RT Journal Article
T1 Seismographs at Eskdalemuir
A1 Alexandra Rose
YR 2021
VO 16
IS Autumn 2021
K1 Seismology
K1  seismograph
K1  John Milne
K1  collections
K1  Galitzin
K1  Boris Golitsyn
K1  Emil Wiechert
K1  Omori Fusakichi
K1  scientific instrument
K1  Eskdalemuir
AB The British seismologist John Milne (1850–1913) is a dominant and celebrated figure in historical accounts of seismology. In this paper I use evidence from seismographs preserved in the collections of the Science Museum Group to reconsider his contribution, particularly to the progress of international collaboration in seismology. These instruments were installed at Eskdalemuir Observatory in Dumfriesshire, Scotland between 1908 and 1925; not only were they situated far from Milne’s private observatory on the Isle of Wight, but they represented examples of Russian, Japanese and German seismograph design as well as Milne’s own. No other site in Britain boasted such an international suite of earthquake instruments. Together, they reveal an alternative vantage-point from which to view his influence. By attending closely to the instruments’ provenance, I show how the collection can be a powerful tool for decentring the hagiography that surrounds the so-called ‘Father of Modern Seismology’.
NO In addition to the Musson quote in the epigraph, other celebratory accounts include his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (written by late Science Museum curator John Wartnaby), which claims it is thanks to Milne that seismology ‘acquired a sound scientific and mathematical basis’ (Wartnaby, 2004). The website of the International Seismological Centre – today responsible for collating data on worldwide seismic events – celebrates him as ‘the founder of the profession [of seismology] and the initiator of the extensive network of seismic stations reporting to ISC from all around the world’ (Godsmark, 2012).
NO J Milne, ‘A note on an International Seismological Association’, 25 February 1904, The National Archives, FO 64/1636
NO Minutes of a meeting of the Earthquake and Seismology Committee, 29 July 1902, Royal Society: CMB/12, ff.3-4
NO These were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Congo, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland. It excluded Argentina, Austria, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Serbia, and Sweden, who had either declined or demanded modification of various articles of the convention. Rothé (1981), p 911. Rothé includes the United States of America in his list of original participating states but their membership was still under negotiation until late 1905, as shown in e.g. Minutes of a meeting of the seismology committee, 1 November 1905, Royal Society, CMB/12/13/1 ff.28-30.
NO G H Darwin and J Milne, Copy of report to the Board of Education on the Seismological Conference at Strasburg, Royal Society, CMB/12/2/1 f.13
NO Kew had originally been posited as a possible central station for the British Association network; as with the adoption of Milne’s horizontal pendulum instrument, no record survives of the decision to situate the station at Milne’s Shide home instead (British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1896, p 181).
NO Musson states there is a letter in the British Geological Survey archives that supports this claim, but does not give a reference; I have not yet been able to trace this letter to clarify the nature of Milne’s objection.
NO Minutes of a meeting of the Gassiot Committee, 31 May 1911, Royal Society, CMB/74/2 f.43
NO Circular issued by R W Munro, 2 June 1908, Science Museum technical file T/1899-63
NO H H Turner, September 1913, Science Museum Archives, MILN/B/2, n.f.
NO Minutes of a meeting of the Gassiot Committee, 13 April 1910, Royal Society CMB/74/2 f.5
NO G W Walker, ‘Memorandum on the 200 kg Wiechert Seismograph at Eskdalemuir Observatory’, September 1910, Royal Society, CMB/74/2 f.15
NO The pandemic has prevented me from examining the instrument in person during the research for this paper, and none of the Science Museum catalogues or files specify its weight. Bearing in mind the instrument’s dimensions, however, it is highly implausible it could support a 200 kilogram weight.
NO H Jeffreys to F J W Whipple, 27 January 1927, The National Archives, BJ 1/251
NO F J W Whipple to J Wadsworth, 20 July 1937, The National Archives, BJ 1/262
NO As reported to the British Association in 1914: two horizontal pendulums with galvanometer and drum cost at least £148, and the vertical component at least £110. British Association for the Advancement of Science (1915), p 57
NO The Royal Society attribute this image to Eskdalemuir’s Clerk Assistant Albert Edgar Gendle. However, the same image is reproduced in George Walker’s 1913 textbook Modern Seismology and is credited to Golitsyn.
NO It didn’t follow earth movements exactly, however, as Golitsyn had recognised, and about which Walker was subsequently more explicit: British Association for the Advancement of Science (1920b), p 34
NO A C Mitchell to C Chree, 5 May 1924, The National Archives, BJ 1/249
NO Seemingly Southerns didn’t find his experience at Eskdalemuir especially fulfilling: within nine months he had resigned. Minutes of a meeting of the Gassiot Committee, 12 June 1912, CMB/74/2, f.49
NO H H Turner, September 1913, Science Museum Archives, MILN/B/2, n.f.
NO In 1915 Turner noted the challenges of persuading observatories – who had already invested often limited resources in a Milne instrument – to buy a new seismograph: ‘… it seems doubtful how far their aid can be again invoked in this way, at any rate until the advantages and working of an improved type of instrument have been demonstrated by a number of good examples.’ British Association for the Advancement of Science (1916), p 54
NO National Museums Scotland object no. T.1963.3
NO P A MacMahon to W A Herdman, 16 June 1909, British Association for the Advancement of Science, 295, ff.29-30
NO G Darwin, ‘Memorandum on the advantages and disadvantages of an International Seismological Association’, 18 February 1904, The National Archives, FO 64/1636
NO J Milne, ‘A note on an International Seismological Association’, 25 February 1904, The National Archives, FO 64/1636
NO Schuster, A, Memorandum on the report of the Seismic Committee of the International Association of Academies, February 1905. RS: CMB/12/3/1, f.22
NO Minutes of a meeting of the Gassiot Committee, 25 June 1924, Royal Society, CMB/74/2, n.f.
NO A C Mitchell to C Chree, 5 May 1924, The National Archives, BJ 1/249
NO Various correspondence between E G Bilham and the Director, Science Museum, 1928–1929, Science Museum nominal file 1150
PB The Science Museum Group
SN 2054-5770
LA eng
DO 10.15180/211607
UL http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-16/seismographs-at-eskdalemuir/
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WT Science Museum Group Journal
OL 30