RankingsPrimerArbiterPhysicistMathematicianContrarianQESites logClaimsSourcesResearch notes

University of Toronto, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (Discover Archives)

Visit: 2026-10-07, Investigator run (STEP I). Site: https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca . A "Verifying your Browser" page cleared by itself after about 3 s, with no CAPTCHA. Queries: Whittaker Edmund (returned only an unrelated collection); "Whittaker" mathematician (found the collection). How I got here: Navarro 2020 (2026-10-07-sagepub.md) and Maidment 2021 (ScienceDirect snippet) cite this archive.

Edmund Taylor Whittaker Papers (priority 4: historical record; also priority 1: own writings)

  • Reference code: CA OTUTF MS COLL 00219 2B Annex. URL https://discoverarchives.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/edmund-taylor-whittaker-papers [web]
  • Dates 1918-1956; 11 boxes. Donated by Professor J. M. Whittaker (his son) via Jeffrey Crelinsten, 1982. [web]
  • Scope (quoted): "The collection consists mainly of correspondence between E.T. Whittaker and his son, J.M. Whittaker, as well as the elder Whittaker's scientific writings, reviews and articles. It also includes some autobiographical material." [web]
  • Access: in person at the Fisher reference desk, or a stack request through https://aeon.library.utoronto.ca . An uploaded finding aid PDF (edmund-taylor-whittaker-papers.pdf) is on the page. It was not downloaded (needs the owner's approval). [web]
  • Box references seen in secondary sources: Box 11, "Autobiography" (McCartney 2019, Academia.edu snippet; Maidment 2021); Box 5, a letter from E.T. to J.M. Whittaker of 22 September 1953 (Navarro 2020, Google snippet); Box 9 (Navarro 2025, MPG PuRe snippet). [web: Google snippets]

How it bears on the claims

  • Dates: the collection starts in 1918, so it probably holds nothing from the 1902-1904 work itself. It does cover the years of his relativity papers (1921-1940), the Endeavour articles "The aether: past and present" (1943) and "Old and new ideas of gravitation" (1944), and History Vol. 2 (1953). The father-son letters are where Whittaker's private view of gravity, the aether and relativity would be recorded. Navarro used them to argue that the low standing of general relativity in the early 1950s shaped Vol. 2.
  • The unpublished autobiography (Box 11) may say how he came to the 1902 undulatory-gravity note and what he made of Stoney's critique.
  • Only the owner, or someone acting for the owner, can obtain this record (in person or through Aeon). The first step is the finding aid PDF, which is free; downloading it needs the owner's approval.