Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Dickerson, Mahlon (1770-1853) to President of the Geological Society of New Haven

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00507.01 Author/Creator: Dickerson, Mahlon (1770-1853) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Letter signed Date: 31 August 1836 Pagination: 2 p. ; 26 x 10 cm. Order a Copy

Indicates that preparations are being made for the Wilkes expedition, "an exploring & surveying Expedition for the Southern Ocean." Requests for advice on the "formation of a scientific Corps" and recommendations of suitable members. Needs men acquainted with many branches of science, which he lists; a philologist "to collect vocabularies of the different languages, and an artist to take the portraits of the natives." Also asks for suggestions about what "subjects of natural history" the corps should focus on in their research. The Wilkes expedition to Antarctica was the first attempt to organize the country behind an expedition to explore outside the continental United States. Written at the Navy Department.

Dickerson, Mahlon, 1770-1853

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