Drafts of portions of John Conduitt's intended Life of Newton John Conduitt c. 26,442 words Newton Project London 2011 Newton Project, University of Sussex

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 1727, in English, c. 26,595 words.

Excerpts widely reproduced.

1. 'An account of the State of Philosophy in general when Sr Isaac Newton first appeared': 4 drafts of a list of sub-headings, 8 pp.

2. Account of Newton's life to the time of his going to Cambridge, c. 3,500 words, 36 pp.

3. An earlier draft of the preceding (some passages in pencil), 43 pp.

4. Account of Newton's life and work at Cambridge, c. 1,500 words, 16 pp.

5. 'Miscellanea': a collection of anecdotes about Newton, mostly collected from his acquaintances, c. 2,000 words, 17 pp.

6. Four small pocket books containing anecdotes of Newton written in pencil (in two books the writing has faded and is illegible, but the material appears to have been incorporated in no. 5).

7. An account of Newton's character, c. 2,500 words, 18 pp.

8. Newton's love of and gratitude to his mother, 2 drafts, each c. 150 words, in all 4 pp.

9. Newton's manual dexterity, etc., 2 drafts, each c. 400 words, and a partial draft, in all 8 pp.

10. Anecdotes about Newton, c. 1,800 words, 8 pp.

11. Account of a conversation between Newton and Conduitt on 7 March 1724/5, mainly about comets, c. 700 words, 2 pp. Written on an undated holograph letter from Conduitt to [?] concerning financial arrangements.

12. Extracts from Newton's notebooks concerning his discovery of the method of infinite series, and the computation of the area of a hyperbola, etc., c. 350 words, 2 pp.

13. Note on Newton's dispute with Hooke, c. 350 words, 4 pp.

14. A note to the effect that if Newton had lived in past ages or a different country he would have had a better claim to deification, or at least to canonisation, than those who have achieved these honours: 'his vertues proved him a Saint & his discoveries might well pass for miracles', c. 300 words, 2 pp.

15. A fragment containing notes for an account of Newton's last illness and death; also references to anecdotes, c. 400 words, 2 pp.

16. Note on Newton's 'unpromising habit of body' in infancy, a trait he shared with Descartes, Alexander Pope and other great geniuses, c. 150 words, 1 p.

17. Sketch of a 'Preface' to the intended Life, c. 500 words, 4 pp.

in English

 Four draft plans for 'An Account of the State of Philosophy in general when Sr Isaac Newton first appeared'Account of Newton's life before going to universityDraft account of Newton's early lifeDraft account of Newton's life at Cambridge'Miscellanea' (assorted notes and anecdotes concerning Newton)Notes on Newton's characterNotes on Newton's care for his motherAccount of Newton's manual dexterityAnecdotes about Newton from various sourcesAccount of a conversation between Newton and ConduittExtracts from Newton's notebooksNotes on Newton's dispute with Robert HookeNotes on Newton's suitability for canonisation if not deificationEye-witness account of Newton's deathNote on Newton's 'unpromising' infancy and (deleted) eulogy of Alexander PopeRough draft preface for the Life of Newton Keynes Ms. 130, King's College, Cambridge, UK UKCambridgeKing's College Keynes Mss Keynes Ms. 130 SL212

Bought by Keynes at the Sotheby sale for £16.

17

 1727 English all in Conduitt's hand apart from two relevant fragments in Newton's which no 12 has been written around John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt Catherine Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt Catherine Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt John Conduitt Biography Catalogue information compiled by Rob Iliffe, Peter Spargo & John Young Catalogue exported to teiHeader by Michael Hawkins