B chapter.indd - Charles Babbage Institute - University of Minnesota

184
Erwin Tomash Library
Bowman, Elias W. Bowring, John
and, to his astonishment, heard his name being called out
as a recipient of an honorary degree.
In mid-career, Bowditch left the sea to become an
insurance company executive. He maintained a
scholarly interest in mathematics for the rest of his
life and eventually translated Pierre Simon Laplace’s
Mécanique céleste into English.
Navigational tables are still often referred to as
Bowditch’s Tables, whether or not they stem from this
original publication.
Illustrations available:
Title page
Colored plate of ships
Colored plate text
B 216
B 217
Bowman, Elias W. and William Shakespeare, Jr.
“Quick” interest calculator. Time and maturity tables.
Year: 1939
Place: Indianapolis, IN
Publisher: Levey Printing Company
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Binding: original cloth boards
Pagination: ff. [100]
Size: 163x250 mm
This is a ready reckoner for interest on any amount from
$1.00 to $10,000.00 for periods from one day to four
years.
Illustrations available:
Title page
Sample table page.
B 218
Bowring, John (1792–1872)
B 217
The decimal system in numbers, coins and accounts:
especially with reference to the decimalisation of the
currency and accountancy of the United Kingdom.
Year: 1854
Place: London
Publisher: Nathaniel Cooke
Edition: 1st
Language: English
Figures: engraved portrait frontispiece; 21 engraved plates (p.
22, 60, 68, 72, 76, 92, 100, 102, 178, 180, 208, 210,
212)
Binding: original cloth boards
Pagination: pp. [4], 246
Collation: A 2 B–I 8 J 8 K–P 8 Q 3
Size: 189x124 mm
John Bowring was a linguist fluent in at least fifteen
languages, including most of the European ones as
well as Chinese and Arabic. He traveled the world on
both commercial ventures and as a representative of
the British government. At the time of writing, he had
just been appointed General Consul in Canton (he was
later Governor of Hong Kong), and he indicates in his
foreword that he is much rushed by the impossibility of
delaying his departure for the scene of his duties in a
distant land.
Bowring, with support from Prince Albert, Queen
Victoria’s husband, was responsible for the introduction
of the 2 Shilling coin, usually called a florin. This was
the first step in the decimalization of British currency
(2 shillings were one tenth of a Pound). After this step,