NO. 89: JUNE 2009

ISSN: 1751-8261

Contents Life history of your PhD thesis Main Feature 1 Life History of Your PhD Thesis Joe Cain thinks far too little is done in the UK to disseminate PhD BSHS News 3 theses. Most simply are inaccessible to scholars. Not all graduates Cambridge Journals Online Committee Positions Available convert their work into scholarly products. Surprisingly few take BSHS Grant Reports 4 even the simplest steps to distribute their finished thesis. In this BSHS Outreach and 6 article, Joe offers suggestions for what might be done to improve Education Committee these problems. His key message to students is ‘take charge’. Reports of Meetings 7 BSHS Postgraduate Conference Manchester Histories Festival Once the dissertation viva is over and revisions are complete, many doctoral theses have the Cavendish Songs same life history. There’s a day – a memorable day – when two copies are delivered proudly to Reader Contribution 10 an office somewhere in the bowels of an administration building. Forms are signed. A rubber An Economic History of Atomism stamp hits the page. The thesis is well and truly done. Reviews 11 When asked, most students don’t know what happens to their thesis – that bound physical object. Moreover, surprisingly few have no real plan for disseminating their research beyond Anniversaries for 2011 12 a vague thought to ‘publish something somewhere’. It’s all too easy for dissertations, and the The Questionnaire 14 research contained therein, to disappear into a forgotten corner of off-site storage. In Memoriam, Listings 15 BJHS, Viewpoint, BSHS info. 16

Editorial

Joe Cain kicks off this issue with a topic close to his heart on disseminating PhD theses. He presented these ideas at a workshop for PhD students at the BSHS Postgraduate Conference in Manchester early this year. Look out for the report of the 2009 event. Due to popular demand the 2011 Anni- versaries are in this issue. Anniversaries are now being published in June, two years ahead, to enable events to be planned well in advance. Darwin events continue. In this issue Kelley Swain reports on her dissemination of her poetry on Darwin, for which she has received assistance from an Outreach and Education grant. Also included are BSHS news items and grant reports, more reports of meetings, reviews, a reader’s contribution and the Questionnaire. Contributions to the next © SCIENCE MUSEUM/JENNIE HILLS issue should be sent to newsletter@bshs. org.uk by 17 August 2009, with advanced notice of contributions greatly appreci- Fig. 1 This is a prototype display of topics associated with the theme of scientific ated. lectures in early 19th-century London, which was created by Louise Thorn from her PhD research. A selection of relevant objects from the collections of the Science Museum Rosemary Wall, Editor were included as potential display items. Further details of the objects and images on display here can be viewed at htpp://www.ingenious.org.uk . 2 Viewpoint No. 89

Few people plan to do nothing with their Its conscientious editors regularly complain ports, in hospitals, office lobbies, government completed thesis, but busy lives and pressing about difficulties extracting information from agencies, large hotels, and shopping centres. demands elsewhere simply divert energy and postgraduates and departmental tutors. Of Local libraries have display potential, as do attention. Before long, hot ideas have grown course, there’s nothing to stop individuals staff areas at relevant museums, archives, and cold, and dust has settled over the project. from contributing their own information industries. These venues also might want help The effort involved returning to the project directly. The same goes for the Isis Current revising content on websites and promotional becomes more than people can muster. Bibliography and History On-line via history. literature. No aspiring academic should under- On the opposite end, some dissertations are ac.uk when the thesis is completed. estimate the value of such projects. Neither transformed rapidly into professional publica- More involved projects develop other types should anyone interested in museum work, tions. Most commonly, chapters become peer- of engagement and knowledge transfer. Pub- the publishing industry, or corporate life. reviewed papers. Talks appear at conferences lications for general audiences offer important Small projects also can lay the foundations for and seminars. Whole theses sometimes are venues for reaching amateurs and enthusiasts, larger funding opportunities, such as those on transformed into book manuscripts. Conver- for example, Viewpoint , Endeavour , BBC His- offer by the Wellcome Trust’s arts and public sion along these lines is not easy, but that tory , Wellcome History , and Chemical Herit- engagement schemes, the British Council, and process can be simplified with a little tactical age . Many universities and research libraries most professional societies. planning. For instance, chapters can be writ- produce magazines for alumni and ‘friends’. ten with life as stand-alone articles in mind. So do enthusiast groups ranging from military What does your university do with Notes can be kept regarding additions and to local history, as do groups such as the transformations towards a book. Historical Association (primary and secondary your thesis after completion? Between the poles of ‘nothing’ and ‘every- educators), English Heritage, etc. Editors nor- thing’ lies something. A great many opportu- mally are anxious for content, and production If most graduates underplay their thesis, nities exist for disseminating thesis work with- values tend to be high. Along similar lines, worse normally happens with thesis-as-a- out investing much additional time or effort. some theses will include substantial revision physical-object. Many universities do rather I’m surprised how few graduates consider to biographical, bibliographical, and etymo- little after acceptance. One copy will be made sending their thesis (or e-mailing an abstract logical information. The Oxford Dictionary of available for loan. Frequently, this means avail- with an offer to send the whole) to established National Biography, Oxford English Dictionary, ability only for reference, only to those visiting specialists in their area. Surely, every graduate and commercial encyclopaedia also offer out- the library in person, and only for those will know who will be most interested in their lets for new interpretations. However, gradu- planning ahead enough to have it retrieved work. Likewise, archivists and curators tell me ates rarely discuss revising these as a viable from storage. Because copyright law applies they rarely receive theses drawing on research writing project. The online nature of these to theses as it applies to everything else, pho- done with their collections. That’s a shame. publications now allows for easy revision. The tocopying will be restricted to the usual single Not only do archives and museums have their other obvious venue for general audience chapter or five percent, whichever is more, own pressures to demonstrate relevance to writing is Wikipedia and its kin; take credit unless the copyright owner’s permission is ob- research (and we can help them here!), but for improving these sometimes terrible – but tained. Other copies of a thesis might simply they certainly will receive future researchers occasionally excellent – resources. be sent to archival storage, for safe keeping in and reference requests focusing on the same Opportunities are increasing for collabora- perpetuity. Such behaviour doesn’t help much material. Archivists and curators are experts tion with arts and educational groups. A well- with dissemination. in their own right, too, and will benefit from stocked portfolio can add roundedness to the To their credit, some universities go further. reading new interpretations. specialist technical writing of most academic Some use corporate archival services to Distribute the thesis-as-a-text as much as possible. Also, consider other ways to expand resumes. Collabo- on the underlying research programme. rations also open Beyond articles and a book, consider other up alternative outputs – normally possible with only slight career and fund- polishing and permissions. Document tran- ing paths. Large scriptions might stand on their own via schol- projects need arly editing. Translations can be put into wider resources beyond circulation. Interviews might become collec- most ex-post-grad- tions of oral histories and formally deposited. uates. However, Studies of space and place can develop into posters and single- walking tours; image collections, and exhibit cabinet displays catalogues. Notes covering whole archival col- do not (see Fig. 1). lections might be the foundation for a finding If designed to be aid or calendar of correspondence. portable and avail- Internet-based outlets offer quick and able for loan, their inexpensive routes for dissemination. In some value increases. cases, they seem too easy, and opportunities Display space nor- are overlooked. It takes no effort to post a mally can be found dissertation title and abstract on a personal in every university or departmental website. This would give hits department. But MELANIE KEENE from web searches, at the very least. BSHS go beyond the now manages on-line its long-standing “List of usual suspects, Fig. 2 In 2007 as part of ‘Outreach Day’ at the Manchester 2007 Theses,” covering dissertations in progress or too. Cultural and conference, Melanie Keene introduced the ‘Object Stories’ session completed in the UK and Republic of Ireland. historical displays with PhD research she had conducted into historical ‘it-narratives’, Oddly, this list is perpetually out-of-date. are common at air- or autobiographies of things. Viewpoint No. 89 3

