NO. 92: JUNE 2010

ISSN: 1751-8261

Contents

Feature Article 1

Outreach and Education 4

Object of the Issue 6

Viewpoint 7

BSHS Grant Report 8

Making the News 9

Reports of Meetings 10

Reviews 12

The Questionnaire 14

Announcements 15

BJHS, Viewpoint, BSHS info. 16

Editorial Ashhurst Majendie’s 1818 geological map of the Lizard district. To celebrate the launch of the new BSHS

I Travel Guide wiki, this issue is themed around ‘place’: in its pages we travel to Cornish cliff- A Biography of a Scientific Region tops and Amazonian rainforests, on transat- lantic airships and under Parisian streets. We begin, then, with Simon Naylor’s fea- Simon Naylor investigates the history of science in Cornwall ture article, which analyses the importance of regionality in the past practice of the sci- In December 1999 I made a trip to the Mor- Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. In a room ences; Diarmid Finnegan also reflects more rab Library, in Penzance, west Cornwall. I upstairs I found an impressive collection of widely in his column on the importance of had in mind a smallish project on the history books of 18th- and 19th-century science, geography to the history of science. of Penzance’s geological society, the Royal many of which had been donated to the The featured object is from the Univer- Geological Society of Cornwall. However, it Library by local naturalists in the 19th century. sity of Aberdeen, which this summer hosts was my first visit to the Morrab and I had no In the archives were more treasures, including our Annual Conference. Other Society idea of the riches it contained. The Library unpublished material by the local 18th- news includes details of the ‘Great Exhibi- was founded in 1818 and remains one of only century clerical-naturalist, William Borlase, tions!’ competition, of the ‘Natural Mimics’ 19 private subscription libraries left in the and by the Victorian botanist John Ralfs. Also activity, and advice from the Communica- United Kingdom, and is one of the largest. contained were the Minute Books of the PN- tions Secretary. The 2009 Dingle Prize win- As I inspected its holdings I realised that the HAS. I was entirely seduced by these weighty ner, Thomas Dixon, is also interviewed. Geological Society was only one of a number and lavishly-bound volumes, filled as they If you have time, do visit http://www.sur- of possible historical subjects that were avail- were with hand-drawn advertisements for veymonkey.com/s/KG9QV2Z to complete able to me. For instance, shelved alongside conversaziones, sketches of museum layouts, the brief Viewpoint readers’ survey: your the Transactions of the Geological Society minutes of meetings, and cuttings from local feedback is much appreciated. were those of another local scientific society: newspapers that reported on the Society’s Contributions to the next issue should the Penzance Natural History and Antiquar- activities. I decided that this latter society and be sent to [email protected] by 15th ian Society (hereafter PNHAS). Next to them its records and reports should be the focus August 2010. were the Journals and Reports of several other of my attention; the Geological Society could Melanie Keene, Editor Cornish scientific societies, including those wait a while. of the Royal Institution of Cornwall and the The PNHAS archives revealed a vibrant 2 Viewpoint No. 92

scientific culture in operation in Penzance. In 1867 the Society moved into the newly- built Public Buildings, which it shared with the Geological Society, the Police and the Town Council. Both the PNHAS and the Geo- logical Society established museums in their quarters. Given the county’s preeminence in copper and tin mining, the mineralogical collections of the latter Society were particu- larly strong. However, these were not the only museums in the area. Housed in the ornate Egyptian House on Penzance’s Chapel Street was a small private museum owned by John Lavin. Lavin was a mineralogist who displayed his private collection on the ground floor of his house, in the hope of enticing people in so that they might purchase geological speci- mens. Just along the coast from Penzance, in the fishing village of Mousehole, was another private museum. This one was built by William Edward Baily, an industrialist from the English Midlands. In 1892 Baily purchased a tempo- rary Roman Catholic church from a seller in London, had it dismantled and brought to west Cornwall. He then paid local carpenters and smiths to re-erect the corrugated-iron building in his house’s grounds, along with its church tower, and then kept 14 artisans from Map of excursion, organised for the Cambrian Archaeological Association’s visit to the local village of Mousehole to maintain it Cornwall in 1862. and to build displays, prepare natural history specimens and organise scientific exhibitions. it might be consulted by botanists working modest scientific society had revealed the Alongside these museums, Penzance and its in the local area. Another notable figure in existence of a diverse and complex scientific surrounding villages hosted regular scientific Penzance’s scientific community was Edward culture in Penzance and its hinterland. Also conversaziones as well as more occasional Hearle Rodd. Rodd was a local lawyer, as well exposed were a host of wider scientific con- exhibitions. There was the Penzance Scientific as Penzance’s town clerk, superintendent nections to other places in Cornwall, England, and Industrial Exhibition in 1882, for instance, registrar and, from 1844, the head distributor Britain and overseas. An invaluable grant from which was housed in the Public Buildings, and of stamps in Cornwall. He was also a founder the British Academy allowed me to follow was organised with the general purpose of member of the Penzance Choral Society and some of these connections to their source. ‘bringing together a display of Apparatus and he taught at St. Mary’s Sunday School. On Sticking with the subject of natural history, I Products illustrative of the modes of working top of all that he somehow found the time to spent the following year or so investigating and results attained in the various depart- study the region’s avifauna. His most con- the work of other Cornish scientific socie- ments of Science and Industry’. Then there certed contribution to the field was his The ties and their members, some of which I had was the West Cornwall Fisheries Exhibition in Birds of Cornwall and the Scilly Islands. encountered originally in the Morrab Library. Penzance, held in 1884. It set out to emulate Not all of Penzance’s naturalists came from I examined the contributions that the Royal the International Fisheries Exhibition, held its middle classes. One of the most intrigu- Institution of Cornwall and the Royal Horti- in London the previous year, but its more ing characters I happened upon was William cultural Society of Cornwall made to Cornish specific remit was to raise money for a much Curnow, a market-gardener from the village of natural history. I also traced the lives and needed pier at the village of Newlyn. It was Newlyn. Curnow was a renowned local botani- activities of numerous individuals, including graced by the loan of Lady Annie Brassey’s cal collector, who supplied local scientific the Polperro ichthyologist Jonathan Couch, natural history collections, amassed during societies with specimens for their collections. the Flushing botanist, Elizabeth Warren, and her famous Sunbeam expedition, which were He was befriended and promoted by several Charles Peach, a revenue coastguard, whose a huge draw for visitors. of Cornwall’s more notable naturalists, includ- work on Cornwall’s fossil fish played a role in The Minute Books of the PNHAS revealed, ing the popular botanical author Charles the Devonian controversy. unsurprisingly, that many of the Society’s Johns, who was the headmaster of Helston Slowly my scope widened even further, members hailed from the local area and I Grammar School. In relaying his first meet- to take in Cornish antiquarianism, meteorol- spent a number of years getting to know ing with Curnow to William Hooker at Kew, ogy and, much later, geology (ironic, given many of them. Most notably, there was John Johns reported to have found him ‘a very well my intentions at the outset). I was continu- Ralfs, a well known algologist who relocated behaved and intelligent man, an ardent lover ally surprised to discover stories that con- to Penzance in 1837 on account of his poor of Natural History, uneducated, but showing nected Cornwall and Cornish science to wider health. Although he is probably best known signs of a character of mind far superior to scenes and processes. For instance, Falmouth for his books on the phaenogamous plants, what we generally expect to find in persons was chosen as the site of one of the Royal I was more intrigued by his nine volume of his station’. Upon Johns’ encouragement Society’s first-order meteorological observa- unpublished manuscript, the Flora of West Curnow went so far as to initiate a correspond- tories, which were established in the 1860s Cornwall, written over the period 1878 to 1884 ence with Hooker himself. to improve knowledge of Britain’s weather and deposited in the Morrab Library so that Carrying out a circumscribed study of one patterns. Meanwhile, Cornwall’s moorlands Viewpoint No. 92 3

