Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814

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Scientist and inventor; lived in New Hampshire; also known as Sir Benjamin Thompson Rumford.

From the description of Family papers, 1747-1852. (New Hampshire Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 70963873

Rumford, an applied physicist and inventor, as well as a soldier of fortune, and philanthropist, was born in Massachusetts, but after siding with the British in the American Revolution, lived mostly in England, Bavaria, and France. He studied heat, gunpowder, cooking equipment, lamps, wheels and other equipment and phenomena. Rumford was knighted in England, made a Count of the Holy Roman Empire by the Elector of Bavaria, founded the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and was active in various academic societies and institutes.

From the description of Drawings, 1795-1806. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122505876

From the guide to the Drawings, 1795-1806., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

American-born physicist (Best-known for his cannon experiments showing heat to be a mode of motion, thereby disproving prevalent notion of heat as fluid material substance (caloric); endowed Rumford professorship, Harvard, also Rumford medal of Royal Society and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1796). Self-educated in Woburn, Massachusetts, Rumford became a schoolmaster. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, he remained loyal to the British Crown and served the British during the conflict, after which he fled to England. He lived permanently in exile in Europe for the remainder of his life.

From the description of Rumfordiana, 1775-[ongoing]. (American Institute of Physics). WorldCat record id: 79662118

English physicist and adventurer of American birth.

From the description of Autograph letter (third person) : Pall Mall, to Mr. Davies Bookseller, [1778?] "Saturday Evening 5th December." (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270572090