register theses, microfilm or digitise them, then sell copies on request. These services also offer long-term off-site storage. Both BSHS News commercial (for example., UMI/Proquest) and national (for example, ETHOS, formerly the British Library Theses Service) services are available. Individuals cannot submit material Cambridge Journals Online: on their own. Graduate schools are the gate- keepers. If a university subscribes to such a Special Access for Members of BSHS service, students will be asked (or required) to license the process. In return, a small royalty Every member of the BSHS can now easily get privileged use of Cambridge Journals is promised in the event of non-trivial sales. Online. This special access gives members access to all articles since 1997 as well as forth- Students should know if their universities use coming articles; comprehensive search functions; customised accounts to save articles or such a service. request citation alerts; and RSS feeds and advanced notice of future issues. Graduate schools tend to have explicit Activate membership subscription by visiting Cambridge Journals Online at routines for processing theses once accepted. www.journals.cambridge.org . This will include disseminating titles and Register with a username and password of your choice. Then go to the Activate Society abstracts to bibliographic services, such as Subscriptions page: the BSHS ID number is 1448100. Then enter your own member- Index to Theses ( www.theses.com ) and Disser- ship number: this was sent you by mail in July 2008; you can obtain it from the BSHS tation Abstracts Online (now PQDT: ProQuest administrator. Dissertations and Theses). At the institutional- level, some services will be missed (especially This is a valuable service especially available to BSHS members. those catering to more specialised audiences), so students or departments should follow-up to cover the holes (as above). One trend in UK universities has them man- Can You Communicate HSTM? aging on-line digital libraries, promoting open access (for example, UCL Eprints). Disserta- If So, Your Society Needs You! tions have become an obvious grist for these mills, and institutions are starting to encour- There are two exciting opportunities available on the age or require electronic deposit in conjunc- tion with submission of paper originals. A Communications Co-ordination Committee comparable project is underway in Australasia - adt.caul.edu.au and across Europe - www. Web Editor dart-europe.eu . Website editor wanted! Do you have good writing and editing skills? An ability to work ef- fectively with others? An interest in communicating the Society’s work to its members and Who needs to act? the wider world? We need a new member of the Communications Co-ordination Committee to take charge of the content development of the BSHS website (http://www.bshs.org.uk/) as a Dissemination ultimately is your own respon- major resource for BSHS members and historians of science more generally. The post needs sibility. It’s also a golden opportunity. It’s in someone with energy, commitment, ideas and a will to make things happen. The Web your best interests to know how far and wide Editor will have responsibility for a major part of the BSHS communication strategy, and others will work on your behalf. Campaign to will work closely with CCC and BSHS Council. For further information and informal inquir- have that range extended. Make enquiries in ies, contact the BSHS President, Jeff Hughes, [email protected]. your Graduate School and with your depart- ment. If not one listens, increase the volume via consultation processes, blogs, university Communications Secretary newspapers, and campaigning. The BSHS is looking for a new Communications secretary to strengthen its relationship Take an active role in dissemination, too. If with the media. The Communications Secretary is the Society’s point of contact for the nothing else, post your title and abstract in media, responsible for fielding general enquiries and for notifying journalists through easy-to-find, searchable websites. Consider an online press service of forthcoming BSHS events, books and research findings of the deposits in digital libraries and paper archives. Society’s members. Ideally, applicants should have good contacts within the BSHS, some Update information in bibliographic services. knowledge of the media and an interest in communicating history of science to the widest Actively share your work. Of course, don’t stop possible audience. The appointee will, in the first instance shadow the current Communica- after distributing copies of your thesis. Write. tions Secretary and act as his assistant. Enquiries to the current Communications Secretary Then write more. Then create complementary are welcomed: please contact [email protected]. projects. The wider you search, the more the opportunities. Both officers will be members of the BSHS Communication Co-ordination Committee which meets three times a year. The deadline for applications for both Joe Cain, positions is 17 July 2009 . University College London Please contact Peter C. Kjaergaard at [email protected]. BSHS Communications Co-ordination Committee [email protected] 4 Viewpoint No. 89

BSHS Grant Reports

The BSHS operates a variety of grant schemes — bursaries for Masters degrees, research and special project grants, Butler-Eyles grants for students’ travel to BSHS conferences, and care grants to enable parents to more easily attend BSHS conferences. See www.bshs.org.uk/bshs/grants for details.

Ella Briony Gunson and Rachel Dunn report on how they have been assisted by the Masters degree bursary scheme.

Studying for an MSc at CHSTM, tion and technological determinism, and rent during the 1950s and 60s. Working from presented science as a human event, product primary archival research at Lambeth Palace, University of Manchester and activity in all its manifests. Ultimately, it it became a discussion on science, state and was about delineating the pedagogic and religion and the interrelationship between Often during my undergraduate physics chronological form of scientific develop- these subjects. lectures, we would be reminded of Manches- ment and instead trying to look at the history ter’s illustrious past in the making of modern of science as one which is the assimilation, Ella Briony Gunson physics. The lecture theatres themselves in the reconstruction, re-evaluation of an extended [email protected] Schuster Laboratory of Manchester’s Physics and on going process that is constantly in Department carry such names as Moseley, flux owing to the social, political, cultural and Bragg, Blackett and Rutherford, as testament economic factors that are inherent within its to the University’s past residents that em- development. blazon this history. Learning in an institution The course unsettled much of what I had with such a prestigious past often brought the taken for granted, which I liked to think of as Report on a MA in the History question of the history of science to the front a collision between the Two Cultures in my of my mind. After my undergraduate degree I mind, à la CP Snow. At times it was discon- and Philosophy of Science and embarked on an MSc in the History of Science, certing (the concept of ‘social construction of Medicine at Durham University Technology, and Medicine at Manchester’s the electron’ did prompt a minor intellectual CHSTM. tantrum within me, which still occasionally With the support from a BSHS Masters Bursary I had previously, and rather naively, taken echoes today) but the almost overwhelming I was able to complete an MA in the History the history of science as akin to a chronology variety of possible routes of inquiry is very and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at or an itinerary of technological innovation, if exciting. To analogise the coastline paradox, if Durham University. Coming from a scientific you will. But just as any history student will the history of science is like detailing a map of rather than a humanities background, the tell you: ‘dates are not important’; far from our development in the past, to what degree HPSM programme enabled me to extend my a chronology, this history sought to place of detail is acceptable? The more the scale of understanding of historical and philosophical science within a cultural, political, religious, a coastline map is reduced, the more detail concepts and develop my skills in interdiscipli- geographical, psychological, sociological there is to record; so I ask at what point do nary research. setting, identifying the social priorities of historians of science choose to step back and The HPSM programme investigated science that era that sculpt science, technology and admire the coastline? I finished the course and medicine from antiquity to the present medicine. Since science and technology are certainly as no cartographer, but felt enlight- day and constantly challenged me to critically such pervasive forces in society, to obtain an ened by the map reading skills I had picked up evaluate different historiographical inter- accurate understanding of the progression of along the way. pretations and philosophical concepts. The the modern world, it is essential to look at its The anniversary of Darwin this year (150th programme consisted of four taught modules: history. of publication of the species and the 200th Research Methods, Philosophical Issues in As an inquisitive person, I had sought to anniversary of his birth) has brought to the Science and Medicine, History of Science and understand the world around us and this was forefront not only the importance of the his- History of Medicine followed by a dissertation. my principle drive to read physics. Science, tory of science but also its relationship with By studying Research Methods I was able to and its fruits of truth, objectivity, and iPods, religion and the classic conflict models that develop a strong foundation on which to base I thought would quench an, at times, some- are upheld between the spiritual and scien- my research, having examined the availability what existential thirst of mine. But this proved tific world. The work of figures like Richard and interpretation of primary sources and a rather black and white understanding of the Dawkins has proved that their interplay is methodological concepts. The Philosophi- world. Responding to and compounding the certainly not confined to the history books, cal Issues in Science and Medicine module social views of science, I saw these technologi- and, from the trial of Galileo in the 1630s to allowed me to develop my understanding cal and epistemological tools as both altruistic the Scopes trial of the 1920s, I have been cap- of key philosophical theories and to analyse and a source of pure objectified truth. The tivated as to the interplays between science, arguments for and against such theories. Masters course involved largely deconstruct- society and religion. My dissertation involved Through engaging seminars we explored ing the view that ‘science’ transcends our examining science and religion, case studying issues such as causation and the beginning normal world, challenged the myth of inven- the development of Britain’s nuclear deter- and end of life. Viewpoint No. 89 5