were fertile grounds for research into Britain’s contributed to local pride and patriotism. was not the conduct of studies at a larger prehistory and drew the attentions of numer- Another related aim of Regionalizing Science scale, but the inter-relation of a number of ous well-known antiquarians, many of whom is to investigate how scientific practitioners regional studies one to another. were hosted by their Cornish equivalents. actively went about inventing the region, All of this is not to say that the region Lastly, Cornwall was the first place outside of rather than simply operating within its remained an unquestioned factor throughout London to establish a geological society – the bounds. The answers are diverse but tend to the 19th century, whether from within or with- Penzance Geological Society – and conse- return to that most geographical of repre- out. The book shows that the appreciation of quently was one of the first counties to be sentational techniques – the map. In all of work conducted at the county-level changed comprehensively mapped geologically (well the scientific pursuits that are considered in quite markedly across the course of the 19th before the Geological Survey completed its the book, features of interest were routinely century. This does not alter the overaching survey of the county in 1837). mapped. This was explicitly the case in rela- point that the book makes: that if we really Just over ten years since that fateful visit tion to Cornwall’s geology and its ancient want to deepen our understanding of what to the Morrab Library, all of this material has monuments. The various attempts to delimit science meant to its 19th-century practition- finally been published as a book by Pickering the county’s flora and fauna, and its weather ers, then it is critical that we pay attention & Chatto, entitled Regionalizing Science. My patterns and climate, also all resorted to the to the geographical (and hence social and aims in it are several. First, and most simply, plotting of locations. These projects were cultural) contexts that were meaningful to Regionalizing Science is a biography of a scien- founded on the philosophical principle that them, rather than only to the contexts that tific region. Like any good biography, I hope the region was a significant locus of natural metropolitan savants asserted were impor- it provides a fine-grained description and and cultural processes. In other words it was tant, or, even worse, to those contexts that are examination of its subject on its own terms, assumed that the mapping of the regional most significant to us now. while assuming that it was also shaped by a incidence of nature would reveal processes set of wider processes and contexts. In other that expressed themselves at that scale. Even Simon Naylor words, it is not simply – or at least, not only – a if regional studies revealed activities that University of Exeter history of the ideas and activities of a number clearly extended beyond county boundaries, [email protected] of scientific individuals and organisations in it was nonetheless assumed that the solution a circumscribed locality; it shows, too, exactly how those people, institutions and places were shaped by wider forces acting upon and through them. By taking this approach to study, I have tried to take seriously the geographical terms within which individu- als and institutions operated in 19th-century Britain, and the things that they valued. As the book shows, the region was a very meaning- ful entity for many, even if such loyalty was often sniffed at by metropolitan actors. The county in particular had long-running histori- cal, political and cultural significance, which inflected everything from industry to ideas; from politics to religion. Counties also had an everyday significance to the lives of their inhabitants, defining boundaries big enough for entire lives to be lived out in, but where journeys from one edge to another could be made in a day or so. For these reasons the county remained a constant focus of inquiry. It presented a man- ageable area of operation for those whose means or occupation prevented wider travel. The region was also an accepted space of inquiry for local natural historians, geologists, antiquarians and others. Cornish naturalists, for instance, could develop their county-level floras and faunas in the knowledge that they were supported by a host of similar studies of other counties and regions throughout Britain and the wider world. In particular, these stud- ies could be justified on an entirely empirical basis – as filling a gap in geographical knowl- edge – without having to stray into the much more uncertain and contentious ground of philosophical speculation. Of course, regional science was justified on other grounds too – that it bolstered local industry and improved Hand-drawn poster for a Penzance conversazione. Reproduced the lives of its inhabitants, for instance, and with the permission of the Morrab Library. 4 Viewpoint No. 92 Outreach and Education From Albion To Amazon Iris Montero reports on the OEC’s ‘Natural Mimics’ activity based on the South American travels of Henry Walter Bates

museums or private collectors, some for their own research. In 1863 Bates described his eleven-year adventure in South America in the celebrated The Naturalist on the River Ama- zons. He became most famous for explaining how non-poisonous species of insects had developed bright predator-warning coloura- tion, known as Batesian mimicry. This arguably supported the theory of natural selection proposed by Wallace and Darwin. At the outset, our premise has been that learning more about Bates introduces stu- dents to key issues in the history of nine- teenth-century science, while also providing ways of critical thinking about science today. Following Bates’ itinerary from Leicester to the Amazon and back allows students to imagine how Victorian naturalists prepared for a trans- atlantic journey; what books and instruments they brought; how they observed, described, depicted and collected unknown species; how they interacted with local informants, reported field findings back home and how this fieldwork provided evidence to support scientific theories. Pilot at Leicester

Amidst Darwin’s bicentenary enthusiasm, the July 2009 BSHS Conference at Leicester provided the perfect opportunity to give our local hero centre stage. We put together the first version of ‘Natural Mimics’ as a creative- writing session for educators and museum professionals on Outreach Day. The session began with a brief introduction to Bates and his travels, paying special atten- tion to his descriptions of exotic fauna. We talked about his encounter with the anteater, the umbrella bird, curl-crested toucans (see image), and several species of hummingbirds and butterflies. Working in small groups, participants were asked to write a letter as Bates from the Amazon to a scientific colleague back home in Britain. They were given a resource pack of materials which included details of Bates’ life; Henry Walter Bates in an adventure with curl-crested toucans examples from Bates’ letters; a map of his jour- ney; pictures of him in the Amazon; images of contemporary specimens; and illustrations What is the role of travel in scientific en- Batesian Inspiration of Batesian mimicry. They were asked to pick deavours? How has scientific exploration between two examples – hummingbirds and changed over time? And most importantly, Our starting-point was a look at the life and butterflies – when writing their letters, and to can experiences drawn from past natural work of naturalist Henry Walter Bates (1825- use the historical evidence provided to imag- historical voyages help teenage students get 1892). Son of a Leicester-based hosier, Bates ine what it would have been like encountering interested in science? With these questions met Alfred Russel Wallace – co-discoverer these creatures and landscapes. in mind, Melanie Keene (Homerton College, of the principle of natural selection – in the Participants wrote wonderful letters – one Cambridge) and I developed ‘Natural Mimics’, 1840s. The two travelled on an expedition was addressed to ‘my dear Rosamund’, Bates’ an OEC creative-writing activity. to Peru and Brazil, where they collected fictional naturalist fiancée – but, in gen- thousands of specimens, some to sell to eral, groups found it a challenge to browse Viewpoint No. 92 5

