There are lots of letters written by Davy in which he discusses the invention of his safety lamp with his friends. Davy knew about Stephenson’s safety lamp. Davy thought that Stephenson had copied some of his ideas. Here are some of the things Davy said about Stephenson in his letters:
‘I have seen a sketch of Stevensons lamp, but I do not think it safe’ (letter from Davy to John Hodgson, 15 December 1815)
‘The idea of Stevensons first lamp or something very like it may be found in a little book published […] in June last i.e. June 1815’ (letter from Davy to John Hodgson, 20 September 1816)
‘When [Sir Joseph Banks, a scientific friend of Davy’s] saw me after Stevensons lamp had been announced in the papers he said “Here is a fellow who has been stealing your lamp”’ (letter from Davy to John Hodgson, 27 October 1816)
‘[Stephenson is] a thief & not a clever thief’ (letter from Davy to John Hodgson, 8 Feb 1817)
‘Stevenson is so ignorant that I fear he may endanger the lives of the workmen’ (letter from Davy to John Buddle, the manager of Wallsend Colliery, 13 February 1817)
‘I have always considered [Stephenson] an illiterate pirate’ (letter from Davy to John Buddle, 10 November 1817)
There are not many letters written by Stephenson in which he discusses the invention of his safety lamp. Stephenson knew about Davy’s safety lamp. Stephenson denied that he had copied any of Davy’s ideas. Here are some the things Stephenson said about Davy in his letters:
‘When the description of Sir H. Davy’s first lamp was sent […] into this part of the country […] a gentleman present immediately exclaimed “that is the same as Stephenson’s!”’ (letter from George Stephenson to the Newcastle Chronicle, 8 February 1817)
‘My facts and dates are before the public’ (letter from George Stephenson to the Newcastle Chronicle, 8 February 1817)
Stephenson said that he did not have the money to buy ‘many of those beautiful instruments’ that Davy used in his laboratory (letter from George Stephenson to the Newcastle Chronicle, 8 February 1817)
Stephenson said that he had the idea for his safety lamp ‘long before Sir H. Davy came into this part of the country’ (letter from George Stephenson to the Philosophical Magazine, March 1817)
Stephenson said that he ‘solemnly asserted’ that he did not know that Davy had had the same idea as him, and that he did not ‘receive any hint of [Davy’s] experiments’ (letter from George Stephenson to the Philosophical Magazine, March 1817)
Davy and Stephenson disagreed on which one of them had invented the safety lamp first. The two men did not meet. They disagreed in their letters: some of these letters were sent to other people, and some were published in newspapers and magazines.
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