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William Congreve papers
mssCongreve
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Title: William Congreve papers
Inclusive Dates: 1803-1869
Collection Number: mssCongreve
Collector:
Congreve, William, Sir, 1772-1828
Extent:
116 items in 2 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Fax: (626) 449-5720
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This is the most significant archive extant of manuscript materials by and about the prolific English inventor and technologist
William Congreve and his family.
Language of Material: The records are in English and French.
Collection is open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information,
please go to following
web site .
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
William Congreve papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Jeremy M. Norman, December 2013.
Forms part of: Jeremy Norman Collection on the History of Aerodynamics, Aviation and Aerospace.
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet KCH FRS (1772-1828) was an English inventor and rocket artillery pioneer distinguished for
his development and deployment of Congreve rockets, and a Tory Member of Parliament (MP). He was son of Lt. General Sir William
Congreve, 1st Baronet (1742-1814), the Comptroller of the Royal Laboratories at the Royal Arsenal.
The archive extends over six decades, from 1803 to 1869. Included in the archive are letters and manuscripts covering William
Congreve's career in rocketry. The most notable of these is his diary of the 1807 Copenhagen bombardment, which represents
the first truly successful large-scale use of the Congreve war rocket in combat. Other noteworthy manuscripts include a signed
draft and a fair copy of a "Report to the Commissioners of the Navy" dated October 1813, in which Congreve summarized his
war rocketry activities from 1805 to 1813; a letter dated November 1813 relating to "the expense, or rather the economy of
the Rocket System"; bills for materials used in rocket construction; an undated letter to a Captain Elliot discussing the
subject of a "rocket cavalry"; letters discussing a plan of "applying Rockets for throwing ropes ashore from shipwrecked vessels";
and letters in which Congreve writes of his achievements and his attitude towards his work. The archive also contains manuscripts
and letters relating to some of Congreve's other inventions: naval guns, bombships, and Congreve's design for a paddlewheel
boat, which is detailed in a long letter illustrated with Congreve's sketches. Also included are a long series of love letters
that Congreve wrote to his wife, Isabella, and another series of long, detailed letters written to Congreve during the last
few months of his life by his secretary, R. Drake, discussing, among other things, Congreve's political career as a Member
of Parliament, his precarious financial position, the publication of his Treatise on the General Principles, Powers, and Facility
of Application of the Congreve Rocket System (1827), and negotiations with the British East India Company for exclusive rights
to the Congreve war rocket for use in India. Included in the remainder of the archive is a letter from Congreve's father,
William Congreve Sr., to Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), president of the Royal Society, discussing the elder Congreve's responsibilities
at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Another series of letters, some written by Congreve, concern a will of which Congreve's
aunt, Miss Mary Congreve, was the executrix. There are numerous letters written by Isabella Congreve after Congreve's death
in 1828, mostly on financial matters-- Congreve's affairs were left somewhat embarrassed upon his death, and the archive includes
several records of bills and promissory notes, both paid and owing. Lastly, there are several letters presumably written by
Congreve's descendants, the last dated Feb. 1, 1869.
A PDF of the Calendar of Manuscripts in the Congreve Archive is available on Jeremy Norman's History of Science
web site.
Banks, Joseph, 1743-1820
Congreve, Isabella Charlotte
Congreve, William, Sir, 1742-1814
Congreve, William, Sir, 1772-1828
Croker, John Wilson, 1780-1857
Artillery
Carronades
Gunpowder
Military history
Rocketry
Great Britain -- History -- 19th century
Financial records
Legal documents
Letters (correspondence)
Manuscripts