through the very generous resource pack and full with butterfly and hummingbird speci- suggested greatly simplifying the activity. mens, an impressive array of natural historical illustrations and even a drawer demonstrating Great A Kensington Amazonia Batesian mimicry! Exhibitions! Last February we presented ‘Natural Mimics’ Where to next? at the Natural History Museum in London, with fellow historian of science Louise Thorn In coordination with Grace Kimble, Schools A new BSHS (Imperial College) joining the team. A group Programme Developer at the NHM, we have Prize for of eleven thirteen-year-old students from discussed taking ‘Natural Mimics’ as the basis St Mary’s School, Colchester, attended from for another activity at the museum. We envi- Exhibits on 11am to 3pm. Alison Dew, a teacher at the sion three possible additions to the project. the History of school, had previously worked in the archives Firstly, spending more time at the exhibition Science at the Museum, and having looked in detail at galleries to incorporate material culture into the Wallace Collection was the ideal contact the history of scientific practice. Secondly, Eligibility for this project. introducing the use of a specimen into the ac- This new competition is open for any In the morning, after a brief introduction to tivity itself – a sample object in each resource public exhibit that deals with the history the day, the students were asked to discuss pack for the attendees to draw, bringing the of science or the history of medicine. their own experiences of travelling and issue of natural historical illustration to the Entrants are welcome from institutions encountering new creatures and to reflect forefront as parallel in importance to de- in any country. Eligible exhibits must use about how these compared to those of Bates. scription. And thirdly, ending the day with a artefacts of some kind including buildings Working in pairs, they had some time to read trip through the new Darwin Centre and its or places, pictures, historical instruments the revised resource pack and then presented Cocoon, to connect the historical practice of and other objects and books. Web-exhib- to the group something curious or striking natural history explored through letter-writing its are eligible for the prize. The closing they had found in it. or specimen illustration to the work of current date is 15th September 2010 and exhibits After lunch, there was discussion of past scientists and the collections they use eve- should still be available for viewing until modes of communication, students’ own ryday. Ideally, this project will also be further the end of November 2010. letter-writing practices and a go at ‘dissect- developed for use with GCSE Biology students ing’ a model letter to familiarise the group in Leicester schools. Criteria with Victorian epistolary conventions. Finally, Hopefully, mimicking naturalists like Bates The main criteria for judging this prize is working in pairs, students wrote their letters will continue to foster students’ curiosity the audience’s experience and therefore from the Amazon as Bates and presented an about the processes involved in researching the judges will consider: excerpt of each group’s work. nature. The NHM proved an ideal location for the 1) Clarity – is the purpose or aim of this activity. For a marvellous close to the day, the Iris Montero exhibit clear? Has it clearly identified what group had the opportunity to go into the Rare University of Cambridge it wants to tell the audience about the Books Room to visit the Wallace Collection, [email protected] history of science or medicine? Is it easy to follow? Further information about ‘Natural Mimics’, and sample letters, will 2) Design – is the exhibit attractive and be available on the BSHS Outreach and Education webpages soon. engaging? What makes this exhibit stand out from other exhibits? 3) Learning – what sort of story does this exhibit tell about the history of sci- ence or medicine? Does it cater for its intended audience well? How accessible is the exhibit to a range of different audi- ences? 4) Originality – does the exhibit avoid cliché? Does it present the audience with something new? Does it challenge preconceptions?

Judging Entrants need to submit an entrance form and supporting materials by 15th September 2010. Supporting materials are very important in helping the judges make a decision and photographs or videos should be included along with the form.

If you have any questions or for an entry form contact Sabine Clarke at outreach@ bshs.org.uk. How to tell a hummingbird hawk-moth from a hummingbird 6 Viewpoint No. 92

Object of the issue Head of Despair chal College from 1761 - 1792, had a collec- tion of apparatus comparable in extent to that available to George III. The Earl was responsi- ble for donating a transit telescope by Ram- sden and an equatorial telescope by Sisson and Ramsden for survey work at an observa- tory that Copland established in1781 near the centre of Aberdeen. Copland’s passion for mechanics, astronomy and technical solutions to real-world problems was a shared interest with the Duke of Gordon (the NE of Scotland’s most extensive and politically active landlord) over a period of some 40 years. Some of their long-running correspondence has survived. Copland’s very extensive collection of demonstration apparatus was bought by the College not long before his death. It was, though, a working collection. Items wore out, interest in objects such as his models of indus- trial and agricultural machinery declined; other topics such as electromagnetism and the interference of light caught the attention of his 19th-century successors with the result that not a lot of Copland’s material survives. What did survive, though, was his enthusi- asm for the lecture demonstration. It held the attention of the student and provided a clear peg on which to hang a concept in one’s memory. Who would forget the phenomenon of electrostatic repulsion once they had seen the Head of Despair? The last practitioner of this mode of teaching in the University of The electrostatic demonstration piece ‘Head of Despair’, item ABDNP:200112a in the Aberdeen was Professor R. V. Jones, who had a University of Aberdeen Natural Philosophy Collection. long tenure from 1946. By the time he retired in 1981, changes in lecture management, a Despairing Heads, and others, will see here by standing a student on an insulated stool decline in the number of technical support our ‘Head of Despair’ which dates from the late and then “pumpit him fu’ of electricity” until staff and a new generation of physicists whose 18th century. The item was part of the reper- his hair stood on end. I recall trying a similar work was intimately tied to the computer all toire of demonstrations built up by Professor demonstration myself in the interests of conspired to make regular lecture demonstra- Patrick Copland (1748 – 1822) of Marischal historical re-enactment with a student on an tions an activity of the past. College, Aberdeen, one of the pioneers of insulated stool and myself turning the handle We may have retained less than 10% of teaching Natural Philosophy by demonstra- of a large multi-plate electrostatic generator. Copland’s inventory but as is appropriate for tion in his university course. Copland had his The net result was that I received a signifi- a University that has existed for more than feet planted firmly in the practical uses of the cant shock and the student’s hair remained 500 years we cherish our scientific collections subject. Indeed, over a period of 28 years he uncharged. This proved convincingly to the in general, including our historical scientific laid on an extensive course of evening classes small audience that there is more to making instruments. The ‘Natural Philosophy Collec- for artisans, in addition to his college lectures. effective demonstrations than simply having tion of Historical Scientific Instruments’ runs Copland not only preached application but he the equipment. from the mid-18th century to the present day, was himself a skilled craftsman, making items Professor Copland, who may have made covering a wide range of disciplines within in brass, glass and wood to professional stand- the head himself, was not above introduc- Natural Philosophy. It includes both teach- ards. This allowed him to build up a collection ing some showmanship into his lectures. ing and research equipment and contains of many hundreds of pieces of equipment that His reputation extended well beyond the a few thousand items. Not all of it can be was far beyond the means of the College to quadrangle walls. In one letter he was chided found in the on-line catalogue yet but BSHS purchase. by his aristocratic friend the Duke of Gordon members are invited to look at the link http:// Some of his demonstrations were made for “frightening the Good Country Folk with… www.abdn.ac.uk/museums/, which now gives as much for effect as for educational value. Magick and Black Art”. Unlike most showmen, access to all the University science collections The hair in the Head of Despair is glued to a though, Copland had a deep knowledge of and allows searches of the on-line database. tinfoil scalp that is connected by an internal his subject. He advised the city of Aberdeen metal rod to the base. When the head is sat on matters of water filtration and standards John S. Reid on a metal table that is charged up by an of weights and measures. In the late 18th Honorary Curator of Natural Philosophy electrostatic generator, the hair stands on end. century, natural philosophy was becoming a Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments James Clerk Maxwell, who taught at Marischal genuine interest for many titled gentry. The University of Aberdeen College in the 1850s, achieved a similar effect 3rd Earl of Bute, who was Chancellor of Maris- [email protected] Viewpoint No. 92 7

