Day-by-Day / June 18, 1803

June 18, 1803

Patterson's statistical table

Robert Patterson, the oldest and perhaps the most erudite of the five American Philosophical Society members that Meriwether Lewis came to Philadelphia to consult, sends Lewis a statistical table for recording celestial observations during the expedition.

Patterson’s Statistical Table Written in Lewis’s Hand

Table with column labels but no data

Table with column labels but no data

Courtesy State Historical Society of Missouri, digital.shsmo.org/cdm/ref/collection/frontier/id/169. Images are in the Public Domain.

Patterson’s Letter to Thomas Jefferson

Philada. June 18th. 1803—

Sir [Thomas Jefferson]

I recommended to Capt. Lewis, the use of a statistical Table, in which to set down his Astronomical observations, in the course of his intended expedition . . . .

I have sent it under cover to you, Sir, lest Capt. Lewis may have proceeded on his tour; in which case, if you shall judge it worth his notice, you will have the trouble of forwarding it to him—

I am Sir with the highest respect & esteem—Your Obed. Servt.—

R. Patterson[1]Robert Patterson to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0427 accessed 8 June 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas … Continue reading

Transcription

In The Astronomy Notebook, Lewis appears to have copied the statistical table recommended by Robert Patterson. The columns extend across four double pages (13¼ in. x 7½ in.) and contain headings only—there are no entries.

[Pages 26–27]

Statistical Table.

  • 1. Place of observation
  • 2. Date of obs. Astronomical
  • 3. Hour of the Day apt. Time at place obs Astroncl. P.M.
  • 4. Hour of the day mean Time P.M. astronl.
  • 5. Hour of the day pr. watch. P.M. astrl.
  • 6. Error of the watch on mean time f. s.
  • 7. Daily gain or loss of watch on mean time. g. s.
  • 8. Apt. altd. of ⊙’s center, lower or upper limb ⊙. LL. UL.
  • 9. true altd. of ⊙’s center.—
  • 10. Apt. altd. of ⋑’s center Lower or upper li-mb ⊖. LL. UL.
  • 11. true altd. ⋑’s center.—
  • 12. Error of the instrument employed in obstn. B. F.
  • 13. Star’s name

[Pages 28–29]

Statistical Table. Continued

  • rept. 2. Date of Obs. Astronomical
  • 14. Apparent altd. of Star
  • 15. app. distance ⊙’s & ⋑’s Nearest limbs. ⊙ E. or W.
  • 16. app. dist. of ⋑ & * The * E. or W.
  • 17. true distance of Centers.
  • 18. Longitude of place from Greenwich
  • 19. Latitude of place
  • 20. Magnetic azamuth of ⊙ or pole *.
  • 21. True azimuth of ⊙ or pole *.—
  • 22. Variation of Magnetic needle.—
  • Miscellanious remarks.—
 

Notes

Notes
↑1 Robert Patterson to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0427 accessed 8 June 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, p. 573.]

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.

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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).