Within the History of Medicine we studied the foremost issues of health, medicine and Religion and the Great Exhibition, 1851 disease, most notably the history of the body, public health and the beginnings of profes- Geoffrey Cantor reports on research carried out with the support sionalization. While looking at the profession- of a BSHS grant alization of the medical fraternity we exam- ined scientists that were previously unknown to me such as Dr Mary Dixon Jones. Dr Dixon Jones was a leader in gynaecological surgery and, following an enforced retirement from medicine, focused her work on the pathology of disease. Exploring the history of public health we studied the work of, among others, George Rosen, Dorothy Porter and Charles Rosenberg, discussing health and healing in ancient and modern cultures. Reflecting on the 19th century we examined social disloca- tion and its effect on epidemics. This enabled me to research the consequences of cholera outbreaks in the North East of England and Christiania in Norway during the middle decades of the century that led to subsequent public health reforms. The course culminated with the comple- tion of a dissertation that helped to develop my research skills, consulting both primary sources and secondary literature. I thoroughly enjoyed the research project as it gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the early 19th century, examining two of my The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace, London, 1851 great scientific heroes, Sir Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday and their time at the Royal I have long been fascinated by the Great occasional reference to missionaries distribut- Institution. As I spent time prior to my MA as a Exhibition of 1851 and recently begun re- ing tracts to visitors, I have ascertained the teacher I was interested in the strategies used searching it from a rather unusual standpoint. immense investment made by these organisa- to communicate science at the RI with respect Most histories of the Exhibition portray it as a tions at the time of the Exhibition, in prepar- to the major objects of its foundation. The profoundly secular event dedicated to the dis- ing and publishing new works, distributing title of my dissertation was ‘Communicating play of science, technology, and manufacture. them, laying on special services, etc. The RTS Science at the Royal Institution of Great Britain Some, too, tie it to the rise of consumerism or and BFBS even mounted stands inside the 1799-1830.’ the beginnings of modernity. By contrast, I am Crystal Palace. I concentrated my study on the public asking how the Exhibition might be interpret- Although there was some religious opposi- lectures given by Davy and Faraday, examin- ed from the perspective of religion. tion to the Exhibition, this research also ing the ways in which they communicated The sources for this project are surprisingly shows several ways in which the scientific and verbally and visually with audiences. The fact rich. The Exhibition provided the subject mat- technological artefacts on display were made that the lectures were given by the research- ter for numerous sermons; religious organisa- religiously acceptable. Thus, for example, tions issued tracts, Bibles and other religious ers themselves and the inclusion of inventive the exhibits were often portrayed within a works for visitors, especially foreigners; and demonstrations made them highly success- providentialist framework, so that a visit to the the contemporary religious periodical press ful, turning Davy and Faraday into minor Exhibition became an experience that tran- celebrities. I found that the audiences Davy overflowed with commentaries on the Exhibi- scended the material artefacts themselves. and Faraday lectured to were comprised of tion. As well as a wealth of published material, Many Christians also viewed the Exhibition as members of the middle class who attended to relevant archives are located in Cambridge manifesting progress; not just progress in sci- satisfy the thirst for knowledge that existed in University Library, SOAS Library, the National ence and technology, but also progress in reli- the 19th century, not necessarily the audi- Art Library, and the 1851 Commission’s archive gion and morality. Moreover, not a few writers ences Rumford had envisaged bene#ting from at Imperial College, London. the Institution. As I was living in York, the grant from conceived the Crystal Palace to be an indicator I would like to thank the BSHS for awarding the BSHS enabled me to visit London and of the immanence of the Second Coming. me the bursary and enabling me to study a Cambridge in order to work on the archives These and other responses to the Exhibi- subject I love in such depth. Following com- and publications of several religious publica- tion emphasize just how deeply its meanings pletion of the HPSM MA I wanted to continue tion societies, especially the Religious Tract were immersed in contemporary religion. My studying the History of Science and have Society (RTS), the British and Foreign Bible sincere thanks to the BSHS for enabling me begun a PhD in the Department of Philosophy Society (BFBS), and the Society for Promoting to carry out this basic research on what looks at Durham University. Christian Knowledge. increasingly like a book-length project. One significant outcome of this research has Rachel Dunn been an appreciation of how these predomi- Geoffrey Cantor University of Durham nantly evangelical societies engaged the Exhi- University of Leeds [email protected] bition. While the secondary literature makes [email protected] 6 Viewpoint No. 89

Outreach and Education Committee On Tour With Darwin’s Microscope Kelley Swain describes how an Outreach and Education grant aided her in understanding and disseminating her poetry, and discusses the genre of literature and science

2009 shares significant links with one of bination of the history of science history’s most respected scientists – Charles and literature and science with Darwin. 2009 is the bicentenary of Darwin’s other enthusiasts is a wonderfully birthday as well as the 150th anniversary of encouraging and inspiring oppor- the publication of his magnum opus, On the tunity. I want to thank the BSHS Origin of Species . Since its publication and im- for providing me with the support mediate bestseller status on 24th November, to take part in the group, and I 1859, Darwin’s work has inspired writers to encourage others to attend. respond to that shift in perception the work This background in the his- provided. From Thomas Hardy and George tory of science and the physical Meredith, to the American Transcendental- sciences has also allowed me to ists, to Simon Armitage and Dorothy Sutton confidently answer questions at today, poets have bridged ‘the two cultures’ to readings. One audience par- incorporate science into literature. ticipant wanted to know why I I have been privileged to take part in a chose to use ‘was spooked’ in a number of Darwin-related events in reading poem about Darwin writing On from my recently published book of poetry, the Origin of Species . I was able to Darwin’s Microscope , which draws in form and provide a comprehensive reply, subject from Darwin’s life and works, and from including explaining the develop- what most greatly influenced him as a writer ment of Darwin writing Origin , – the natural world. Darwin’s Microscope draws coupled with his awareness of from Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation prevailing scientific attitudes of Kelley Swain, local students and pigeon racer Ian by Robert Chambers as well as Darwin’s own the time, especially in relation to McKay enjoy a blend of poetry and science for Voyage of the Beagle , On the Origin of Spe- transmutation, added to Darwin’s Darwin’s 200th birthday at the Aberdeen Natural cies , and The Descent of Man . Poems allude desire to establish himself as a History Centre to Down House, Darwin’s family life, physi- reputable scientist with his barna- cal health, and emotional disposition. The cle research – and finally Wallace’s semi-con- ing to the uninitiated – biology and poetry – ‘microscope’ is both literal, when Darwin looks into droplets of seawater from a red tide, and current, fever-induced realization of natural and mixing them, and observing the reaction. metaphorical, using that ‘lens’ of wonder, dis- selection, the joint readings of their papers at Thus far I have greatly enjoyed the results. covery, and excitement with which he viewed the Linnean Society, and Darwin’s own social In a sense, I am a translator. I am doing my the flora, fauna, and geology on his travels connections resulting in the publication and best to translate science into poetry. However, and in his own back yard. success of his book. The substance behind I also feel that science beautifully lends itself One of the most important aspects arising the readings is extremely important to me to poetry, and that the job of the poet and the from giving readings from the book is the as a writer and to provide satisfaction to my job of the scientist are much the same. Both substance beneath the writing. In creating listeners. must observe the world closely, intimately, Darwin’s Microscope , one of my main aims Approaching a variety of audiences requires minutely. Both must use the senses, measure, with the book was to impart the wonder and respect and enthusiasm. I have read for calculate, and write a great deal of description. beauty of science to the reader without being audiences from 10-year-old school children, For both, the final results are rarely what they didactic, and to balance scientific and poetic elderly couples, academics, and general audi- expect. integrity. This included me, an English student, ences, and while I do not assume any of these A wonderful discussion arose at the recent taking courses in evolution, zoology, animal audiences would necessarily know all about annual conference of the British Society for behaviour, and geology. This background Darwin, I try to let the biology shine through Literature and Science on teaching science allowed me to write poems blending geologi- in the writing, and to welcome questions as and literature. One teacher pointed out a dis- cal terminology such as ‘ooids,’ ‘laminae,’ and often as possible. I have spoken with English tinct response in his students – their interest ‘coquina,’ and to write about cat dissection teachers who seek advice on incorporating was piqued in a scientific topic when they had and whale watching from personal experi- science into the classroom, science teachers a historical person to whom they could relate. ence. who want to make use of poetry, literature The figure or character was the focus rather Another contribution to my work has been students who want to bring science into their than the sweeping historical concept. This has the most enjoyable Cambridge Science and own work and those 10-year-old students, been true in my own writing, from my focus Literature Reading Group. The BSHS provided who have been willing to dream up poetic on Charles Darwin and biology for Darwin’s me with a bursary which allowed me to travel metaphors inspired by zoological specimens. Microscope to my focus on Caroline Herschel from London to Cambridge to attend the It has been a strange experiment, taking and astronomy for my next project. Writing SLRG meetings for a term. Sharing the com- two things which may be normally intimidat- DM has allowed me to learn far more about Viewpoint No. 89 7

