ma90 Arthur John Hopkins (AC 1885) Papers, 1846-1939 Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by ma. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Amherst, MA

Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Sarah Sorscher AC 2005. 2003-06-24 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 ma90 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Arthur John Hopkins (AC 1885) Papers, 1846-1939 Finding Aid Finding Aid: 2002 (revised) Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Collection Overview Hopkins, Arthur John, b. 1864 Hopkins Papers 1846-1939 7 archives boxes (3.5 linear ft.) Amherst College Archives and Special Collections 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. English. 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.

Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into six series:

1. Correspondence 2. Manuscripts of Articles and Lectures 3. Manuscripts, Notes, etc. on Research in Alchemy 4. Published Articles 5. Notes 6. Miscellaneous Information on Use Terms of Access and Use

There is no restriction on access to the Arthur John Hopkins Papers for research use. Particularly fragile items are restricted for preservation purposes.

Requests for permission to publish material from the Papers should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in Arthur John Hopkins (AC 1885) Papers [Box #, folder #], Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library

History of the Collection Finding Aid: 2002 (revised) Search Terms Hopkins, Arthur John, b. 1864. Briscoe, Margaret Sutton, b. 1864. Amherst College--Faculty. Alchemy--History--Sources. Chemistry--Study and teaching--Massachusetts--Amherst. Lecture notes--Amherst College. Briscoe, Margaret Sutton, b. 1864. Amherst College. Class of 1885. Hopkins. Series 1: Correspondence 1 1 Letters to others from others, A-Z 1 2 Letters to Hopkins, A-Z 1 3 Letters to Hopkins concerning his research on alchemy, A-F 1 4 Letters to Hopkins concerning alchemy, G-Q 1 5 Letters to Hopkins concerning alchemy, R-Z 1 6 Letters from Hopkins, A-Z 1 7 Letters to Mrs. Hopkins (Margaret Briscoe Hopkins) A-Z Series 2: Manuscripts of Articles and Lectures 2 2 Lecture on "H.I.C." 2 2 Lecture to Science Club, Feb. 20, 1917 2 3 Lecture to Chemistry Club, March 8, 1916 2 4 Lecture to Rotarians, Sept. 26, 1929, "Story of Alchemy" 2 5 "The Romantic History of Hydrogen Sulphide," 1916 2 6 "History of Alchemy" 2 7 Analysis of a book by B.K. Emerson 2 8 Ms. - "Working Directions for Three Sundial Charts" 2 9 Ms. on Navigation 2 10 Ms. - "The Light of Stars" 2 12 Two notebooks containing data on a new method of longitude calculation 2 12 Longitude Charts 2 13 Problems for course on navigation, 1917-18 1 14 History of the Chemistry Department; The First Year Course in Chemistry Series 3: Manuscripts and Notes on Research in Alchemy 3 1 "Researches in Alchemy," Washington, D.C., April 23, 1924 3 2 "A Study of the Kerotakis Process as Given by Zosimus and Later Alchemical Writers" (2 copies) 3 3 "A Study of the Kerotakis Process as Given by Zosimus and Later Alchemical Writers" (2 copies with notes) 3 4 Ms. - "The History of Alchemy," 1920 (185 pages), copy 1 3 5 Ms. - "The History of Alchemy," 1920 (185 pages), copy 2 4 1 Notes on and partial translation of Leyden Papyrus X 4 2 Two translations of Leyden Papyrus X with original text 4 3 Four notebooks on alchemy 4 4 Two lectures on alchemy 4 5 Notes on alchemy 4 6 Reviews of Hopkins's book, Alchemy, the Child of Greek Philosophy Series 4: Published Articles 5 1 PhD dissertation, The Reaction Between Manganese Dioxide and Potassium Permanganate, Johns Hopkins University, 1893. (4 copies) 5 2 "A Modern Theory of Alchemy," Etrait d'Isis, Vol. VII, I, No. 21, 1925, Bruxelles 5 3 "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 5 4 Miscellaneous notes 5 5 Notebooks on experiments 5 6 Notebooks on experiments 5 7 Fragment of a manuscript 5 8 Miscellaneous notes 6 1 Miscellaneous notes include notebooks on water analysis 6 2 Miscellaneous notes on formulas for physical constants 6 3 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 6 4 Miscellaneous notes Series 6: Miscellaneous 6 5 Anecdotes about Mrs. Hopkins by Charles H. Morgan, 1958 6 6 Newspaper clippings about Arthur and Margaret Hopkins 6 7 Papers concerning Hopkins and the resignation of President Meiklejohn 6 8 Photographs of Hopkins 6 9 Amherst College Diploma and other certificates of honour 7 1 Mrs. Hopkins's wedding gown book 7 2 Hopkins genealogical material