, authorised by Lady Davy (also reissued in this series). John Davy had additional papers in his possession, and felt that Paris had failed to convey Sir Humphry's character as a man and philosopher. Volume 1 deals with his education and apprenticeship, work at the Royal Institution, and European travels. The author quotes extensively from his brother's writings.

George John Romanes (1848-94) was an influential evolutionary biologist whose work focused on the evolution of mental faculties. Although criticised for his anecdotal method, he is credited as being one of the pioneers of comparative psychology for his work on animal intelligence, and he also contributed to the development of the theory of natural selection. Romanes and Charles Darwin (1809-82) were close friends, and Darwin gave Romanes his notes on psychology for use in his studies. First published in 1896, this biography was written by his wife Ethel (1856-1927), also an author on religious topics. This reissue is of the second printing (also 1896): including correspondence between Darwin and Romanes, it is a rich source of information on both men and the development of their work. This book is also fascinating for its account of Romanes' mental conflict between his Christian faith and belief in evolution.

The mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage (1791 1871) is best remembered for his 'calculating machines', which are considered the forerunner of modern computers. Over the course of his life he wrote a number of books based on his scientific investigations, but in this volume, published in 1864, Babbage writes in a more personal vein. He points out at the beginning of the work that it 'does not aspire to the name of autobiography', though the chapters sketch out the contours of his life, beginning with his family, his childhood and formative years studying at Cambridge, and moving through various episodes in his scientific career. However, the work also diverges into his observations on other topics, as indicated by chapter titles such as 'Street Nuisances' and 'Wit'. Babbage's colourful recollections give an intimate portrait of the life of one of Britain's most influential inventors.

In this first biography of the physicist Sir James Prescott Joule (1818-1889), his friend and collaborator Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912), Professor of Engineering at Owens College, Manchester, is keen to show how Joule, the son of a prosperous Salford brewer, was an 'ordinary' boy, enjoying regular walking trips to Snowdon, the Peaks and the Lakes; at the same time, he was greatly influenced by two years of tuition by John Dalton. His later experiments, observations and published papers are discussed and quoted at length. Reynolds stresses the influence Joule's work on heat and thermodynamics had on his contemporaries, but also that this 'amateur' scientist was often so far ahead of his time that his work was misunderstood or dismissed. Since publication of this book in 1892, only one other biography of Joule has appeared, and so it remains a vital source of first-hand information on his life and work.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer and biologist, best remembered as the co-discoverer, with Darwin, of natural selection. His extensive fieldwork and advocacy of the theory of evolution led to him being considered one of the nineteenth century's foremost biologists. He was later moved by a variety of personal experiences to examine the concept of spirituality, but his exploration into the potential for compatibility between spiritualism and natural selection alienated him from the scientific community. He was also a social activist, highly critical of unjust social and economic systems in nineteenth-century Britain, and one of the first prominent scientists to express concern over the environmental impact of human activity. This autobiography was first published in 1905. Volume 1 covers his childhood, his early social activism, and his expeditions to the Amazon and the Malay archipelago, which established his reputation.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871) was an influential Scottish geologist best known for his classification of Palaeozoic rocks into the Silurian system. After early military experience in the Peninsular War, he resigned his commission; a chance meeting with Sir Humphrey Davy led him subsequently to pursue a scientific career. The Silurian System, published in 1839, was a highly influential study, which established the oldest contemporary classification of fossil-bearing strata. Murchison was appointed President of the Royal Geographical Society in 1843. These volumes, first published in 1875, use information taken from Murchison's private journals and correspondence. Archibald Geikie (1835-1924) provides a detailed account of his mentor's life and work in the context of geology as a developing science in the early nineteenth century, and provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of this eminent Victorian geologist. Volume 1 describes Murchison's early life and geological studies until 1842.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792-1871) was an influential Scottish geologist best known for his classification of Palaeozoic rocks into the Silurian system. After early military experience in the Peninsular War, he resigned his commission; a chance meeting with Sir Humphrey Davy led him subsequently to pursue a scientific career. The Silurian System, published in 1839, was a highly influential study, which established the oldest contemporary classification of fossil-bearing strata. Murchison was appointed President of the Royal Geographical Society in 1843. These volumes, first published in 1875, use information taken from Murchison's private journals and correspondence. Archibald Geikie (1835-1924) provides a detailed account of his mentor's life and work in the context of geology as a developing science in the early nineteenth century, and provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of this eminent Victorian geologist. Volume 2 describes his later life, from 1843 to 1871.

