The William Adair meteorological diary features observations of temperature, humidity, wind, and precipitation of Lewes, Delaware between 1776-1788. At the front of the volume, Adair writes, "The same instrument from which the book was taken, is at No. 94. South Third street Philadelphia." Researchers seeking Adair's other recordings—and other weather-related data from this period—may consult the Meteorology Collection (Mss.551.5.M56).
 

William Bartram's meteorological diary spans 1/1/1790-9/13/1791 and includes daily observations of temperature, humidity, wind, and precipitation. Occasionally, Bartram records the effects of weather on Philadelphia. For example, in the winter of 1790 he notes that the Schuylkill freezes over in at least two distinct entries (1/23 and 2/7). Researchers investigating Philadelphia weather conditions in the early national period may find this volume useful.
 

The Francis Hopkinson notebook provides insights into the finances, and, to a lesser degree, the personal affairs of an American statesman. Entries span 11/21/1785-9/3/1790, with one or two outlying entries, one dated 2/20/1784, and another, which records the death of a "Mr. Bordeu," from 4/8/1791. Given that Hopkinson himself died in November 1791, this volume provides a window into his final years. Most entries are devoted to accounts. For example, Hopkinson notes the purchase of a ten-volume encyclopedia (2/15/1790). However, he occasional references personal affairs, as he does on 10/15/1790, when he writes, "Nancy went to school again." This notebook may interest researchers exploring Hopkinson's biography or Philadelphia during the early national period.
 

James Madison recorded two volumes of daily weather conditions between 1784-1788 and 1789-1793 at his plantation in Montpellier. Alongside meteorological data (which often include temperatures and wind directions), Madison recorded notes pertaining to gardening and harvesting (typically on the right pages), sightings of the northern lights (3/14/1789, 8/18/1789, 9/25/1789, 10/19/1789, 11/14/1789, 1/13/1791, and 10/13/1792), and at least one instance of a small earthquake (1/13/1791). Notably, he also encloses an annotated newspaper clipping, apparently from the Pennsylvania Gazette, in his 2/21/1789 entry. These meteorological journals may interest researchers investigating weather conditions in the early national period and the personal affairs of James Madison.
 

The John W. Tukey Papers contain one volume, "National Diary for 1959," and it is not a diary, per se. Instead, Tukey appears to have transcribed notes in the space that would have been allocated for the following diary entries: 1/31-2/5; 4/12-4/25; 5/9-5/18; 5/28-6/16; 6/29-7/14; 7/25; and 8/1. Researchers interested in Tukey's research process may find this volume useful.
 

This collection contains meteorological observations from John Heckewelder, Christian Denke, and George Miller spanning 9/1/1800-5/22/1814. Observations include weather conditions and temperatures taken at various points of the day. Christian Frederick Denke's meteorological data from Fairfield, Canada begins 9/1/1800. John Heckewelder captures data from Gnadenhutten, Pennsylvania starting on 1/1/1807. George Miller records the conditions at Beersheba, Ohio beginning on 3/6/1812. Together, these volumes provide sample weather conditions that may interest researchers studying early national period meteorology.
 

The Thomas Coates Collection contains one small, pocket-size journal with entries spanning the final two decades the seventeenth century (1682-1699). Coates, an early Quaker settler in Philadelphia, arrived in 1683 and established himself as a tailor and merchant by the 1690s. His journal, maintained in the margins of a British Merlin almanac dated 1683, mostly contains personal accounts and transactions, beginning as early as 1/22/1682. Most of his accounts date from the 1690s—curiously, many of his entries from 1695 are crossed out—and they include purchases of household items such as fabric, flax, butter, and nails (spelled "nayls"). Coates names many contemporaneous Philadelphians in the accounts. His journal also recounts a return to England in late-1683, and subsequent voyage back to America, via an unspecified location in Virginia. Notably, there are several memoranda scattered throughout the entries, including one memorializing the death of his mother (1678) and another commemorating his birthday (1659). Coates furnishes one of the oldest Philadelphia diaries in the collections at the American Philosophical Society, and, as such, this volume provides rare glimpses into the city's early social, economic, and material life.
 