Viewpoint Making a difference: geography and the history of science Diarmid A. Finnegan reflects on a very spatial relationship Crossover between geography and the history ment. As Shapin then put it, ‘inquiries into shaped the science that helped to define of science has a long and curious genealogy. the local production of [scientific] meaning them. Historians of science, alert to this more One possible place to begin is Alphonse de … can never be too local’. More recently this constructivist account of place, have been par- Candolle’s Histoire des Sciences et des Savants prompt has been problematised in ways that ticularly adept at demonstrating in detail how depuis Deux Siècles (1873). In this book Can- have opened up further points of contact science has constructed certain sites for sci- dolle demonstrated that over the previous between historians of science and historical entific and wider cultural purposes and have 200 years Europe’s leading men of science had geographers. As Shapin’s address anticipated, also provided rich accounts of how particular been largely confined to a triangle with a base attending to the nature of circuits, networks scientific projects have been conditioned by running from Sweden to Scotland and an apex and mobility – as well as providing a better the workplaces essential for their success. terminating in central Italy. Borrowing from understanding of how science has travelled It must be admitted, however, that not the methodology of botanical geography across (global) space – has helped reconfig- everyone is as sanguine as Shapin about the Candolle suggested that this golden triangle ure our understanding of the places in which explanatory reach of well-executed local case was explained by the unique conjunction of scientific knowledge was produced and studies. Lorraine Daston’s recent article in social and natural conditions including a toler- consumed. These places are now approached Critical Inquiry (34(5): 2009) largely laments ant church and a temperate climate. A year more as mutable assemblages of connections the widespread adoption of ‘micro-history’ later Francis Galton argued contra Candolle than as fixed and inert locations. and its associated ‘pointillist aesthetic’. A that hereditary rather than environmental different way forward, Daston suggests, is to influence was the main cause of the scientific radically historicise taken-for-granted abstrac- ability of (in his case British) eminent men of tions that have emerged from and have long science. Even so, environmental factors could governed scientific conduct and argument. easily prevent innate ability from blossoming. Michel Foucault’s work provides the provoca- It made sense then for Galton – who began tion if not the empirical substance for such a his intellectual life as a geographer – to offer programme. Here again, historical geogra- some spatial observations of his own. He phers will find much to engage with. But they noted, for example, a triangle of land drawn may also want to suggest that to historicise between Hastings, Worcester and Exmouth one must also spatialise (as Foucault well ‘deficient in aboriginal science’. And there was understood). Fixing the meaning of mad- the fact that the vast majority of Britain’s dis- ness – and, we might suppose, stabilising the tinguished men of science were born in towns meaning of categories such as ‘prediction’, away from the coast (when the baby is due ‘measurement’ or ‘objectivity’ – was as much a avoid the littoral zone). Regrettably, Galton geographical as a historical accomplishment. did not offer any explanations of these geo- But this point can only really be substanti- graphical enigmas despite his longstanding ated through the kind of skilful negotiation of commitment to developing a more scientific dense and dispersed archival records to which geography. historians of science and historical geogra- Of course, since these early efforts both phers alike aspire. geography and the history of science have Thankfully, then, we can anticipate many changed beyond recognition but the scope future conversations driven by matters of for productive dialogue remains. Indeed, INGRID JENDRZEJEWSKI empirical substance and not by stark judge- as attested by a substantial body of scholar- ments about historiographical divisions of ship informed by a conjoint concern with the “Europe’s leading men of science had been labour. It is surely the case that the difference geography of knowledge and the history of largely confined to a triangle” between historical geographers and historians science, the past two decades have seen that of science, rather than describing a decisive The live nature of these inter-disciplinary scope enlarge considerably. One of the early divide, is often a matter of emphasis. It is conversations can be further highlighted by prompts for the lively connections that now also true that historical geographers have turning to a couple of more recent reflections exist between historical geographers and no monopoly on spatial concepts or geo- on the current state of the history of science. historians of science was the ‘localist’ turn graphical analysis. Indeed, some of the most First up is Steven Shapin’s contribution to and the associated concern to dislodge the serviceable and critical reflections on how to a focus section in Isis (96(2): 2005). In this diachronic accounts of historians captivated think geographically about science have been antidote to ‘hyper-professionalism’ Shapin by the onward progress of science as a coher- written by historians of science. For all that, once again has much to say to historical ent and relatively uniform enterprise. The the creative tensions that remain between the geographers as well as historians of science. concerted efforts to understand the unique theoretical proclivities of historical geogra- An especially pertinent point is that argu- particularity of places in which science of phers and historians of science will, I predict, mentative style rather than empirical scale various sorts was made and marketed aligned provoke conversations that should continue is what counts in efforts to interest a broad nicely with the geographer’s craft. Steven to make a useful and exciting difference to our readership. One of the reasons Shapin’s point Shapin’s 1996 address on ‘placing the view approaches to science’s multifarious pasts. persuades is because the local places in which from nowhere’ delivered at the annual meet- science has been manufactured have rarely if ing of the Royal Geographical Society with Diarmid A. Finnegan ever been parochial. Moreover, as historical the Institute of British Geographers is just Queen’s University Belfast geographers have often stressed, such places one piece of evidence of this natural align- [email protected] were part of the action – they fundamentally 8 Viewpoint No. 92 BSHS Grant Report Botany of the Air Ruth Horry researches flying fungi, and the man who chased them