biology and about Darwin than I otherwise academic essays on the subject of literature a young age, students must be inspired and would have done; just my work on Herschel and science,’ and is peer reviewed. ASLE (The allowed to love and study many subjects. is currently allowing me to learn heaps about Association for the Study of Literature and the While they specialize in a particular branch of the history of astronomy. Without the incen- Environment) is a great resource for the more academia, then museums, books, and mentors tive of the book, I would not have been likely environmental end of science. Many museums can bring other subjects into focus. Just like to look into it. The creative angle has opened of science or natural history run science/ lit- Darwin on his Beagle voyage, when we are the door to the science. erature events; these can provide a wonderful exposed to variety, we begin to see connec- Other resources I would encourage educa- interdisciplinary forum for learning. tions – leading us into great new ways of tors or those with a general interest to look A general openness and enthusiasm for seeing the world. at include the JLS , or Journal of Literature interdisciplinary study and generalization and Science , out of the University of Glamor- are the key ingredients for bridging literature Kelley Swain gan. JLS is ‘dedicated to the publication of and science and other fields of study. From [email protected]

Grants for Outreach & Education work, 2009 Do you have a new idea for taking history of science, technology or medicine to non-specialist audiences outside higher education?

If so, you can apply to the BSHS Outreach & Education Committee for a grant to support the costs of your venture. These grants are offered on a competitive basis up to a normal maximum of £100, though applications for larger amounts will be considered in exceptional cases.

The deadline for 2009 applications is June 26, and all receipts for reimbursement must be submitted by early December 2009. To apply, email [email protected] presenting your case. For further information, see http://www.bshs.org.uk/bshs/outreach/ .

Reports of Meetings British Society for the History of Science Postgraduate Conference

Mike Morwood reports on the conference at the University of Manchester, 6th-9th November

In January in a frosty Manchester the del- egates gathered for the annual BSHS Post- graduate Conference, hosted by Manchester University's Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM). Over 40 delegates attended, representing 23 institu- tions and several different countries, and as well as historians included geographers and a sociologist. An impressive array of fascinating papers covered many different aspects of the history of science, and offered a great oppor- tunity for us all to hear about our colleagues’ research. Papers ranged from the 16th century to the 21st century, from camouflage to nau- sea, and from ecology to planetariums. Whilst many papers focused on the 19th century, there was also had a liberal helping of papers on other eras. Two of the main focuses of the confer- ence were medicine, and cosmology and astronomy. On medicine, Rebecca Whyte CAITLIN WYLIE 8 Viewpoint No. 89

The BSHS skills session on what to do with Their audiences tend, inevitably, to be strongly your thesis after completion, presented by Joe interested in science: a vital constituency, but Cain (UCL) and Duncan Wilson (Manchester) a minority of the public. School groups are the was also a great success, with Joe bringing his chief exception, as they will (usually) politely inimitable energetic style and Duncan remind- attend what their teachers direct them to. In the National Curriculum, however, the his- ing us of the need for dogged persistence tories of science and, in particular, medicine with post-doc applications! are associated more strongly with the history Over tea and coffee between sessions, and syllabus. Only the most enlightened science at the enjoyable evening wine reception and educators will avoid prioritising ‘core’ science conference dinner, we took the opportunity events over ‘optional’ history. to network and find out more about each The obvious solution is a history festival. other's work, exchanging useful insights in the And the challenges are equally obvious. The process. quest for economic salvation which seems to Everyone agreed that the conference was be the mission of the Department for Innova- a great success. Thanks to the organising tion, Universities and Skills does not, so far as committee, the BSHS, and CHSTM. Next year’s I can tell, favour strategically expanding the nation’s historical enquiry base. Well before conference will be eagerly anticipated! the downturn, industrial concerns which used to engage seriously with museums and CAITLIN WYLIE Mike Moorwood academia had begun to withdraw support University of Swansea for their scientific-technical heritage. Want of Anna Carlsson, conference organiser [email protected] sponsorship scuppered an annual History Fes- tival in Cambridge. Though there is plainly still an appetite for organised celebrations in the UK – consider the current Darwin anniversary (Cambridge) delivered a paper on compulsory – these tend to be one-off commemorations notification of disease in late-19th-century of specific events. Bolton; Howard Chiang (Princeton) presented The Manchester Histories Festival, inaugu- on Western anatomy and conceptions of the John Dalton to Joy Division rated in March, demonstrates a remarkable body in 19th and 20th-century China; Nicholas will to find an alternative model. Operating Whitfield (Cambridge) gave a paper on images on a budget that would affront the shoe- of blood donation in wartime London; Rach- James Sumner finds new paths string industry, the Festival ingeniously ael Russel (Manchester) presented on nausea for public history of science in threaded together countless contributions and vomiting in 19th century Britain; Alison in kind. The greatest of these was full use of Montgomery (Durham) on the male skeleton the Manchester Histories Festi- Manchester’s splendid Town Hall for the two in the late 17th and 18th century; Teri Chettiar val , 21st March days into which events were compressed – (Northwestern) on hypnotism and medicine one for schools, one for the public. Into this around 1900; Sherry Gad Erab (Exeter) on Beyond science festivals, what? healers in 16th to 18th-century Egypt; Alexan- space poured the combined efforts of over a The annual British Science Festival offers a der Bacopoulos-Viau (Cambridge) on hysteria hundred schools, academic institutions, com- pattern which has been loosely adapted for in medicine and literature in 19th-century munity groups, museums, libraries, archives local events from Orkney to Brighton. These France; and Laura Kelly (Galway) on lady medi- and local societies, offering lectures, demon- cal students in Irish universities around 1900. festivals, of course, present major opportuni- strations, guided walks, wall displays, video On cosmology and astronomy there were also ties for bringing the history of science to a screenings and information stands. Most of numerous illuminating papers. Jeff Belknap wider audience. They (Cambridge) presented on late-19th-century integrate smoothly with transit-of-Venus (TOV) observations litera- university and museum ture and the introduction of photography initiatives. They mostly in making these observations; Katie Taylor operate on convenient (Cambridge) gave a paper on the develop- city or campus sites, ment of star maps in the 16th century; and using existing venues Thad Parsons, III (Oxford) gave an entertaining and booking facilities. paper on the chequered history of attempts They draw enthusias- to build a planetarium at the Science Museum. tic volunteers, local Other papers included an exploration of media coverage, and the largely-forgotten 2002 GM controversy sometimes (largely in Zambia (Andrew Bowman, Manchester), because they are seen papers on engineering (Aparajith Ramnath, as economically useful) Imperial College, and Daniel Wilson, Birkbeck significant public or College), a paper on Darwinism in 19th-cen- commercial sponsorship, at a time when depress- tury Denmark (Stine Grumsen, Aarhus), and a TOM LEAN paper on patronage of evolutionary biologists ingly little else does. in the Dutch East Indies around 1900 (Robert- Yet science festivals Paul Marshall talks television with the Museum of Science and Jan Wille, Nijmegen). alone are not enough. Industry's resident John Dalton impersonator Viewpoint No. 89 9