A pioneer in cybernetics, neurology, and the development of the computer, Warren S. McCulloch maintained five years of appointment books in his late-career (1963, 1965, 1966-68). Although McCulloch records only spare notes, these volumes document meetings, travels, and lectures that ought to interest scholars researching McCulloch and the history of cybernetics more broadly. McCulloch makes regular references to American Society for Cybernetics (often simply as "ASC") and participates in a "Symposium on higher nervous activity Madrid (IV World Congress of psychiatry)" (9/5-9/11/1966). Notably, he includes some ephemera in his earliest volume, scraps which can offer glimpses into his research and professional activities. For example, he encloses a slip of note concerning a talk entitled "The Evolution of Culture as Revealed by Scale Analysis" dated 11/25/1963.
 

The three volumes of the Ship Apollo document captain William Billings's voyages between 12/10/1789-9/15/1791. Billings traveled from Philadelphia to A Coruna, Spain (1789-90), Porto, Portugal (1791), and back to Philadelphia (1791). During those voyages, Billings made various observations about the Gulf Stream (namely ocean temperature and weather) with the apparent intention of submitting his findings to the American Philosophical Society. This journal may interest scholars researching the Gulf Stream and transatlantic travel in the late-eighteenth century.
 

In a journal maintained during a transatlantic voyage from England to Delaware between 6/26/1803-8/20/1803, William Poyntell records wind directions, weather conditions, temperatures, and times of observation. He often includes observations pertaining to storms, lightning, and fog, and, on at least one occasion, he references the ship entering the Gulf Stream (7/30/1803). The volume also includes "Observations on the storm glass," intended for the membership at the American Philosophical Society. (The inside cover of the volume reads "Presented by Wm Poynell to the APS Philadelphia 5 Nov. 1803.") This journal may interest scholars researching meteorological conditions, transatlantic travel, and the institutional history of the American Philosophical Society.
 

The Eugene Opie Papers includes extracts from diaries from several of his peers that illuminate his notable career in pathology, most especially his work on tuberculosis in Jamaica between 1937-1941. The Opie Papers include typed, loose diary notes from three of his peers: Wilbur A. Sawyer, John M. Weir, and Edward W. Flahiff. Sawyer supplies brief notes related to a pair of meetings within scientists in Montegomery (6/20-6/21/1937) and at Cornell University (11/17/1937). Weir's notes record one year of hospital and asylum work in Jamaica (2/1/1939-1/31/1940), with regular references to tuberculin tests, injections, and vaccinations. Of note, Weir devotes about a week to research Yellow Fever (4/1-4/8/1940). Finally, Flahiff offers the most exhaustive account of the Jamaica efforts. Contained in three folders, his notes span two and half years of work (10/1/1938-5/14/1941). Notably, Flahiff makes regular mentions of Opie, and notes that cultural issues impede their medical work. For example, he writes, "Birth control propaganda continues to be a serious deterrent to our nurses' efforts in the field" (3/7/1939). Perhaps most notably, Flahiff registers the effects of World War II obliquely in his entries. He notes a "new contingent of soldiers in Jamaica…composed of Canadians who have replaced the English troops in the Island" (7/1/1940) and glosses a public holiday for a "Peacemaker's Day" with the parenthetical "(Why???)" (11/9/1940). Together, these three sets of diaries ought to interest scholars researching Eugene Opie's career in pathology, especially his work to address tuberculosis in Jamaica.
 

The Ernst P. Boas Papers contain one diary, dated 1907. Ernst Boas, son of the anthropologist Franz Boas, maintained this diary while in school. As such, it provides a glimpse into his high school and college education, family life, recreational activities. Notably, it includes several notes concerning the travels of his father (e.g. 4/17/1907) and his contraction of pneumonia (4/29-5/6/1907). Recorded at the age of 16, this volume may interest scholars researching Ernst Boas during formative years at Ethical Culture School.
 

Botanist Frederick Pursh maintained a journal that illuminates his travels from Philadelphia through northeastern Pennsylvania and New York in the early national period (3/23-10/8/1807). Notably, this volume was found among the papers of his Pursh's patron, Benjamin Smith Barton, for whom the APS also possesses holdings (Mss.B.B284d). Although the excursion was for botanical research, Pursh's diary entries record other details, including comments on the state of roads, the people he met, the towns he visited, and the natural environment. He records multiple bouts of sickness (6/20 and 8/14), notes his correspondence with Barton (7/15), and includes two sketches (6/3 and 6/17).
 

This is a typescript copy of Henry Marchant's journal kept on a trip to England in 1771-1772. The journal begins with his voyage from Newport to England and continues throughout his travels in England. The journal is detailed and well-written and contains many anecdotes and observations, including numerous references to Benjamin Franklin, who was then himself in London. Marchant's social gatherings are particularly noteworthy. He recounts a discussion of republican principles with Catherine Macauley, dinners with Franklin and David Hume, and an audience with the Queen and Prince of Wales.
 

The Burd-Shippen Papers contain numerous records belonging to James Burd, who served as a commanding officer at Fort Augusta during the Seven Years' War. This expansive collection features at least three diaries. One, from 1760 (2/8-11/7), recounts the construction of Fort Burd and expeditions throughout western Pennsylvania. This diary includes references to William Shippen (11/4/1760) and regular accounts of Native-white interactions, both peaceful and violent. Another journal from the summer of 1763 (6/5-10/24) documents his time at Fort Augusta. It recounts the opening of Pontiac's Rebellion and the initial reports of the Indian raid on the Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley. Finally, there's a third fragment of a diary from August 1757 (8/2-8/10). In six leaves, Burd describes the Siege of Fort William Henry, including an account of the events of the capitulation and surrender of that British fort to the French and their Indian allies. These volumes ought to interest scholars researching the Seven Years' War, Pontiac's Rebellion, and colonial settlement practices more broadly.
 

A prominent lawyer and signer of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, James Wilson also kept a brief journal that records his work, travels, and some other surprising data. Recorded in a "Aitken's General American Register" dated 1773, this journal includes entries dated 1774, and 1782-1786. Entries appear in two different hands, and record receipts, expenses, and activities, the last probably not Wilson's. The second hand of the almanac has been dated to a later period, believed to be from 1782-1786, and it records in graphic detail the sexual exploits of its author.
 

The Colonel John Boykin and Francis P. Lee journal recounts an antebellum trip from Morristown, New Jersey to Camden, South Carolina. This short volume (8/15-9/5/1833) features descriptions of roads, travel conditions, and several observations of the towns they visit and the people they meet. For example, there is an account of Princeton (8/17/1833) as well as a reflection on religious enthusiasm (8/25/1833), both of which are excerpted in Selected Quotations. The Boykin and Lee journal may interest researchers investigating antebellum travel, the nineteenth-century mid-Atlantic, and religious practice during the Second Great Awakening.
 

These three volumes contain the journal kept by John Ordway from May 1804 to September 1806, while serving as a sergeant of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ordway's journals note wildlife, daily happenings on the expedition, and interactions with Native peoples. These volumes can serve as a good complement to the original Lewis and Clark ones. The journals have been edited and printed elsewhere, including a recent edition published by the American Philosophical Society.
 

John Rosseter was a ship captain whose log (1804-1805) offers a glimpse into Asia and seafaring life in nineteenth century. Rosseter's journal documents the voyage of the China Packet from Philadelphia to Macao (5/23-9/11/1804) as well as the return voyage (12/16/1804-4/25/1805). Although much of the volume is devoted to seafaring--with regular notes on winds, locational coordinates, weather, and other meteorological data--there is at least one entry that records his extended stay in China. After his final entry, Rosseter writes the following concluding statement: "One hundred & thirty days from Maccoa out of which time we had 30 Calm days, the longest passage I Ever had from China. With this Journal I have done and glad Am I." (4/25/1805).
 

The "Journal of a Voyage in the Ship Sampson" tracks the transatlantic crossing of an unknown immigrant from Liverpool to Philadelphia in 1819. The last pages describe the approach to Philadelphia in detail. The journal also touches on some of the emotions the author felt as he disembarked. The last page contains a poem written by the journal's author titled "On Leaving England for America" and a letter written to friends from "this land of liberty."