This biography, edited by the writer and critic Peter Bayne (1830 1896), was published in 1844. Miller (1802 1856), a Scottish geologist, palaeontologist and evangelical Christian, is best known for his geological arguments for the existence of God. Miller sought to demonstrate the accuracy of the biblical creation story by demonstrating that the seven days of creation correspond to seven geological periods. Volume 1 covers Miller's early life, family, education and apprenticeship as a stonemason, and includes a selection of letters, both private and public, including two that expound his developing views on religion. The work is a key source for the life and thought of this fascinating nineteenth-century man whose life was marked by a passionate commitment to both science and religion and the ongoing attempt to reconcile the two. It will invigorate and entertain the modern-day reader.

This biography, edited by the writer and critic Peter Bayne (1830 1896), was published in 1844. Miller (1802 1856), a Scottish geologist, palaeontologist and evangelical Christian, is best known for his geological arguments for the existence of God. Miller sought to demonstrate the accuracy of the biblical creation story by demonstrating that the seven days of creation correspond to seven geological periods. Volume 2 covers Miller's developing intellectual life and religious ideas; his publications; his marriage and the birth and loss of children; and his own tragic death after a long history of mental illness. The work is a key source for the life and thought of this fascinating nineteenth-century man whose life was marked by a passionate commitment to both science and religion and the attempt to reconcile the two. It will invigorate and entertain the modern-day reader.

A controversial figure, Sir Francis Galton (1822 1911), biostatistician, human geneticist, eugenicist, and first cousin of Charles Darwin, is famed as the father of eugenics. Believing that selective breeding was the only hope for the human race, Galton undertook many investigations of human abilities and devoted the last few years of his life to promoting eugenics. Although he intended his studies to work positively, for eradicating hereditary diseases, his research had a hugely negative impact on the world which subsequently bestowed on Galton a rather sinister reputation. Written by Galton's colleague, eugenicist and statistician Karl Pearson (1857 1936), this four-volume biography pieces together a fascinating life. First published in 1914, Volume 1 covers the years from Galton's birth in 1822 to his marriage to Louisa Jane Butler in 1853. Pearson himself was later appointed the first Galton professor of eugenics at University College London.

A controversial figure, Sir Francis Galton (1822 1911), biostatistician, human geneticist, eugenicist, and first cousin of Charles Darwin, is famed as the father of eugenics. Believing that selective breeding was the only hope for the human race, Galton undertook many investigations of human abilities and devoted the last few years of his life to promoting eugenics. Although he intended his studies to work positively, for eradicating hereditary diseases, his research had a hugely negative impact on the world which subsequently bestowed on Galton a rather sinister reputation. Written by Galton's colleague, eugenicist and statistician Karl Pearson (1857 1936), this four-volume biography pieces together a fascinating life. First published in 1924, Volume 2 focuses on Galton's 'researches of middle life', including his anthropological research and psychological experiments. Pearson himself was later appointed the first Galton professor of eugenics at University College London.

A controversial figure, Sir Francis Galton (1822 1911), biostatistician, human geneticist, eugenicist, and first cousin of Charles Darwin, is famed as the father of eugenics. Believing that selective breeding was the only hope for the human race, Galton undertook many investigations of human abilities and devoted the last few years of his life to promoting eugenics. Although he intended his studies to work positively, for eradicating hereditary diseases, his research had a hugely negative impact on the world which subsequently bestowed on Galton a rather sinister reputation. Written by Galton's colleague, eugenicist and statistician Karl Pearson (1857 1936), this four-volume biography pieces together a fascinating life. First published in 1930, the first part of Volume 3 focuses on Galton's later research on correlation, personal identification, and eugenics. Pearson himself was later appointed the first Galton professor of eugenics at University College London.