Editing Cavendish: Maxwell and The Electrical Researches of Henry Cavendish

Abstract

During the last five years of his life, 1874-79, James Clerk Maxwell was absorbed in editing the electrical researches of Henry Cavendish, performed 100 years earlier. This endeavour is often assumed to be a work of duty to the Cavendish family, and an unfortunate waste of Maxwell's time. By looking at the history of Cavendish's papers, and the editorial choices that Maxwell made, this paper questions this assumption, considering the importance of Cavendish's experiments in Maxwell's electrical programme, and the implications that he may have derived for developing a doctrine of experimental method.