This book examines the pivotal period immediately after the Irish Union from the unique perspective of the Reverend William Richardson (1740–1820). A clerical polymath, Richardson's activities ranged
The Yogasastra and its voluminous auto-commentary, the Svopajnavrtti, is the most comprehensive treatise on Svetambara Jainism. Written in the twelfth century by the polymath Hemacandra, it was instru
John Davy (1790–1868), the younger brother of the chemist Sir Humphry Davy, published this account of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in 1821. An army surgeon and later Fellow of the Royal Society, he also wrote books on the Ionian Islands and the West Indies (also reissued in this series) and edited his brother's collected works. This book is a detailed study based on interviews with the islanders and Davy's own observations during his four-year visit. Part I is an overview of the natural history of the island - including its geography, geology, zoology and climate - as well as its people, demography, political system and culture, including architecture, craftwork and languages. Part II details Davy's travels within the country. With a number of beautiful reproductions of native drawings, as well as Davy's own, the work remains a rich resource for the insights of a Victorian polymath into early nineteenth-century Ceylon.
Polymath Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), a self-described 'scientific traveller', was one of the most respected scientists of his time. Humboldt's wanderlust led him across Europe and to South America, Mexico, the U.S. and Russia, and his voyages and observations resulted in the discovery of many species previously unknown to Europeans. Originating as lectures delivered in Berlin and Paris (1827–1828), his two-volume Cosmos: Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe (1845–1860) represented the culmination of his lifelong interest in understanding the physical world. As Humboldt writes, 'I ever desired to discern physical phenomena in their widest mutual connection, and to comprehend Nature as a whole, animated and moved by inward forces'. Volume 1 explains celestial and terrestrial phenomena, while Volume 2, demonstrating Humboldt's interest in representations of the natural world, examines poetic descriptions of nature, landscape painting, and how the physical universe was
A polymath scientist who has worked in a range of medical, environmental and energy fields draws on studies on the relationships between climate and the economy to explain how the last half century ma
Francis Willughby transformed the study of natural history in the mid-1600s. Using previously unexplored archives and new discoveries we show that Willughby was a polymath, a true virtuoso, who made o
This book presents an edition of a previously unpublished notebook used by the seventeenth-century polymath John Wallis to teach language to the "deaf mute" Alexander Popham. Under the terms of the la
This book offers a new theoretical perspective on the thought of the great fifteenth-century Egyptian polymath, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1505). In spite of the enormous popularity that al-Suyuti's
Cook (a polymath kiwi farmer in New Zealand and a research associate at the U. of Waikato) presents a series of arguments for rethinking metaphysics and western theories of essence. In particular, she
The figure of Dai Zhen (1724–1777) looms large in modern Chinese intellectual history. Dai was a mathematical astronomer and influential polymath who, along with like-minded scholars, sought to balanc
The figure of Dai Zhen (1724?1777) looms large in modern Chinese intellectual history. Dai was a mathematical astronomer and influential polymath who, along with like-minded scholars, sought to balanc
This study focuses on the great polymath William Morris and his contemporaries and followers: from the popular or notorious, like H. Rider Haggard, H. G. Wells, and Friedrich Engels, to the quickly fo
The Venns (father and son) published this ten-part work, containing over 125,000 entries, between 1922 and 1954. It is a comprehensive directory of all known alumni of the University of Cambridge, listed in two alphabetical sequences, from the university's foundation in the thirteenth century to 1751 and from 1752 to 1900. John Venn senior (1834–1923) is best known for his work as a philosopher and logician, but contributed to his university in many other ways. His keen interests in genealogy and antiquarian studies inspired this study, researched from sources including episcopal registers. His son, John Archibald Venn (1883–1958) brought the work to completion after his father's death. Thorough and reliable, it is recognised for its extraordinary value to historians and genealogists. Volume 2, Part 3 (1947) covers 'Gabb to Justamond', and includes figures such as Victorian polymath Sir Francis Galton.
The Venns (father and son) published this ten-part work, containing over 125,000 entries, between 1922 and 1954. It is a comprehensive directory of all known alumni of the University of Cambridge, listed in two alphabetical sequences, from the university's foundation in the thirteenth century to 1751 and from 1752 to 1900. John Venn senior (1834–1923) is best known for his work as a philosopher and logician, but contributed to his university in many other ways. His keen interests in genealogy and antiquarian studies inspired this study, researched from sources including episcopal registers. His son, John Archibald Venn (1883–1958) brought the work to completion after his father's death. Thorough and reliable, it is recognised for its extraordinary value to historians and genealogists. Volume 1, Part 3 (1924) covers 'Kaile to Ryves', and includes figures such as naval administrator and diarist Samuel Pepys, and polymath Sir Isaac Newton.
John Ruskin was the most powerful and influential art critic and social commentator of the Victorian nineteenth century. A true polymath, he wrote about nature, art, architecture, politics, history,
John Ruskin's training as an interdisciplinary polymath started in childhood. He learned to memorise the Bible at his mother's knee and published his first poem aged ten. His lifelong fascination with
Ibn Sina, who is referred to as Avicenna in Latin, was a true polymath. Born in Persia in the tenth century, his passion for knowledge was unbound, and he made lasting contributions to medicine, math,
Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and in many ways was "the First American". A world-renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading
