The message below, which I just received, may be of interest to HES-List   
members. The archive is open at  
  
<http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/index.cfm?page=1373>  
----------  
  
> Jilliene Jewell  
> Publishing Editor, Notes and Records of the Royal Society  
> Over 340 years of landmark science available for first time  
> 14 Sep 2006  
> The complete archive of the Royal Society journals, including some  
> of the most significant scientific papers ever published since  
> 1665, is to be made freely available electronically for the first  
> time today (14th September 2006) for a two month period.  
> The archive contains seminal research papers including accounts of  
> Michael Faraday's groundbreaking series of electrical experiments,  
> Isaac Newton's invention of the reflecting telescope, and the first  
> research paper published by Stephen Hawking.  
> The Society's online collection, which until now only extended back  
> to 1997, contains every paper published in the Royal Society  
> journals from the first ever peer-reviewed scientific journal,  
> Philosophical Transactions in 1665, to the most recent addition,  
> Interface.  
> Professor Martin Taylor, Vice President of the Royal Society and  
> Chair of the Publishing Board, said: "The Royal Society archive is  
> a unique source of information for practicing scientists, science  
> historians and indeed anyone with an in interest history. The rich,  
> varied and sometimes entertaining archive documents the earliest  
> accounts of the seventeenth centurys new experimental philosophy',  
> through which an understanding of the natural world was acquired by  
> experiment and observation. This provided the foundation of the  
> modern scientific method."  
> The archive provides a record of some key scientific discoveries in  
> the last 340 years, including Halley's description of his comet' in  
> 1705, details of the double helix of DNA by James Watson and  
> Francis Crick in 1954 and Edmond Stone's breakthrough in 1763 that  
> willow bark cured fevers, leading to the discovery of salicylic  
> acid and later the development of aspirin.  
> Some of the more obscure papers explore rudimentary prototypes of  
> modern day technology. Trials proposed by Robert Boyle in 1665  
> hypothesize on the possibilities of blood transfusions, pondering  
> "Whether a fierce dog stocked with the blood of a cowardly dog may  
> not become more tame?". A forerunner for ventilators was also  
> discussed in a paper by Robert Hooke in 1667 entitled "An account  
> of an experiment made by Mr. Hook [sic], of preserving animals  
> alive by blowing through their lungs with bellows".  
> The archive also contains more amusing experiments and observations  
> such as the use of electrical conductors to cure muscle stiffness  
> and a bizarre description of a "Very Odd Monstrous Calf" which  
> illustrate the inquisitive nature of science's early pioneers.  
> Professor Taylor added: "In addition to being a valuable scientific  
> resource, the journal archives are also a rich historical record  
> documenting a time which is hard to imagine given the knowledge we  
> have today."  
> The electronic archive contains papers documenting the discovery of  
> new planets, the first descriptions of organisms through a  
> microscope, and the first account of photography. Early journal  
> papers contain fascinating descriptions of how Captain James Cook  
> preserved the health of his crew aboard the HMS Endeavour and the  
> astonishment of 18th century Society by the performance of a eight  
> year-old Mozart.  
> The archive will be freely available online until December 2006  
> and, following this period, will be available as part of Royal  
> Society journal subscription packages or alternatively on a-pay per-  
> view basis.  
>  
  
  
E. Roy Weintraub