In July 1930, British airship R100 was flying across the Atlantic ocean on its first experi- mental flight to test the possibility of cross- Empire travel, when its captain donned a pair of rubber gloves, opened the window of the control car, and plunged a Petri dish out into the skies. He was performing a scientific ex- periment, designed by a Cambridge University mycologist, which hoped to catch the invisible agents of fungal disease. This small, low-tech experiment to determine whether the upper air contained traces of bacterial and fungal flora was attached to the high-tech, complex airship—itself a vast experiment. My research, supported by a BSHS Mas- ter’s Degree Bursary, considers the question of scientific value in combining two highly experimental projects, where the possibility of replication is uncertain from the outset and the prospect of failure looms around every corner. The scientist who designed the R100 airship experiment was Dr. William A.R. Dillon Weston (1899–1953), a mycologist specializing in fungal diseases of fruit and vegetables. His passion for mycology permeated all aspects of his life, including his night-time hobby of creating intricately beautiful glass models of the microscopic fungi that he studied by day. Airship R100 at the mast in Montreal, Canada, as captured by a member of the public in Dillon Weston sought out novel ways August 1930. Photograph in author’s collection. of studying fungal spore dispersal in the atmosphere and how this may influence the Weston’s spore experiment as a means of spread of plant diseases. In 1929 he produced adding scientific legitimation to the Scheme. home-made spore traps from microscope The spore experiment associated R100’s first slides and Vaseline and persuaded friends in voyage both with the prestige of Cambridge the Cambridge University Air Squadron to fly science and with the promise of overcoming them over the Cambridgeshire countryside at terrible crop diseases. Wheat harvest failure various heights. After publishing the results of across the Empire had caused huge financial his experiments in 1929, several newspapers losses, particularly in Canada. By facilitating picked up the story under headlines such as scientific research that offered the prospect ‘Disease germs two miles up – flying scientists of overcoming diseases, this display of British chase them’. Devastating yet invisible plant scientific prowess would hopefully persuade diseases were an important enemy to conquer Canada to support the airship project. and new aviation technologies were vital in In the National Archives at Kew I discov- winning the war against them. Newspaper ered instructions for carrying out the spore coverage had shown that the scientist who experiment amongst the official flight papers chased invisible diseases captured public of the voyage. Telegrams from the voyage imagination as well as tiny spores. also reveal that the airship’s captain was the The British government’s Imperial Airship person carrying out the experiment. With Scheme was set up in 1924 to improve cross- both the airship and the petri dish under his Empire communications through a system control, the captain was intended to be a of civil aviation, but by 1930 was founder- public symbol of what the Airship Scheme ing through technical setbacks and lack of could offer – economic benefits through bet- financial support. Airship R100 was finally ter science and improved transportation. The due to make its maiden voyage to Canada in captain’s involvement made the fungal spore Dr. Dillon Weston making an intricate July 1930 but the Airship Scheme’s viability experiment an integral part of the venture, as model of the downy mildew fungus in glass, was already in question. The Air Ministry was picked up by newspaper headlines such 1952. (Wh.5826) Photograph by John S. needed a way to re-invigorate it, justifying as: ‘R100’s great Atlantic adventure. Botany of Murray, courtesy of the Whipple Museum money already spent and gaining desper- the air as subject of study’. But despite the Air of the History of Science, University of ately needed Empire support for the project. Ministry’s last-ditch publicity efforts surround- Cambridge. Sensing an opportunity, they co-opted Dillon ing the voyage, it did not become a major Viewpoint No. 92 9

public event in Britain. Was the spore experiment a greater suc- Is anyone out there? cess scientifically than it was as a publicity Making the news Try running your story past someone stunt? Could spores actually be found floating else (not an historian of science) and check cross the Atlantic, like tiny passengers in The BSHS Communications for signs of obvious puzzlement and/or an airship? In fact, Dillon Weston did not genuine interest. If you want your research publish the results of his R100 experiment, Secretary on going from to end up in the Times or on the Radio 4 although this does not mean it was valueless research paper to Reuters lead ‘Today’ programme, but your brother-in-law to him. When conducting research into fungal looks baffled when you try and explain the diseases Dillon Weston was often outside of It’s that time of year again. The clocks have significance of your findings, it’s unlikely an established methodological framework, moved forward, barbeques are being that you’ll get your idea past a commission- and used his ingenuity to create new experi- dusted down and lawnmowers powered up, ing editor. mental opportunities—from strapping spore and the countdown to the summer confer- traps onto aeroplanes to tying them against ence season has begun. Phone a friend trees in his garden. The R100 experiment was July and August is a fabulous window Do you work in an institution or organi- a chance to trap spores in an entirely new of opportunity for communicating history sation that has a media relations depart- location. The prospect of future repetition was of science – to a wider audience as well ment? If yes, you may be able to tap into unknown but Dillon Weston was testing out as to fellow academics, professionals and some professional expertise. Press officers the method, which could be refined if oppor- independent scholars. Once Parliament has are experienced at writing press releases tunities arose. And by lending his experiment packed up for its enviably long recess there because that’s their job. Worried about your to the Airship Scheme, he was helping to are suddenly more column inches available research being misrepresented? Don’t be. secure its future, along with the possibility of for non-political stories, more space on Just complete the previous two steps in this future experimentation. breakfast time sofas for less usual suspects, list before you pick up the phone. Sadly though, Dillon Weston did not get more airtime available for quirky research the opportunity for more airship trials. Two stories. So… is there something in that Be prepared months after R100 completed her journey, the conference abstract that could inform and Get ready for the rush of enquiries and Air Ministry’s other airship, R101, set off on its entertain my mum, your mum, my hair- interview invitations before you alert the first voyage to India. In harsh weather condi- dresser, the check-out staff at Sainsbury’s, media to your potential front page lead. tions she crashed into the French countryside, your son’s class teacher, those four blokes in Try and second-guess some of the ques- claiming the lives of all on board. After R101’s the pub? tions that you might be asked (though crash both the public and financial backers Despite the title to this article, I can’t there will always be something you don’t lost confidence in the Airship Scheme. Com- guarantee five minutes of fame; but here are anticipate…) Again, if your institution or bined with continuing economic deficits, this just a few tips for generating (and handling) organisation offers media training, take meant that the entire Scheme was terminated publicity based on my own observations advantage of that. by August 1931, less than a year after the from the other side of the fence. Finally, do try and be available, even if spore experiment took to the air. calls come at inconvenient times. There is As fascinating as this story of airships and What’s the story? simply no point issuing a press release and fungi has been to research, its wider value Be clear about the message/story that then disappearing off to a country retreat has been in revealing that historians need a you want to communicate. Feature writers with no broadband access and no mobile better understanding of scientific experiments and news reporters don’t deal in carefully- phone coverage! that are dependent upon large-scale, external crafted abstracts or titles split by multiple technological programmes for their existence. colons. Try distilling the key points of your Paula Gould Dillon Weston’s scientific work aboard R100 argument/research finding/project into a BSHS Communications Secretary was a small-scale experiment that required few bullet points. [email protected] complex technologies to reach its location of study; it is ‘little science’ that arises from being piggybacked (in this case literally) onto big science in order to function. The wider rel- BSHS 2010: Conference Announcements evance of studying the spore experiment is in University of Aberdeen, 22-25 July understanding a category of experiments that constitute what I will term ‘piggyback science’. A plenary lecture will be held on Thursday The new wiki travelogue website - available The category also encompassed, for exam- 22nd July at 5pm. Mario Biagioli (Professor of in beta form at http://www.bshs.org.uk/wiki/ ple, astrobiology experiments to study the the History of Science, Department of the His- - will be launched at the Conference by the origins of extra-terrestrial life, carried on board tory of Science, Harvard University) will speak Communications Co-ordination Committee. early NASA space flights. I hope to publish on: “Venetian Tech-Transfer: How Galileo Copied Articles on all kinds of scientific sites from this research in the near future and present a the Telescope”. around the world are still being sought. If detailed analysis of the experimental category you would like to contribute, please contact of ‘piggybacked’ experiments more generally, Bursaries to help teachers, museum curators, Gregory Radick ([email protected]) or which emerges alongside big science in the and outreach officers attend the ‘Outreach Elizabeth Bruton ([email protected]). twentieth century. Day’ activities on Saturday 24th July will once again be offered by the Outreach and Educa- For further details of the Conference, or to Ruth Horry tion Committee. Please contact outreach@ register, please see the BSHS website: University of Cambridge bshs.org.uk for further information on how to http://www.bshs.org.uk/conferences/annual- [email protected] apply. conference/2010-aberdeen 10 Viewpoint No. 92 Reports of Meetings Booms of Popular Science Publishing