aeronautics, passenger rail, stored-program computers and test-tube babies, explaining the national and global through the local has become second nature in Manchester. Similar approaches underlie public history elsewhere, notably in Liverpool and other maritime cen- tres, and could probably work anywhere. Why not explore your local options?

James Sumner University of Manchester [email protected]

The Great Hall pro- vided an impressive backdrop for displays and presentation stalls Cavendish Society Songs JAMES SUMNER the effort was voluntary; all events were free. naries as Tristram Hunt, Sheila Rowbotham Melanie Keene reports on the The Festival was directed by John Pickstone, and Michael Wood. Some 4000 people (twice event at the Whipple Museum, my colleague at the Centre for the History of the best projected estimate) attended the Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM). public day. With so much going on in a con- Cambridge, 12th March With financial support from the Wellcome centrated space, the atmosphere was frenetic. Trust, and a recent PhD graduate, Tom Lean, Highlights for me included narrating John Dal- On 12th March Jeff Hughes spoke at the closely involved in co-ordination, CHSTM ton’s early career against heavy competition Whipple Museum of the History of Science, was well represented. Staff and postgrads from a local percussion collective; sheltering Cambridge, on 'A Function of the Time: The presented research on the local stories of behind the CHSTM display stand, frantically Cavendish Society and their Postprandial Pro- artificial hips (Julie Anderson), tamoxifen and folding industrial walking tour pamphlets ceedings'. As part of the event the 'HPS chorus' radiotherapy (Carsten Timmermann, Elizabeth after the intended day’s stock disappeared in (pictured) performed three of the Society's Toon), public health and air pollution (Emma two hours; and wondering why my lecture on songs - 'Ions Mine', 'hν', and 'Isotopes' - for the Jones, Gill Mawson) and the regeneration of Manchester computing was attended by two first time since the 1930s. both wounded tissue and biological research Edwardian street-urchins. (Duncan Wilson). Michael Worboys provided Purely local history, of course, would be Melanie Keene an overview lecture on Manchester medi- of purely local interest. Yet there is no purely University of Cambridge cine, while schools projects (Mari Lowe, Mike local history. Through tales of atom-splitting, Brown) included the reliably charming topic of [email protected] epidemic urban cholera. While the Manchester Science Festival is a science festival for Manchester, the Man- chester Histories Festival is a festival for Manchester histories. This imposed some limits: Darwin, lacking local links, was notably absent, and we were unfortunately unable to incorporate current BSHS Outreach work. Yet the Festival’s localism provided the key to a level of genuine public engagement I have not seen at any comparable event. Everyone, it seems, found something they recalled, or had heard recalled, or could otherwise relate to, from gas masks to street plans to the vin- tage TV camera simulation (wielded by CHSTM postgrad Paul Marshall). Presenters without a direct local focus found ingenious sources of relevance, with displays on early Ferranti radio equipment (Emily Hankin) and the Mancunian sci-fi comic hero Dan Dare (James Farry). Judging from feedback, these histories fit- ted seamlessly into a programme encompass- ing football, immigration, women’s suffrage, JEFF HUGHES architecture, film, Factory Records and the Peterloo Massacre, and featuring such lumi- Singers at the Whipple Museum, Cambridge 10 Viewpoint No. 89

Reader Contribution An Economic History of Atomism

Tim Lewis explores two and a rejected the earlier ideas of turning base metals like lead into gold, and saw alchemy half thousand years of atomism as a practical art of distilling useful chemicals like alcohol, acids, perfumes and medicines. A Google® search for ‘atom’ gives about 58 They were also meticulous in their procedures million different websites. It has been used to and in the recording of their observations. This describe an era, a theory, a type of energy, an was the birth of experimental science which international organisation, a type of bomb, had not existed under the Greeks. The idea a clock and even a pop group. During the of atoms was actually perpetuated not by a twentieth century it promised a whole new scientist, but by a Muslim theologian called optimistic era of clean unlimited energy, but Al-Ghazali (1058-1111). after 1945 the word became synonymous with After the decline in Arabic science, there death and destruction. But when and where was a transfer of the ancient learning to the did the idea of atoms begin? What happened West in the 13th century. Europe still had a to the idea of atomism in its journey through feudal economy with the village as its eco- history? nomic unit. Technical advances in agriculture The first atomists, Leucippus and his pupil and manufacturing in medieval Europe Democritus lived in the fifth century BCE. They resulted in the production of surplus quanti- proposed that everything was made of tiny ties of commodities, which meant that trade Democritus, the founder of atomism between towns could occur and the gradual unbreakable particles called atoms that were change from feudalism to capitalism began. in continuous motion. They thought that there Physicists found that the atomic model The invention of the moveable type printing were atoms of every substance, such as water, could explain physics laws as well. They press by Gutenberg in 1439 would enable the milk, honey, bone and coal. discovered that atoms were made of even mass circulation and exchange of ideas, which smaller particles. The final definitive evi- The economy of the ancient Greek world at would take off in the 16th century. dence that demonstrated the existence of this time was based on slavery, which was an In the 17th century, key individuals in the atoms started with a 1905 paper by Einstein, unskilled labour force. This meant that its eco- revival and advancement of atomism were which mathematically explained osmosis nomic base was weak and unsustainable, and Daniel Sennert (1572 - 1637), Johannes Van and Brownian motion in terms of atoms and could not provide the material wealth to sup- Helmont (1579 – 1644), Pierre Gassendi (1592 molecules. This was verified experimentally in port society. If the strength of ancient Greek - 1655) and Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691). With 1908 by the French physicist Jean Perrin, using civilisation was rational thought, its weak- the 18th century came advances in laboratory an ultra-microscope. ness was a lack of appreciation of the role apparatus such as the thermometer by Daniel The journey from the atomic hypothesis to of experiment, observation and technology. Gabriel Fahrenheit, the pneumatic trough for the atomic theory took about 2400 years. But This meant that early ideas about the material the accurate collection of gases by Stephen its survival as a concept was due to the under- world including atomism, were not developed Hales and the analytical balance by Joseph lying economy of the period. Without this beyond pure philosophy. Fortunately, these Black. But it was John Dalton’s (1766 – 1844) underlying driving force, technology would ideas were recorded by a first century BCE 1808 publication New System of Chemical Phi- not have provided the necessary tools with Roman poet called Lucretius and Diogenes, a losophy that resurrected Democritus’s original which to experiment and communicate ideas. third century Greek biographer. hypothesis and combined it with experi- From the fourth to the seventh century, mental data of his own and other scientists. Bibliography intellectual thought in Europe was dominated Dalton’s originality lay in his ability to link the Bernal, J. D. (1969 [1954]), Science in History , vol- by Christian philosophy, so that the natural theoretical entities of hypothetical atoms with umes 1 - 4, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd. philosophy of the Greeks took a back seat. real experimental data. Brock, William H. (1992), The Fontana History of This was to change dramatically following the A number of scientists including Avogadro, Chemistry, London: Fontana Press Arab conquests of the seventh century and Gay-Lussac and Berzelius all contributed mas- Gregory, A. (2001), Eureka: The Birth of Science , the birth of Islam. The Islamic economy was sively to advancing atomism. But even by the Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd. based on agriculture and farming techniques, 1850s, atoms were still viewed as a convenient Mathias, P. (1972), Science and Society: 1600 – which demanded a much higher skill level. As conceptual model with no basis in reality. In 1900, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press a result, it was more dynamic and provided 1858, an Italian chemist called Cannizarro Price, D. J de Solla (1967), Science since Babylon, a stronger economic base for that society. revived the work of Dalton and Avogadro New Haven & London: Yale University Press The culture of early Islamic society supported in a paper called ‘The New Chemistry’. He Van Melsen, A.G. (2004 [1952]), From Atomos to scientific activity, so that the philosopher- presented his work in 1860 at the first inter- Atom: The History of the Concept Atom, New York: scientists made considerable advances in national chemistry conference at Karlsruhe Courier Dover Publications astronomy, mathematics and alchemy. Arabic in Germany. From the 1860s onwards, atoms Zilsel, Edgar (2003), The Social Origins of Modern translations of ancient Greek science ensured were gradually accepted as being real. The Science , edited by D. Raven, W. Krohn and R. S. that ideas like atomism were kept alive. invention of the Periodic Table by Meyer in Cohen, Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Brilliant polymaths such as Jabir ibn Hayyan 1864 and Mendeleev in 1869, added more Publishers. (721 - 815), Al- Razi (865 - 925) and Ibn Sina weight to the atomic theory of matter. But (980 - 1037) turned alchemy into a true sci- chemists had gone as far as they could to Tim Lewis ence - a precursor of modern chemistry. They convince the world about atoms. [email protected] Viewpoint No. 89 11

Reviews But this is not just another popular book on Book optics and astronomy. Dunn adopts a wider Opera perspective, bringing the non-astronomical Richard Dunn, The Telescope: A uses of the telescope under focus and show- English National Opera, Doctor ing how the image and symbolism of the Short History , National Maritime instrument have been assimilated into erudite Atomic, Febuary 25th to March Museum, London, 2009, ISBN, and popular culture. In fact, the telescope 20th 2009, London Coliseum. was not an astronomical instrument in its 978-1906367046, 192 pages, inception and it did not remain exclusively as Doctor Atomic had its UK premiere in Febru- £12.99. a scientific tool after becoming the quintes- ary at the London Coliseum, produced by the sential device to peer into the heavens. Dunn's English National Opera and directed by Penny approach, covering military applications, Woolcock. Composed by John Adams, with bird-watching, or simply people-watching, libretto by Peter Sellars, the work debuted in brings poor cousins like binoculars and spy- the US in 2005. It takes an ambivalent look at glasses under the limelight often reserved to the morality underlying the development of their lofty astronomical counterparts. Varied atomic weapons while exploring a tangle of references to literature, cinema, visual arts, personality, willpower, humanity, and weather. advertisement, the press and other domains The opera tells the story of a few days in outside the traditional scientific niches show 1945, as the team working on the Manhattan the telescope in a wide array of cultural mean- Project at Los Alamos are preparing for the ings: a key to the immensity of the Universe Trinity Test. Although the male lead is Robert and the little scale of human affairs, a device Oppenheimer (Gerald Finley), the opera, to peek the lives of others (earthlings and unlike the advertising posters, does not tell extraterrestrials), an emblem of scientific cold- the story of a Genius Inventor, but rather that heartedness, or, what everyone thinks of but of a project manager and the large team he are afraid to tell, a phallic symbol. manages, shown as mixed gender. General Conveniently for a book about an observing Leslie Groves (Jonathan Veira) provides the instrument, it is not only well illustrated, but shape of what little plot the opera has, while also, in many aspects, surprisingly illustrated. Edward Teller (Brindley Sherratt) proves the Writing a history of the telescope, regard- As the cover suggests, you can expect to see quirkiest and most interesting character of less of the chosen length, is running the risk more (and better) here than the traditional the lot. Groves’ clash with the meteorologist of telling the same old story. Although the gallery of remarkable telescope specimens (Roderick Earle), who must produce good question of its origins still spurs refreshing and the serious faces of their eminent makers weather for the Test or lose his job or his life scholarship, the technical development of the and users. for insubordination, structures the second act. instrument, the discoveries it allowed and the Inevitably, as in any other work of this Kitty Oppenheimer (Sasha Cooke) is laden cosmological revolutions it fostered are widely length and scope, some general state- described and analysed in an extensive body ments might sound misleading when CATHERINE ASHMORE of literature. However, a substantial amount brought under a stark scholarly scope. of work remains to be done as regards to its For instance, when Dunn states that cultural impact and significance. This new in the last quarter of the 20th century "Short History" by Richard Dunn offers a very astronomical activity became essen- readable account where this topic is cleverly tially an international endeavour due addressed and explored in a way that adds a to the need to fund very expensive special flavour to the narrative. telescopes, the historian of astronomy The book begins with references to the cannot help feeling that the impor- knowledge of optics in antiquity and ends tance of international collaboration in with an outlook for the future of the instru- former undertakings – like the expedi- ment. The pantheon of eminent observers tions to observe the transits of Venus and craftsmen, and the spectrum of great and extensive sky surveys – is over- technical accomplishments and ground break- looked. But in general Dunn is very ing observations, are duly covered. Essential competent at managing the delicate topics like the development of refractor and balance between rigour and simplicity, reflector telescopes, the race for ever larger and delivers depth and amplitude in apertures, the application of photography and the right doses. spectroscopy, the extension of the telescope's This is an ideal book for those capacity to wavelengths other than the vis- looking for an engaging introduction ible, are all explained in clear and engaging to the history of the most popular language. Technicalities are efficiently reduced scientific instrument, and will provide to the essentials and a glossary of technical a pleasant and provoking reading to terms, as wells as a set schematic illustrations telescope buffs attached to the ‘sky & showing the optic principles underlying the telescope’ paradigm. main types of telescope, provide a valuable Pedro Raposo aid to the readers less familiarized with these University of Oxford topics. [email protected] Doctor Atomic, courtesy of arenapal 12 Viewpoint No. 89