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1798 October 8, London, to Ruth Pierce, Flintstown. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Gilpin, Joshua, 1765-1841. Journals and notebooks, 1790-1833 [microform]. Hagley Museum & Library
referencedIn Niels Bohr Library. The Emilio Segrè visual archives, P-S, [ca. 1870]-9999. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1801 August 14, to [John C. Lettsom.]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Family papers, 1747-1852. New Hampshire Historical Society Library
referencedIn Woburn Public Library (Woburn, Mass.). Count Rumford. Minuteman Library Network
referencedIn Deehan, Patricia. Mishawum : a story of Woburn / prepared under the direction of Miss. Patricia Deehan, Miss Louise Mawn, Miss Maude Morton. Minuteman Library Network
referencedIn Baldwin, Loammi, 1740-1807. Papers, 1768-1872. Houghton Library
referencedIn Forbes, Edward Waldo, 1873-1969. Papers, 1867-2005. Harvard University Art Museum
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter to Lord North. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Papers of the Grew, Andrews, Norton, and Wigglesworth families, 1738-1884. Houghton Library
creatorOf Drawings, 1795-1806. Houghton Library
referencedIn Brown, Sanborn C. (Sanborn Conner), 1913-1981. [Reprints of works on Count Rumford.] New Hampshire Newspaper Project
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Journal. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Bigelow, Jacob, 1786-1879. Letter, May 24, Mount Vernon, to James Fields / Jacob Bigelow. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf [Benjamin Rumford, biographical materials] University of Wisconsin - Madison, General Library System
referencedIn Brown, Sanborn C. (Sanborn Conner), 1913-1981. [Rumfordiana]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Smith, Jonathan Bayard, 1742-1812. The Henley Smith Collection, 1686-1903. Library of Congress
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1802 March 16, Brompton, to a noblewoman, Paris. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Brown, Sanborn C. (Sanborn Conner), 1913-1981. [Research notes]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Brown, Sanborn C. (Sanborn Conner), 1913-1981. [Rumford iconography]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Brown, Sanborn C. (Sanborn Conner), 1913-1981. [Introductory matter and bibliography for the Collected works of Count Rumford]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Converse, Edmund Cogswell, 1849-1921. [Mezzotint portrait of Count Rumford after Gainsborough, collotype reproduction of patent of Rumford's nobility, and autobiographical letter to his publishers] New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn American Philosophical Society Archives. Record Group IIa, 1743-1806 American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Frank, James, 1882-. Letter, 1955 April 27, Chicago to Sanborn C. Brown, Cambridge, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letters, 1800 May 29-30, London, to Sir Joseph Banks, London. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Wald, George, 1906-. Letter, 1959 March 10, Cambridge, Mass. to Sanborn C. Brown, Cambridge, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Porter, Andrew, 1743-1813. Memoranda book, 1793-1813. Historical Society of Pennsylvania
creatorOf Staël, Madame de (Anne-Louise-Germaine), 1766-1817. Letter, [1815?], to Count Rumfort [sic]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 179- Thermidor 18, Paris, to Camille Jordan, Paris. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Walker, Joseph Burbeen, 1822-1912,. Joseph Burbeen Walker collection, 1774-1779. Library of Congress
referencedIn Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954. Letter, 1950 June 22, Cambridge, Mass., to Sanborn C. Brown, Cambridge, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Sullivan Dorr Papers, 1799-1852 Rhode Island Historical Society
referencedIn James McHenry papers 1777-1832 McHenry, James papers William L. Clements Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1800 June 1, London, to John Wheelock, Hanover, N.H. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1794-1883. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Williams, Samuel, 1743-1817. Samuel Williams family papers, ca. 1723-1993. Houghton Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1811 December 8, Auteuil, near Paris, to James F. Baldwin, Boston. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Banks, Joseph, 1743-1820. Letters and papers [manuscript]. Libraries Australia
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. [Cover, addressed to Revd. Samuel Williams, Cambridge, Mass.] / Sir B. Thompson. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Baldwin, George Rumford, 1798-1888. Letter, 1871 June 5, Rumford House, Mount Pleasant, Quebec, to James T. Fields [Boston]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letters. Smithsonian Institution. Libraries
referencedIn Rumford Institute (Waltham, Mass.). Records, 1826-1887. Waltham Public Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1800 Jan. 26, Broadlands, to Thomas Garnett, London. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Buckminster, J. S. (Joseph Stevens), 1784-1812. Papers, 1806 April 24-1807 Aug. 7. Boston Athenaeum
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Autograph letter (third person) : Pall Mall, to Mr. Davies Bookseller, [1778?] "Saturday Evening 5th December." Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letters, 1793-1804, to Lady Palmerston. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf William L. Clements Library. James McHenry papers, 1777-1832. William L. Clements Library
referencedIn Richards, Ellen H. (Ellen Henrietta), 1842-1911. The Rumford Kitchen : the exhibit of The New England kitchen at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 / [Ellen H. Richards]. Minuteman Library Network
referencedIn Baldwin, West Baldwin, and Brownfield, Me., family geneaolgies, undated. Maine Historical Society Library
referencedIn Henry, Joseph, 1797-1878. Letter, 1843 June 7, to W.B. Sprague. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letters to Cadell & Davies, London. 1795-1797. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1805 June 10, Munich, to William Nicholson, London. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Baldwin, Loammi, 1740-1807. Letters, 1775-1789. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Rumfordiana, 1775-[ongoing]. American Institute of Physics
