On Governors
"We have decided to call the entire field of control and communication theory, whether in the machine or the animal, by the same Cybernetics, which we form from the Greek kubernetes, or steersman. In choosing this term we wish to recognize that the first significant paper on feedback mechanisms is an article on governors, which was published by Clerk Maxwell in 1868, and that governor is derived from a Latin corruption of kubernetes." -Norbert Weiner, Cybernetics
First printing of Maxwell's rare important work "On Governors", marking the beginning of feedback theory.
Although forms of feedback systems were known and used for centuries, it was not until James Watt's invention of the centrifugal governor in 1788, that such devices were seen as an indispensable feature of modern science, and scientists began to understand the necessity of formulating a mathematical theory for such control systems. By developing models covering negative feedback, stability, and damping, Maxwell, in 1868, became the first to produce an effective theoretical and mathematical analysis of a control system. "On Governors" is now recognized as "the first significant paper on feed-back mechanisms" and one of the foundational documents of cybernetics.
In Proceedings of the Royal Society 16 (1868): 270-83. London: Taylor and Francis, 1868. Octavo, original gray printed wrappers; custom folding case. Repaired tear to rear wrapper, original spine mostly perished; ink notation on front wrapper.
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