with the role of Wife and Mother, spending Anniversaries, 2011 her time pining for her work-loving husband. Indeed, though a major portion of the score is hers, her role exists only in order to provide a female lead. Her nursemaid, a Native A fuller list of anniversaries will be available on our website at American, (Morag Boyle; sung by Meredith www.bshs.org.uk/bshs/publications/newsletter . Biographies and Arwady for most of the productiuon) is the second female role. She represents the Tewa data were compiled by Rebekah Higgitt , Catharine Haines and people – shown as lab cleaning staff - with her Rosemary Wall . traditional lullaby, sung to the Oppenheimer infant, the performance of which contrasts visually and musically with the work of the military and Manhattan Project scientists. For all the songs of moral ambivalence and Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811) the role the Tewas play, the opera focuses on the competing moralities at stake, strong in The bicentenary of the death of the 5th neither praise nor condemnation; it’s an opera Astronomer Royal will take place in 2011. that culminates largely in awe over what has Maskelyne is perhaps now best-known been produced. for his role on the Board of Longitude and Plot, clearly, is not the point of this opera. his apparent opposition to the clock- Indeed, Adams’ work typically deals with char- maker John Harrison. However, he should acterization rather than with story; even then, also be remembered for his establish- Sellars’ dialogue, based heavily on original ment of equipment, staff and a regime at sources from the period, falls flat, particularly the Royal Observatory in Greenwich that when Groves sings to the audience about his led to the first publication of the Nautical diet diaries in lieu of having a character. The Almanac in 1766. This finally made the opera begins with a heavy-handed info-dump, a rapid tour around the physics of nuclear lunar distance method a practical means bombs, meant to scene-set rather than inform. of finding longitude at sea – the raison The ENO’s production of Doctor Atomic d’être of the Royal Observatory. Prior to is elegantly staged. The set, designed by this Maskelyne had been a fellow at Trin- Julian Crouch and new to this production, is ity College, Cambridge, and was made a impressive, a versatile moving wall of offices Fellow of the Royal Society in 1758, aged and shadow plays, used to good effect to only 25. He was appointed by the Royal evoke cubicle farms. Give or take the physical Society to observe the 1761 transit of impossibility of sound preceding sight, the Venus at St Helena and, while frustrated bomb is done very effectively, a wall of sound by the weather, the voyage gave him to Portrait of Nevil Maskelyne by John Russell, and silence and light evoking the moment opportunity to practice the lunar distance copyright National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. of long-anticipated explosion. Costumes method using existing tables. This not were tasteful, with elegant ‘40s outfits; only only convinced him of the need to pro- the gawky and fretful Robert Wilson (Thomas duce better tables, but undoubtedly gave Glenn) was hatless. Kitty Oppenheimer was him a sound base from which to test Harrison’s timekeepers, which he did on a second voyage, inevitably doomed to wear red, given her in 1764. While work at Greenwich took up most of Maskelyne’s time, he was able to obtain archetypal role. At least she looked good in it. leave of absence, to conduct an experiment to determine the earth's density by measuring the The singers were all solid, carrying their deviation of a plumb line produced by the gravitational attraction of the mountain Schiehallion arias and ensembles with clarity and grace. in Perthshire, and by observing stars near the zenith on both the north and south sides of the They were not often tuneful, but that is the mountain. For this work he was given the Copley medal in November 1774. fault of the score, one in which the orchestra was more frequently given melodic lines worth listening to than were the singers. One of the few exceptions was Robert Oppenhe- Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (1811-1899) imer’s striking “Batter my heart, three person’d God”, whose lyrics come from a John Donne The 200th birthday of Robert Bunsen, the German chemist, will be celebrated in 2011. His name poem, heart-wrenchingly performed by Finley. is familiar to every chemistry student because of the improved laboratory burner that he de- The powerful ensemble piece with lyrics from veloped with his assistant, Peter Desaga. Bunsen was born in Göttingen, where his father was the Bhagavad Gita, “Your shape stupendous” professor of philology. After attending school in Holzminden, he returned to the University of was also a highlight. The orchestra was gener- Göttingen first as a student of chemistry and then as a lecturer. He went on to work at Kassell, ally a greater pleasure to listen to than the tunes with which the singers were stuck, the Marburg and Breslau, and he was much admired as a teacher as well as for his analytical work score a lovely work of soundscape. in inorganic chemistry. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements and, with Gustav Kirchhoff, discovered caesium and rubidium in the 1860s. Bunsen developed several methods Shana Worthen for analysing gases, invented the Bunsen cell as well as the Bunsen burner, and was a pioneer University of Arkansas, Little Rock, and in photochemistry. He undertook important work relating to arsenic, including discovering Canterbury Christ Church University the use of iron oxide hydrate as a precipitating agent, still the best-known antidote to arsenic [email protected] poisoning. Viewpoint No. 89 13 Anniversaries, 2011 500 years 150 years

Reinhold, Erasmus 1511-1553 Astronomy, Using a spectroscope, 1861 mathematics William Crookes announces a new element, thallium 450 years Berthier, Pierre 1782-1861 Geology, mining engineering Bacon, Francis 1561-1626 Natural philoso- Berthold, Arnold Adolphe 1803-1861 Physiology, phy, politics zoology Cumming, James 1777-1861 Chemistry

400 years Dennis, James Blatch 1815-1861 Paleontology, Piggott natural history Helvelius, Johannes 1611-1687 Astronomy Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1805-1861 Zoology Pell, John 1611-1685 Mathematics Isidore Gray, Henry c.1825-1861 Anatomy, 350 years surgery Kent, Elizabeth 1790-1861 Botany

Robert Boyle publishes 1661 Necker, Louis Albert 1786-1861 Geology Sceptical Chymist Bateson, William 1861-1926 Biology Molyneux, Thomas 1661-1733 Medicine and Dunstan, Wyndham 1861-1949 Chemist natural Rowland philosophy Hopkins, Frederick 1861-1947 Biochemistry Gowlands 300 years Nansen, Fridtjof 1861-1930 Zoology Stevens, Nettie Maria 1861-1912 Genetics, Preston, Charles 1660-1711 Botany cytology Bassi, Laura 1711-1778 Physics Whitehead, Alfred North 1861-1947 Mathematics, Brownrigg, William 1711-1800 Medicine, philosophy chemistry Wright, Almroth 1861-1947 Bacteriology, Corbyn, Thomas 1711-1791 Pharmaceutical immunology chemistry Hume, David 1711-1776 Philosopher 100 years Kinnersley, Ebeneezer 1711-1778 Physics Wright, Thomas 1711-1786 Astronomy Discovery of polonium by 1911 Marie Curie Ernest Rutherford pub- 1911 250 years lishes his atomic theory Galton, Francis 1822-1911 Statistics Hales, Stephen 1677-1761 Plant physiology Gee, Samuel 1839-1911 Medicine Simpson, Thomas 1710-1761 Mathematics Hooker, Joseph Dalton 1817-1911 Botanist Abbot, Charles 1761-1817 Botany, entomology Jackson, John Hughlings 1835-1911 Neurology Richards, Ellen 1842-1911 Chemistry, ecology 200 years Barber, Mary 1911-1965 Bacteriology Crane, Eva 1911-2007 Apiculture Maskelyne, Nevil 1732-1811 Astronomy Bunson, Robert Wilhelm 1811-1899 Chemistry Eberhard 50 years Harvey, William Henry 1811-1866 Botany Le Verrier, Urbain Jean 1811-1877 Astronomy Jung, Carl Gustav 1875-1961 Psychology Joseph Schrodinger, Erwin 1887-1961 Physics 14 Viewpoint No. 89

HPSTM People: The Questionnaire

In 2009, BSHS member Doron Swade was awarded an MBE for Services to the History of Computing. Most famous for master- minding the construction of a Babbage calculating engine to original 19th-century designs, this museum professional is the leading authority on Charles Babbage.