referencedIn Freeman, William, 1822-1905. William Freeman papers, 1806-1928. Maine Historical Society Library
referencedIn Burchard, Seth Warner. Sir Benjamin Thompson, later Count Rumford, in Munich. Harvard University Archives.
creatorOf Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria, 1756-1825. Letter, 1802 May 28, Munich, to Comte de Rumford, Paris / Max. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn McHenry, James, 1753-1816. Letter, 1799 July 13 [Philadelphia], to Rufus King, London. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1806 March 25, Paris, to M. Agasse, Paris. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Baldwin, Loammi, 1745-1807. Papers, 1768-1872 Houghton Library
referencedIn Portrait file: Guide. Houghton Library
referencedIn Samuel, Williams family, papers, 1723-1995. Houghton Library
referencedIn Newell, Lyman C. Count Rumford, scientist and philanthropist : an address given in Burbeen Lecture Course Mon. Mar. 26, 1928 / by Prof. L.C. Newell. Minuteman Library Network
referencedIn [Notes on Count Rumford]. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Adams, Clarence Raymond, 1898-1965. Clarence Raymond Adams papers, 1916-1965. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Burgum family. Papers, 1839-1922. New Hampshire Historical Society Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1802 April 21, Brompton, to Sir Isaac Heard, London. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Ellis, George E. (George Edward), 1814-1894. Papers, 1769-1897 Massachusetts Historical Society
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Papers. 1776-1813. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Baldwin family. Baldwin family business papers, 1694-1887 (inclusive), 1787-1865 (bulk). Harvard Business School, Knowledge and Library Services/Baker Library
referencedIn Blagden, Charles, Sir, 1748-1820. 97 ALS and 1 AL to Henry Temple, 2nd viscount Palmerston and Mary (Mee) Temple, viscountess Palmerston; various locations, 1788 Jul 9 - 1804 Nov 7. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1801 July 30, Brompton, to Dr. Lettsom, [London]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Dalberg, Karl Theodor von, 1744-1817. Letter, 1812 Nov. 30, Fulda, to Count Rumford. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn American Philosophical Society Library. Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection. 1668-1983. American Philosophical Society
referencedIn Blagden, Charles, Sir, 1748-1820. [Letter] 1811 Oct. 1, Cheltenham [to] Countess Rumford, London / C. Blagden. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Letter, 1805 Juin 25, Munich, to [L.W. Gilbert, Leipzig]. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Drawings, 1795-1806. Houghton Library
referencedIn Martin, Thomas, 1893-. Letter, 1953 August 11, Chelsea, to Sanborn C. Brown, Cambridge, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972. Letter, 1953 August 4, Cambridge, Mass., to Sanborn C. Brown, Lexington, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
creatorOf Rumford, Benjamin, Graf von, 1753-1814. Power of attorney, 1795 Nov. 2, London, to the President, Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States. Dartmouth College Library
referencedIn Chandrasekhar, S. (Subrahmanyan), 1910-1995. Letter, 1957 February 23, Williams Bay, Wis., to Sanborn C. Brown, Cambridge, Mass. Dartmouth College Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, Clarence Raymond, 1898-1965. person
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associatedWith Chichester, Thomas Pelham, 2nd earl, 1756-1826. person
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associatedWith Converse, Edmund Cogswell, 1849-1921. person
associatedWith Cooper, Thomas, 1759-1839 person
associatedWith Coues, Elliott, 1842-1899 person
associatedWith Cuvier, Georges, Baron, 1769-1832 person
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associatedWith Darlington, William, 1782-1863 person
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associatedWith Devonshire, Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, Duchess of, 1757-1806. person
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associatedWith Garnett, Thomas, 1766-1802. person
associatedWith Genth, F. A., (Frederick Augustus), 1820-1893 person
associatedWith Gilbert, Ludwig Wilhelm, 1769-1824. person
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associatedWith Great Britain. Army. corporateBody
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associatedWith Pictet, Marc-Auguste, 1752-1825. person
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associatedWith Poinsett, Joel Roberts, 1779-1851 person
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associatedWith Reichenbach, Georg von, 1771-1826. person
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associatedWith Rumford Institute (Waltham, Mass.) corporateBody
associatedWith Rumford, Marie Anne Pierrette Paulze Lavoisier, comtesse de, 1758-1836. person
associatedWith Rumford, Sarah Thompson, Countess, 1774-1852. person
associatedWith Rush, Benjamin, 1746-1813 person
associatedWith Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe, 1793-1864 person
associatedWith Seybert, Adam, 1773-1825 person
associatedWith Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972. person
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correspondedWith Walker, Joseph Burbeen, 1822-1912, person
associatedWith Washington, George, 1732-1799. person
associatedWith Waterton, Charles, 1782-1865 person
associatedWith Wayne, Anthony person
associatedWith Webster, Thomas, 1773-1844. person
associatedWith Wheelock, John, 1754-1817. person
associatedWith Wilberforce, William, 1759-1833. person
associatedWith William L. Clements Library. corporateBody
associatedWith Williams, Samuel, 1743-1817. person
associatedWith Williams, Samuel, 1744-1817. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Germany
United States
Bavaria (Germany)
Italy
Great Britain
Paris (France)
New Hampshire
London (England)
France
Europe
Paris (France)
United States
Germany--Munich
Subject
American loyalists
Awards
Gardens, English
Heat
Inventions
Inventions
Physics
Political refugees
Scientists
Occupation
Engineers
Inventors
Physicists
Physicists
Scientists
Activity

Person

Birth 1753-03-26

Death 1814-08-21

Britons

English,

French

Information

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