INGRID JENDRZEJEWSKI

‘Booms’ in the history of science

Booms is a wonderfully onomatopoeic word. (intended) interpretations in different con- ies, environmental sciences, philosophy, risk, Booms. Gentle explosions that bubble out- texts. For Tom Lean, early 1980s UK compu- history of science, etc. So it is brilliant to get ward, are noticed by many, and are gone and ter magazines were so incredibly popular such a diverse group of people together and forgotten again as quickly as they arrived. It's because of the social context of the decline see what connections emerge, in a fascinating, also a highly appropriate word for the exam- of traditional industry (requiring new skills for tiring and stimulating day, with good biscuits ples discussed at Imperial College London new industry, new jobs); computer magazines to boot. on 31 March 2010: Booms of Popular Science provided the skills and support networks - the Publishing: Science Communication in the 20th "information glue" - for people to learn how Scott Keir Century. A day of what Alice Bell, the lead to accept and exploit computers in a period Royal Society organiser, described at the start as a "large of technological change. As the context [email protected] conversation about 20th-century popular changed, so did the magazines, in a symbiotic science". relationship with the very industry it helped For a longer version of this review please see: Peter Bowler, the opening speaker, laid to create. http://bit.ly/popscibooms out the key questions: when, where and why I was also struck by what counted as do booms happen, and who chooses them? "popular" and how that compared with what Thanks to the variety and scope of booms was actually, well, popular. In Peter's opening discussed, those questions weren't necessarily talk, he contrasted Conquest, founded 1919 BSLS, Newcastle answered, but many themes were explored, with the strapline, "the magazine of popular many thoughts provoked, many ripples left. science", with Discover (1920), "A monthly The fifth annual conference of the British The day was about far more than books. popular journal of knowledge". While both Society for Literature and Science took place The opening booms from Bowler were of were "popular," Discover was by far the more between 8th and 10th April 2010 at North- early twentieth century popular science serious, top-down, academic-led publication. umbria University, and was enthusiastically magazines: computer magazines, teaching John Preston spoke of Wittgenstein's (lack well-organised by Peter Garratt and Vike manuals and chemistry sets all appeared later. of) regard for popular science publications. Martina Plock. The conference opened with Mass production, and mass booms, of science It seems Wittgenstein would not be a fan of Patricia Waugh’s plenary, ‘Humanising: English consumer material is beyond books, and pretty much anything "popular" published Literary Studies and the Biologisation of continues to be so. today. James Jeans' output was "an abomi- Culture’. Beginning with a discussion of the With multiple media comes multiple nation". What Wittgenstein praised - books popular images of science evoked by Derren potential forms of analysis - from Maggie like Michael Faraday's Chemical History of a Brown, Waugh explored the current position Jack's journalistic (explicitly science, single Candle - we wouldn't especially recognise as a of literary studies of the modernist period narrative) versus "non-journalistic" categorisa- popular science book today. asking, among other things, what a modernist tion applied to the Gilbert Chemistry Set, to Other threads included gender, heterodox text would look like read through the works of Bradon Smith's careful analysis of metaphor science, philosophy, the role of the audience William James rather than those of Sigmund in late twentieth century physics books - (PUS-style empty vessel passive consumers or Freud. applying literary criticism to Brian Greene, Bill contributors, doers versus watchers), influ- Like its predecessors, this BSLS conference Bryson and Fritjof Capra. ence and impact, and the motivations of the explored a wide range of scientific and literary Context was another wide-ranging thread professional scientists who popularised (was it topics: papers covered writers as diverse as woven throughout. Maggie's chemistry set for love of science, personal or national pride, Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Beckett, Zadie was popular in pre-WWII America because of money or because they were nagged?) Smith and William Shakespeare, while scien- the romantic image of the "tinkerer" Edison This diversity matches with how diffuse the tific concepts ranged from astronomy, medi- following WWI - a war in which chemicals field of science communication is - in both cine and evolution to game theory, psychol- were of vital importance. With a case study of practice and academia. In academia, research- ogy and the planet Mars. Certain blossoming the "Evolution Wars", Tom Aechtner showed ers are based in numerous departments areas within the discipline of literature and that the same science could have different - geography, science and technology stud- science were suggested by panels on specific Viewpoint No. 92 11