Who or what first turned you towards the stairs to my office and wrote in my day where I was doing HPS. His Chance and the History of Science, Technology and diary, ‘Engine works’. It was a moment of Necessity (1971) had caused a sensation Medicine (HSTM)? conscious awareness. I knew we had done and rocked the role of classical determin- The failure of technological determinism. something. ism in evolutionary biology. The lecture I was curator of computing at the Sci- hall was packed to the rafters. Monod ence Museum and was trying to account And worst? argued for randomness as the source for why Charles Babbage’s calculating Prince Charles was due to open an exhibi- mutation and posited selection as an evo- engines were unfinished. Almost every tion on telecommunications at the Sci- lutionary filter. He was given a rough time. historical account maintained that the ence Museum in March 1983. I was then He seemed taken aback by the hostility to reasons for Babbage’s failures were an electronics design engineer responsi- randomness as part of a causal account of limitations of 19th-century mechanical ble for developing working exhibits. The where we are. He finished pleadingly and engineering. Once this form of determin- deadline was desperate. We had had no asked, ‘why can’t we just accept our luck?’ ism was discounted (it is readily rebut- sleep for four nights and forty-two of the ted) there was an explanatory vacuum. forty-three exhibits were working on the What should every 16-year-old know I needed a discourse rich enough to do opening day. I believed that I could finish about HSTM? justice to a more nuanced account. So I the last one in the ten minutes before That science and technology are defin- turned to history, quite late as it happens, the Prince was due. I left the line of staff ing signatures of our culture and that and did a PhD on the utility of calculating waiting to be presented and disappeared to find meaning in the present we must engines. behind a back-projection screen to wire seek to understand history; that history up the last device. The Prince arrived early. helps identify critical branch points and What has been your best career moment? My shadow crossed the screen as he ap- prompts us to contemplate how other- It was a private moment. 1991 was the bi- proached. It was the first exhibit he tried wise the world might be. centennial year of Charles Babbage’s birth. and the only one that didn’t work. I had taken on a personal and profes- If you did not work in HSTM, what other sional mission to build the first complete Which historical person would you most career might you choose? Babbage calculating engine to original like to meet? A craftsman of some kind, working with 19th-century designs. Starting in 1985 I It would have to be Charles Babbage. tools and materials. had six years to do it. There was no guar- There is so much about his work that antee of success. No one knew whether remains unexplained. What are your favourite HSTM books? the designs were sound. One afternoon in My favourite genre is biography. The November 1991, with no fanfare and only What’s your best dinner-table HSTM story? three-way relationship between biog- me and the two engineers present, we ran What comes to mind is a lecture in 1972 rapher, reader and subject provides a the first error-free calculation. I walked up or 3 by Jacques Monod in Cambridge wonderful landscape. Viewpoint No. 89 15

In Memoriam Listings 1963 at the invitation of Patrick Linstead, Rector of Imperial College, they founded Alfred Rupert Hall (1920-2009) its Department of History of Science and Call for Papers - and Marie Boas Hall (1919-2009) Technology, where they remained until retire- ment in 1980; Hall then directed the history of Anthology With the deaths of Rupert and Marie Hall medicine programme at the Wellcome Trust Evolution studies in Britain, within three weeks of each other in February, for four years. history of science has lost two of its founding At Imperial College they were highly pro- 1918-1940 figures in the post 1945 period. ductive of students (both PhDs and on the Rupert was born near Stoke-on-Trent and MSc courses) and of their own scholarship, Scholars working in the area of history of evo- read history at Christ’s College, Cambridge, notably the 13 volumes of the correspond- lutionary studies in Britain between WW1 and although this was interrupted by service in ence of Henry Oldenburg and the last three WW2 are invited to participate in a publishing the signals corps of the Eighth Army from volumes of Isaac Newton’s (which Rupert project on the subject. The goal is to create an 1941 to 1945. After graduating he wrote his undertook with Laura Tilling). Rupert played anthology of peer-reviewed scholarly papers PhD on ballistics in the 17th century. In 1950 a major role in the history of science commu- that both add substantively to the topic and he became the first curator of the Whipple nity, being President of the BSHS (1966-1968) relate the subject to historiographical themes Museum in Cambridge and junior lecturer. and the International Academy of the History in the broader history of science community. In this latter role he delivered a course of lec- of Science (1977-1981) and serving for many This follows the successful publishing tures on ‘The Scientific Revolution’ which he years on the National Committee for the His- project: Joe Cain and Michael Ruse (editors). turned into the influential book of the same tory of Science. In retirement Rupert wrote a 2009. Descended from Darwin: Insights into the title published in 1954. It was this book which series of important books, including on the History of Evolutionary Studies, 1900-1970 (Phil- popularised the scientific revolution as a term Leibniz-Newton controversy and biographies adelphia: PA: American Philosophical Society. of art and was the inspiration for Thomas of Henry More and of Newton whilst Marie Transactions of the American Philosophical Kuhn’s later work. wrote a biography of Oldenburg and three Society, volume 99, part 1). Individual papers In 1951 he met, at Kuhn’s suggestion, Marie book length studies on various aspects of the in this volume now are available online: www. Boas who was then in England to study the Royal Society. ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain/projects/descended_from_ Boyle papers. She was the daughter of New They were a devoted couple, hardly ever darwin/ . England academics and had studied chemistry apart, and while in some ways it was appropri- The aim is to follow this timeline: 15 Sep at Radcliffe College. Following American entry ate that they should die so close together and 2009 deadline for paper submissions, Winter into the war in 1941, Marie undertook various have a joint funeral, they are sadly missed by 2009-2010 review and editorial work; Spring pieces of war work relating to radar and after their students and colleagues. 2010 publication. During the review process, the end of the war she was employed by the participants will be encouraged to comment constructively on other manuscripts in the Radiation Laboratory under Henry Guerlac to Frank A.J.L. James volume. Final papers should be in the 8-12K write its history. Her coming under Guerlec’s The Royal Institution word range, notes inclusive. Precise format to influence was a crucial event of her career. [email protected] On his return to Cornell, she followed him as be described later. Send proposals, provisional titles, and a research student and wrote her thesis on The Times obituaries can be found at: queries to Joe Cain, Department of Science Robert Boyle. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/ and Technology Studies, University College Rupert and Marie married in 1959 and that obituaries/article5852722.ece London, [email protected]. year both moved to teach at UCLA and shortly http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/ afterwards moved to Indiana University. In obituaries/article5940482.ece

FRANK JAMES Festival of Science History of Science Section events at the British Science As- sociation, University of Surrey, Guildford, 5-10 September 2009

We are pleased to welcome Professor James Moore as Section President for the 2009 Festival. Events include Presidential Session: Does Darwin have a future?; ‘The Tables Turned’, with the BSHS Outreach and Education Com- mittee, funded by the Wellcome Trust (see http://www.thetablesturned.blogspot.com/ for details/updates); William Wordsworth at the British Association, in association with the British Society for Literature and Science; and more. For updates on dates, times and speakers Rupert and Marie Hall’s retirement party, 1980 see http://bahistoryofscience.wordpress.com/ . 16 Viewpoint No. 89

The British Journal for the History of Science

The June issue of BJHS will include the following, plus reviews:

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www.bshs.org.uk/bjhs

Viewpoint: the Newsletter of the BSHS

Contributions All contributions and correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Dr Rosemary Wall, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King’s College London, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8WA; [email protected] . Electronic communication is preferred. Viewpoint is issued three times a year – in February, June and October. The next issue will be in October 2009 and the deadline for copy is 17th August 2009 . Advance notice of contributions to be submitted are very welcome.

Circulation Enquiries about circulation should be sent to the BSHS Executive Secretary, British Society for the History of Science, PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF. Viewpoint is free to BSHS members and is priced £10.00 a year (three issues) for non-members.

Advertisements The Editor will consider advertisements regarding new appointments but, as a general rule, other advertisements are not printed in this publication. However, for an appropriate charge, leaflets advertising suitable events, publications etc. can be sent out with Viewpoint, subject to size and postage restrictions: full details are available from the BSHS Executive Secretary; [email protected].

Copyright © The British Society for the History of Science Ltd. 2009. Extracts not exceeding the equivalent of a normal paragraph may be repro- duced elsewhere providing acknowledgement is given to Viewpoint: the Newsletter of the British Society for the History of Science.

Disclaimer Any views expressed in Viewpoint are those of the Editor or named contributor and not those of the council or membership of the BSHS. Every effort is made to provide accurate information, but no responsibility is accepted by the Editor or Council for omissions or errors.

The British Society for the History of Science

All enquiries to the BSHS Executive Secretary, British Society for the History of Science, PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF, UK; Tel: +44 (0)1603 516236; [email protected].

You can join online , paying by credit or debit card at www.bshs.org.uk/bshs/join_the_bshs . Alternatively you can download a direct debit mandate form.

The British Society for the History of Science is registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee, No. 562208, and is also a Registered Charity, No. 258854. Registered Office: PO Box 3401, Norwich, NR7 7JF, UK.