Hospital and Haven tells the story of an Episcopal missionary couple who lived their entire married life, from 1910 to 1938, among the Gwich’in peoples of northern Alaska, devoting themselves to the peoples’ physical, social, and spiritual well-being. The era was marked by great social disruption within Alaska Native communities and high disease and death rates, owing to the influx of non-Natives in the region, inadequate sanitation and hygiene, minimal law enforcement, and insufficient government funding for Alaska Native health care. Hospital and Haven reveals the sometimes contentious yet promising relationship between missionaries, Alaska Natives, other migrants, and Progressive Era medicine. St. Stephen’s Mission stood at the center of community life and formed a bulwark against the forces that threatened the Native peoples’ lifeways and lives. Dr. Grafton (Happy or Hap) Burke directed the Hudson Stuck Memorial Hospital, the only hospital to serve Alaska Natives within a several-hundred-mile radius. Clara Burke focused on orphaned, needy, and convalescing children, raising hundreds in St. Stephen’s Mission Home. The Gwich’in in turn embraced and engaged in the church and hospital work, making them community institutions. Bishop Peter Trimble Rowe came to recognize the hospital and orphanage work at Fort Yukon as the church’s most important work in Alaska.

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.

During a pandemic lockdown full of pyjama dance parties, life talks, and final goodbyes, a family helps a father die with dignity. In April 2020, journalist Mitchell Consky received bad news: his father was diagnosed with a rare and terminal cancer, with less than two months to live. Suddenly, he and his extended family -- many of them healthcare workers -- were tasked with reconciling the social distancing required by the Covid-19 pandemic with a family-based approach to end-of-life care. The result was a home hospice during the first lockdown. Suspended within the chaos of medication and treatments were dance parties, episodes of Tiger King, and his father's many deadpan jokes. Leaning into his journalistic intuitions, Mitchell interviewed his father daily, making audio recordings of final talks, emotional goodbyes, and the unexpected laughter that filled his father's final days. Serving as a catalyst for fatherly affection, these interviews became an opportunity for emotional confession during the slowed-down time of a shuttered world, and reflect how far a family went in making a dying loved one feel safe at home.

William Whewell (1794-1866) was born the son of a Lancaster carpenter, but his precocious intellect soon delivered him into a different social sphere. Educated at a local grammar school, he won a scholarship to Cambridge, and began his career at Trinity College in 1812; he went on to be elected a fellow of Trinity in 1817 and Master in 1841. An acquaintance of William Wordsworth and a friend of Adam Sedgwick, his professional interests reflected a typically nineteenth-century fusion of religion and science, ethics and empiricism. Published in 1876, and written by the mathematician and fellow of St John's College, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84), this biography combines a narrative account of Whewell's life and achievements with extracts taken from his personal correspondence. Volume 1 covers his sermons and early poetry, as well as his work on tides, moral philosophy and mechanics, and his celebrated study of the inductive sciences.

William Whewell (1794-1866) was born the son of a Lancaster carpenter, but his precocious intellect soon delivered him into a different social sphere. Educated at a local grammar school, he won a scholarship to Cambridge, and began his career at Trinity College in 1812; he went on to be elected a fellow of Trinity in 1817 and Master in 1841. An acquaintance of William Wordsworth and a friend of Adam Sedgwick, his professional interests reflected a typically nineteenth-century fusion of religion and science, ethics and empiricism. Published in 1876, and written by the mathematician and fellow of St John's College, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84), this biography combines a narrative account of Whewell's life and achievements with extracts taken from his personal correspondence. Volume 2 contains a selection of his correspondence with scholars including Herschel and Lyell, revealing much about the conflicts, debates and friendships that shaped nineteenth-century academic life.

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.

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 2 concentrates on his researches (including on the safety lamp) and travels in Europe. It includes poetry, and also memorials of Davy by friends.

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 official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany's air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications. But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer. Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.

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.

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 2 deals with his many eminent acquaintances, including Darwin and Huxley, his lecture tour in America, and his involvement with spiritualism and with social activism.