Mortimer, Cromwell

In Cromwell Mortimers notes to the second English edition of Cramers work there is a description of an ore sent from Cornwall which was so very rich of Bismuth that, by only holding a Piece with a Pair of Tongs against a clear Fire, the melting Bismuth will run down as soon and as easy as cheese will drop m toasting (55). 

John Winthrop, 1681-1747. The specimen of columbite which Hatchett analyzed had been sent to the Royal Society by this John Winthrop, a grandson of John Winthrop, first governor of Connecticut. This portrait was reproduced from a copy in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Volume 40 (1737-38) of the Philosophical Transactions was dedicated to him by Cromwell Mortimer, Secretary of the Royal Society. 

In Boerhaave s view alchemy is a respectable part of chemistry, concerned with metals. From the early days of his chemical career Boerhaave was concerned with alchemical experiments aimed at purifying metals. His high admiration for the old alchemists is clear in Boerhaave s correspondence with Cromwell Mortimer, secretary of the Royal Society. The existing correspondence consists of eight letters, six in the hand of Boerhaave and two written by Mortimer. They were written between July 1733 and September 1738, the last letter being written by Boerhaave two weeks before his death. The main topics of the letters are Boerhaave s experiments with mercury, which I shall discuss at a later stage, and the related issue of the trustworthiness of alchemical writings. 

Gray, S., 1731a. A letter concerning the electricity of water, from Mr. Stephen Gray to Cromwell Mortimer, M. D. Seer. R. S. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 37 (417-426), 227-260. Available at http //rstl.royalsociet5fpubhshing.org/cgi/doi/lO. 1098/rstl. 1731.0040. 

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