Arthur John Hopkins (AC 1885) Papers, 1846-1939
General International Standard for Archival Description
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarah Sorscher AC 2005. 2003-06-24
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
Hopkins Papers
Creation of Hopkins Papers
Time of Creation of Hopkins Papers
Hopkins, Arthur John, b. 1864
Biographical History for: Hopkins Papers
Biographical Note Arthur John Hopkins was born on September 20, 1864, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1885. He was principal of the Cotuit (Mass.) High School, 1886-1888; taught science in the Peekskill (N.Y.) Military Academy, 1888-1890; studied at Johns Hopkins University, 1890-1893, where he was a fellow in 1892 and earned his PhD; and was a professor of chemistry at Westminster College in Pennsylvania, 1893-1894. He then returned to teach at Amherst College, first as an assistant and associate professor of chemistry 1894-1907, and a full professor from 1907 until his retirement in 1934. He died on November 10, 1939, in Amherst, Massachusetts. He wrote many scientific articles and a book, Alchemy, Child of Greek Philosophy. He was an authority on the history of alchemy.
Scope and Contents of the Collection Correspondence, draft writings, articles, notes and other materials documenting the career of Hopkins as a scientist and professor of chemistry at Amherst College. His scientific notes and writings chiefly document research in the field of alchemy, but there is also some material on the calculation of latitude and longitude. In addition, the papers include some correspondence of his wife, Margaret Briscoe Hopkins, as well as genealogical information.
Alchemy--History--Sources.
lcsh
Chemistry--Study and teaching--Massachusetts--Amherst.
Hopkins, Arthur John, b. 1864.
lcnaf
Briscoe, Margaret Sutton, b. 1864.
Amherst College--Faculty.
Amherst College. Class of 1885. Hopkins.
aat
series
Series 1: Correspondence
Letters to others from others, A-Z
Letters to Hopkins, A-Z
Letters to Hopkins concerning his research on alchemy, A-F
Letters to Hopkins concerning alchemy, G-Q
Letters to Hopkins concerning alchemy, R-Z
Letters from Hopkins, A-Z
Letters to Mrs. Hopkins (Margaret Briscoe Hopkins) A-Z
Series 2: Manuscripts of Articles and Lectures
Lecture on "H.I.C."
Lecture to Science Club, Feb. 20, 1917
Lecture to Chemistry Club, March 8, 1916
Lecture to Rotarians, Sept. 26, 1929, "Story of Alchemy"
"The Romantic History of Hydrogen Sulphide," 1916
"History of Alchemy"
Analysis of a book by B.K. Emerson
Ms. - "Working Directions for Three Sundial Charts"
Ms. on Navigation
Ms. - "The Light of Stars"
Two notebooks containing data on a new method of longitude calculation
Longitude Charts
Problems for course on navigation, 1917-18
History of the Chemistry Department; The First Year Course in Chemistry
Series 3: Manuscripts and Notes on Research in Alchemy
"Researches in Alchemy," Washington, D.C., April 23, 1924
"A Study of the Kerotakis Process as Given by Zosimus and Later Alchemical Writers" (2 copies)
"A Study of the Kerotakis Process as Given by Zosimus and Later Alchemical Writers" (2 copies with notes)
Ms. - "The History of Alchemy," 1920 (185 pages), copy 1
Ms. - "The History of Alchemy," 1920 (185 pages), copy 2
Notes on and partial translation of Leyden Papyrus X
Two translations of Leyden Papyrus X with original text
Four notebooks on alchemy
Two lectures on alchemy
Notes on alchemy
Reviews of Hopkins's book, Alchemy, the Child of Greek Philosophy
Series 4: Published Articles
PhD dissertation, The Reaction Between Manganese Dioxide and Potassium Permanganate, Johns Hopkins University, 1893. (4 copies)
"A Modern Theory of Alchemy," Etrait d'Isis, Vol. VII, I, No. 21, 1925, Bruxelles
"Transmutation by Color," a study of earliest alchemy, Sonderabdruck aus Studien zur Geschichte der Chemie, Festgabe für Edmund O. V. Lippman (Verlag Julius Springer, 1927) (2 copies)
Series 5: Notes
Miscellaneous notes
Notebooks on experiments
Fragment of a manuscript
Miscellaneous notes include notebooks on water analysis
Miscellaneous notes on formulas for physical constants
Miscellaneous notebooks on: 1.) Graduation of the sextant arc into centigrade degrees 2.) Latitude by mirror 3.) Longitude problems 4.) Decimal navigation - longitude 5.) Decimal navigation - longitude 6.) Finding longitude from equal alt. 7.) Longitude problem
Series 6: Miscellaneous
Anecdotes about Mrs. Hopkins by Charles H. Morgan, 1958
Newspaper clippings about Arthur and Margaret Hopkins
Papers concerning Hopkins and the resignation of President Meiklejohn
Photographs of Hopkins
Amherst College Diploma and other certificates of honour
Mrs. Hopkins's wedding gown book
Hopkins genealogical material