authors (Virginia Woolf, James Joyce) and topics (psychiatry, cognitive literary studies) The Royal Society and Science in the while overall the diverse nature of the panels and papers on offer suggested the current 20th Century richness of research within the discipline as a whole. Day one of the conference was rounded Institutional biography has never been a sim- inevitable bias of vision and balancing the off by a conversation between BSLS member ple task but when the genre shifts to institu- many voices that might contribute to the and poet Kelley Swain and the novelist Ann tional autobiography the degree of difficulty picture. It is possible to render some voices Lingard, with readings offered from a number is considerably greater. A recent meeting of silent; or to make too much of the local and of Lingard’s novels including The Embalmer’s The Royal Society brought together Fellows personal; or to fail to ask who else might Book of Recipes (2009). Lingard, who started and historians of science to examine the tell this particular story. Opening the final out as a scientist, explained that her novels Society’s impact on twentieth century science. session of the meeting Simon Schaffer noted aim to show scientists as real people as well Organised by Peter Collins, Director of the So- the relation between informal, and therefore as to show science at work, but her apparent ciety’s recently established Centre for History often untraceable, networks that drive the division of sections of her novels into ‘science’ of Science, panellists drew on ‘personal expe- Society and its principles of transparency and ‘story’ raises some interesting questions rience, archives and other sources’ to craft a and audit, evident at the meeting, which by about the ways in which interdisciplinary writ- partial picture of the Society during the past nature ignore or even destroy the knowledge ing and work function. century: its role, influence and culture. How of such networks. (This troubled relationship Friday’s plenary saw Nick Daly offering a did it contribute to research, science policy, was expertly demonstrated by Sally Horrocks’ retrospect on the representation of disasters innovation? How did it relate to other scien- examination of the traffic between the Soci- in ‘Fireworks and Volcanoes: Imagining Moder- tific institutions? How was it perceived? How ety and industry scientists during the 1950s.) nity as Disaster’. Daly’s paper led to some did it make a tangible difference to the work Recollection and anecdote were as much part broader reflections on the nature of recent of science and its impact across domains? of the discussions as case studies and worked climate change disaster films, in which there Such largesse of inquiry demands a examples, prompting Uta Frith, Tilly Tansey, is a more generalised sense of culpability but certain largesse of response and the discus- and Sir Walter Bodmer to advocate greater still a focus on individuals being saved, unlike sants broached an ambitiously broad set of attention to building institutional archives, Victorian disaster fictions in which everyone is topics – medical research, scientific expedi- paper records that hint at those endangered killed, even the virtuous. tions, science policy, film, gender, technol- informal networks. At the conference dinner on Friday night, ogy, innovation – with impressive degrees Related to this is a sense that the Society’s the winner of the BSLS book prize for 2009 of candour, thoroughness and wit. George idea of itself has always been and will remain was announced: Leah Knight’s Of Books and Hemmen’s illustrated tour of post-war survey somewhat uncertain. This engenders adaptive Botany in Early Modern England: Sixteenth-Cen- expeditions in the South Pacific, Antarctic and and, one might argue, productive behaviour tury Plants and Print Culture was praised by the South America demonstrated the tremen- but also generates anxieties about function, judges for its meticulous research and elegant dous efficacy of the Society’s advisory service, about the boundaries of science represented style, while the publisher, Ashgate, was also linking scientists with funds, resources and within the Fellowship, and about who and singled out for its ongoing dedication to pub- other scientists. David Weatherall, recalling his what the Society is. Lord May observed that lishing texts which explore the relationship work in the first models of sickle cell anaemia, interventions by the Society into public affairs between literature and science. pointed to the crucial role that well supported have sometimes been uncomfortable and On Saturday the conference was brought collaborations play in building research on occasion necessarily and productively to a close with John Dupré’s plenary on ‘C. P. platforms. Colin Blackmore made a compel- controversial. How, then, should relations Snow’s Two Cultures Debate after 50 Years’. ling case for the Society’s strengths in policy between the Society, government and the Dupré argued that while there was much formation, citing its successful intervention public be constituted? Who tells the histories to criticise in Snow, his ideas also contained in the controversy surrounding IVF in the of the Society in order to frame those deci- much that was worthy of praise, suggesting 1970s (and its less successful attempts in the sions? And how are those histories narrated? that a serious dialogue between disciplines is 1990s on genetically modified foods). And Managing the idea of science appears to be now more important than ever. Dupré high- Georgina Ferry, writer and biographer, argued as significant to the Society as nurturing the lighted the need for a change in academia in for the exceptional qualities of the few female science itself. Which perhaps is no bad thing the form of a stricter divide between discipli- Fellows elected during the last one hundred to achieve, autobiographically speaking. nary teaching and interdisciplinary research, years, exploring the fraught territory of an relating these ideas to the increasingly urgent unequal gender representation amongst the Alison Wood questions of impact and funding which were current Fellowship. King’s College London a recurring and underlying feature of the One of the difficulties in crafting an [email protected] conference as a whole. While the success of autobiography, however, is managing one’s this conference emphasises the current state and status of the discipline of literature and science, it is clear that it, like all other aca- Call for conference proposals demic disciplines, will have to think seriously about how best to demonstrate its broader The Programmes Committee would like to encourage BSHS members to submit propos- significance if academia continues to move in als for one-day or themed conferences to be held in 2012 and 2013 when there will be no its current impact-based direction. Annual Conference. In 2012 the Three Societies Conference will take place in the USA and in 2013 the BSHS will be hosting the International Congress in Manchester. Rachel Crossland Proposals should be sent to [email protected]. St John’s College, Oxford [email protected] 12 Viewpoint No. 92

Reviews Books Rebecca Stott, The Coral Thief, Sean F. Johnston, The History Weidenfeld & Nicholson, of Science: A Beginner’s Guide, London, 2009, ISBN-13: 978- Oneworld, 2009, ISBN-13: 978- 0297851370, 240 pages, £14.99. 1851686810, 272 pages, £9.99.

