1. “Into the Valley of Darkness”: Reflections on the Royal Society in the Eighteenth Century
2. See for example Hall Rupert, The revolution in science, 1500–1750 (London, 1983), Stimson Dorothy, Scientists and amateurs: A history of the Royal Society (New York, 1949) or Weld Charles, A history of the Royal Society (2 vols, London, 1848). Heilbron J. L., Physics at the Royal Society during Newton's presidency (Los Angeles, 1983), 40 in part questions this interpretation with respect to Folkes, but given the focus of his book does not take it any further.
3. Remarks and collections of Thomas Hearne, edited by Salter H. E., ix (Oxford, 1914), 379. Diary, 8 December 1727: “On Thursday, Nov. 30th last, was a great struggle at the Royal Society, Lond., to get out Sir Hans Sloane from being President of the Royal Society, Martin Folkes, Esq. (a Cambridge man as to Education), opposing him.”.
4. “You must have heard of the Philomats' putting up Mr. Fowlks for President of the Royall Society, in opposition to Sir Hans Sloane. They were positive in their success, but lost it on Thursday last. It has been the whole talke of the town; and there has been as much canvassing and intrigue made use of, as if the fate of the Kingdome depended on it. The Society will suffer by it, which I am sorry for …”, Turner D. (ed.), Extracts from the literary and scientific correspondence of Richard Richardson (Yarmouth, 1835), 284: Richardson to William Sherard, 14 December 1727; and Hearne, op. cit. (ref. 6), ix, 379.