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Thermometer by D.G. Fahrenheit, Amsterdam 1718

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit · 1718

One of only two surviving thermometers made by Fahrenheit, which he gave to the scientist 's Gravesande in Leiden.

A thermometer Fahrenheit made and gave to a fellow scientist, one of only two of his instruments known to survive.

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Photo of a brass-backed glass thermometer mounted vertically in a museum display case. A long glass stem with a bulb at the bottom sits against a brass scale plate marked with degree numbers. Museum labels numbered 2 and 3 are visible on neighboring exhibits, and windows are visible in the background.
Thermometer by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Amsterdam, 1718. Museum Boerhaave, Leiden.

About this source

What it is

This is a thermometer built by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam in 1718. He gave it to the scientist Willem Jacob 's Gravesande in Leiden. It is now kept at Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, alongside the only other surviving thermometer Fahrenheit made.

Why it matters

Fahrenheit's thermometers were considered the finest instruments of their time, known for their accuracy and craftsmanship. That only two of his original thermometers survive makes this object a rare, direct link to his hands-on work as an instrument maker, not just a theorist.

The gift to 's Gravesande also shows the networks of scientific exchange between makers and scholars in the early eighteenth century.

Look closer

  • What details in the photograph suggest careful, skilled craftsmanship?
  • Why do you think Fahrenheit gave this instrument to another scientist rather than keeping it?
  • What does the rarity of surviving examples tell us about how fragile historical scientific instruments can be?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Daniel Fahrenheit on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scanned page 1 of a 1724 journal article titled 'Experimenta circa gradum caloris liquorum nonnullorum ebullientium instituta' by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, printed in Latin with a page number '(1)' at top and 'Vol. XXXIII' footer.Document

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Experimenta circa gradum caloris liquorum nonnullorum ebullientium instituta

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit · 1724

Handwritten cursive signature in ink on a white background: large looping initials D and G, with the surname written below as 'renheit' and a flourished 'Fa' to the right, forming Fahrenheit's signature.Document

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Fahrenheit's Last Will Signature

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit · 11 September 1736

Engraved plate titled 'Philosoph. Transact. N° 385' with eight numbered figures (I to VIII) of glass barometer and thermometer apparatus, including tubes, bulbs, scales, and stands, drawn in black and white.Document

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Barometri novi descriptio

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit · 1724

Printed page numbered 114 from a journal. Top text describes dog experiments with tinctures. Below a rule, a section heading reads 'VI. Materiarum quarundam gravitates Specificae' by D. G. Fahrenheit, followed by a list of metals and materials with specific gravity values.Document

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Materiarum quarundam gravitates specificae

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit · 1724

Black handwritten signature on a white background reading D. G. Fahrenheit in flowing cursive script, with large looping initial letters and a long underline-like stroke.Document

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Signature of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

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