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Charles Blagden's diary: Information management and British science in the eighteenth century
1Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Insights
Charles Blagden
Area of Science:
- History of Science
- 18th-Century Scientific Networks
- Manuscript Studies
Background:
- Charles Blagden served as physician and secretary of the Royal Society (1784–1797).
- His diary's evolution reflects influences from medical training, commonplace books, and travel narratives.
- Blagden explored memory and the association of ideas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the development and function of Charles Blagden's diary.
- To understand how manuscript genres shaped the diary's form and content.
- To reveal the diary's role in managing patronage relationships and aiding memory.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of Charles Blagden's diary.
- Examination of manuscript genres influencing 18th-century practices.
- Historical contextualization within scientific and social networks.
Main Results:
- Blagden's diary functioned as a memory aid and information management tool.
- The diary's structure was influenced by diverse manuscript traditions.
- It facilitated Blagden's efforts to secure patronage from influential figures.
Conclusions:
- The diary was instrumental in managing patronage relationships for a key Royal Society secretary.
- Material objects played a crucial role in scientific career advancement.
- This study highlights the significance of Blagden's diary in understanding 18th-century scientific practice.
Abstract:
This paper examines the diary of Charles Blagden, physician and secretary of the Royal Society between 1784 and 1797. It argues that the form and content of Blagden's diary developed in response to manuscript genres from a variety of contexts, including the medical training that Blagden undertook at the start of his career, the genre of the commonplace book, and contemporary travel narratives. Blagden was interested in the workings of memory and in the association of ideas. This paper reveals the diary's nature as an aid to memory and an information management tool. It argues that the diary assisted Blagden's attempts to secure the patronage of key figures in the eighteenth-century scientific world, including Joseph Banks, the Royal Society and a London-based network of aristocratic women. In exploring the development of the diary, the paper uncovers the role of a material object in aiding the management of patronage relationships central to the career of a significant but little-studied secretary of the Royal Society.