A Mathematical And Philosophical Dictionary: Containing An Explanation Of The Terms, And An Account Of The Several Subjects, Comprized Under The Heads Mathematics, Astronomy, And Philosophy Both Natural And Experimental:; With An Historical Account Of The Rise, Progress And Present State Of These Sciences: Also Memoirs Of The Lives And Writings Of The Most Eminent Authors, Both Ancient And Modern, etc.

London: J. Johnson, 1796. First edition. Hardcover. Orig. marbled boards rebacked, brown calf with black leather spine labels lettered in gilt. 2 vols. Very good/Near fine. 650, 756 pages. 27 x 23 cm. Thirty-seven copper engraved plates, and a host of diagrams and tables in the text. Volume I, 1796 probably a later issue -- copies noting 1795 and 1796 on title page are found. In 1773 he was appointed professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolich, and in the following year he was elected fellow of the royal Society of London and reported on Nevil Makelyne's determination of the mean density and mass of the earth from measurements taken (truncated) in 1774-1776 at Schiehallion in Pertshire. "A most useful work for biographical information and for showing the state of science about 1800 is Charles Huttons's "Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary." [see: KNIGHT p.76]. This work is considered a valuable contribution to scientific biography. GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, March 1823 noted, "It has supplied all subsequent works of that description, and even the most voluminous Cyclopedias, with valuable materials, both in the sciences and in scientific biography." Two leaves of tables repaired with archival tape, endpapers foxed, text mildly toned, overall, a crisp, clean set. (Inventory #: 18219)