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These papers of William Thomson, first Baron Kelvin of Largs (1824-1907), were formerly in the possession of the mathematician and scientist Sir Joseph Larmor. They came to the University Library at various dates between 1936 and 1942, the major part being presented by Larmor in 1936.

Add. MS 7342 brings together all Larmor's deposits under one reference. The collection includes Kelvin material formerly held at Add. 7618, and items of correspondence formerly held as Add. 2766 (4) 1-66. As with the Stokes Collection (Add. 7656), there are separate sections for correspondence, papers, and notebooks. The main correspondence sequence is particularly extensive, including letters from family, friends, and many important scientists of his day. Among Kelvin's more frequent correspondents are Hugh Blackburn, Arthur Cayley, Charles John Clay, George Howard Darwin, James Dewar, James David Forbes, James Prescott Joule, Joseph Larmor, Oliver Joseph Lodge, Joseph Henry McClure, James Clerk Maxwell, David Reid, John Rennie, Archibald Smith, George Gabriel Stokes, and Peter Guthrie Tait.

The Kelvin papers are open to all holders of full Library reader's tickets. For a published handlist see David B. Wilson, Catalogue of the manuscript collections of Sir George Gabriel Stokes and Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin of Largs, in Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, 1976.

Contact: Katrina Dean (01223 333056; kjd32@cam.ac.uk).