Rebecca Stott’s second novel is many things. “Science makes the modern world go round” It is a thriller, a love story, a historical tale. But, according to the back cover of Sean F. John- above all of these, it is a novel of intellectual ston’s History of Science: A Beginner’s Guide. curiosity. Surveying numerous fields and a vast sweep Set in 1815, the book tells the story of a of history, Johnston attempts to provide an young Englishman, Daniel Connor, travelling introduction to what makes science go round. to Paris in the aftermath of the Napoleonic In this short volume, he tackles three of the wars. But Connor is not unique. He is one of biggest questions of our field. What was the hundreds of newly-qualified doctors voyag- significance of science throughout history? ing from Britain to France to immerse himself What is the correct way to look at the history in the intellectual life of Paris: to visit the of science? Why should we care about it? Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle and the Jardin In surveying the changing significance of des Plantes; to attend the lectures of Cuvier, science within the evolving cultural milieu of Lamarck and Geoffroy; to work in the wards the (mainly Western) modern world, John- and theatres of the great Parisian hospitals. ston roughly outlines the development of There have been many scholarly works written modern science. Starting with the earliest about these young men, but Stott’s fictional studies of the sky, the volume quickly moves account adds a new dimension to their stories. through the development of Greek science, Her recreation of the life that these men lived the influence of Islam on science, the place of in Paris has been inspired by their diaries, Christian scholars, the Renaissance, and the journals and publications, and is written the main narrative strand of the novel. But the Industrial Revolution before focusing closer with great warmth. Their day-to-day lives story of the diamond-theft does not always on the developments of the nineteenth and are vividly recounted as Stott describes their sit easily with the philosophical aspects of the twentieth centuries. While the history is com- lodgings, their friends and lovers, their experi- novel; characters frequently interrupt their pellingly written, it provides only the briefest ences in the hospitals and dissection rooms, actions to speculate on the origins of life, or introduction to many of the most important and their attempts to understand radical new on the possibility of transmutation of species. ideas, people, etc. Johnston’s examples are ideas about life. The two competing stories often distract from effective in illustrating his narrative concern- Connor, from a staid English family, begins each other and upset the pacing of the novel. ing the position and meaning of science in to have his eyes opened en route to France The action all takes place against the back- society, but his succinct descriptions limits this when he meets a mysterious woman who ground of a city in flux; Paris is a true star of book’s use in the classroom as a history text. speaks to him of a more ancient Paris, “Picture this novel and Stott’s evocative descriptions For the general reader, the brief nature of the it – giant sea lizards swimming around us, of the city and her history are compelling. In narrative is sufficient, because while the book oysters and corals beneath us, creatures the Paris of The Coral Thief, we glimpse Ancien lacks a bibliography, it does contain an excel- with bodies so strange we couldn’t possibly Régime, young republic, and an imperial city lent Further Reading section. imagine them, crawling across the seabed. without an Emperor. The reader is led from As an introduction to the historiography Later, when the water retreated, the creatures back alleys, to royal gardens, state museums, of science, this book is superb. By examin- pulled themselves onto the rocks to make and down to ancient quarries. One of the ing a variety of the scholarly themes that new bodies with scales and fur and feathers. great triumphs of this book is the atmosphere have shaped the discipline and many that are Mammoths wandered down from the hills to created as Stott’s characters move against driving current research, Johnston shows that drink from the Seine, under the same moon as these backdrops. Indeed, Paris often comes the history of science has moved far beyond a this one, calling to one another”. The woman, across as a more believable character than history of great men making great discoveries. Lucienne, tries to entice Connor away from his Connor or Lucienne. Connor, especially, Throughout the work, he is conscious of the belief in a Biblical creation, to convince him frequently appears passive and flat. But this is numerous masters and various purposes that that his studies of natural history, geology and a novel driven by ideas rather than characters. science has served and which it still serves, fossils can be used to create a new history of By novel’s end, Connor has become a philoso- plus the motivations and concerns of the his- life. Falling in love with Lucienne, and with her pher and his final musings on whether “there torians writing history. This is especially true dangerous ideas are closely intertwined for will come a day when we will know absolutely, as attention is turned towards the twentieth- Connor. without question, how time began or what century in the last three chapters, where Lucienne is the eponymous coral thief, steal- happened in those first few seconds” remind both the development of science and the ing coral and fossil specimens from Connor us of Stott’s real purpose in writing this book. discipline receives more detailed attention. to sate her own philosophical curiosity. But By highlighting the various understandings, she is also a jewel thief, and Connor quickly Susannah Gibson compatible or not, that historians of science finds himself drawn into an elaborate plot to University of Cambridge have developed, this volume successfully steal a priceless diamond. This plot becomes [email protected] introduces not just the discipline, but many of Viewpoint No. 92 13

the sub-disciplines and research interests that Al-Khalili caused some warmish debate on (and chemically) significant, yet compound, make the field vibrant. internet discussion boards, which may not be substances, such as the earths, salts, acids To answer his final question, Johnston relies a bad thing. I was interested to note a certain and alkalis that thronged the laboratories on many of the traditional arguments, includ- divergence between the concerns of chemists of 18th and 19th century chemists, were ing C.P. Snow’s bridge analogy and Vannevar (that ‘what really happens’ was not made clear automatically disregarded (although fixed air Bush’s ideas about improving general scien- often enough) and historians (that ‘what really (carbon dioxide) did sneak past the guards). tific knowledge. His explanation provides happened’ was not made clear very often at The history that resulted was strangly stilted, a convincing summary of the basic reasons all) that perhaps flags up a submerged conflict kangarooing through the centuries, largely that the history of science is important. For that has not yet been resolved, or even yet averting its gaze from the slightly embarrass- newcomers to the field, his answers provide acknowledged, between the disciplines. ing complexity of compounds (except for a several compelling reasons for continued In total, three hours were allocated to the short foray into newly synthesised substances research into both science’s recent and distant history of chemistry from ancient Greeks to in the final programme). This kind of approach past. the 21st century, the first covering a period might suit school students of chemistry, but In this volume, Johnston attempts to pro- broadly approximating to the first 2,000 years cannot be said to be satisfactory from a his- vide the non-specialist with a road-map to the (up to and including the Chemical Revolution), torical point of view. increasingly complicated field of the history of the second, the 19th century formulation of To be fair, though, one thing that TV can do science. In doing this, Johnston takes on the the periodic table, and a final part focusing that these programmes did staggeringly well, huge task of writing both a history of science (briefly) on the synthesis of new substances, was show us real elements, and real chemical survey and a historiography of the history of and (less briefly) the creation of new elements behaviour, and this it did in glorious technicol- science in a relatively small package. Con- up to the present day. our. So glorious, in fact, that the viewer could sidering that restraint, this is a wonderfully The theme of the series was ‘the elements’, overlook the fact that, on occasion, she had no rich volume, ideal for the newbie historian or and this determined the selection of Great idea what she was looking at. The programme interested layperson. Men, Great Experiments and Great Discover- exhibited the shimmery, scintillating beauty of Thad Parsons ies to be included in the brief time available. mercury, the sinister, witchy glow of phos- [email protected] A similarly unnatural selection of the Great phorus and the amethyst, sparkly, somewhat Elements that were introduced throughout flashy exhilaration of potassium in unparal- the series seems to have been driven by a lelled gorgeousness. If anything can convey mixture of desires for attractive television, to viewers the sheer joy of playing with pure good stories, relevance, and, lastly, historical samples of elemental matter, or the magnifi- Television importance. Thus, we were introduced to cent ‘stuffness’ of chemistry, this is it. Perhaps (amongst others) potassium, oxygen, silicon, it might serve to germinate more seedling iron, gallium, gold and phosphorus, but not chemists than historians, but that in itself is a Chemistry: A Volatile History calcium, nitrogen, chlorine, zinc, platinum or worthwhile result. Just imagine what they’ll sulphur. Paracelsus, representing alchemy, be able to do with chemistry in 3D TV! BBC4, first shown 21/1/10, provided the excuse for the inclusion of 28/1/10, 4/2/10 mercury, in a surprisingly literal interpreta- Georgette Taylor tion of the alchemical tria prima. This focus University College, London Early in my postgraduate career, I was foolish on elements meant that many historically [email protected] enough to agree to try to put together a sin- gle lecture covering approximately 2,000 years of the history of chemistry. So I have a great deal of sympathy for the makers of this pro- gramme, the first of which largely replicated my earlier (unsuccessful) feat, resulting in a similar blend of misrepresentation, omission and elision – although the BBC’s effort was undoubtedly prettier than mine. It should, of course, be celebrated that this series was made at all. Any attempt to present the history of chemistry to a mainstream audi- ence (well, BBC4), has to be welcomed, and I hope that it may herald a revival of interest in our discipline. In the year of the 75th anniver- sary of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry, such revival would be timely. Perhaps the decision to ask a professor of theoretical physics (Jim Al-Khalili) to front a series of programmes on the history of chemistry was not entirely tactful to either chemists or historians of chemistry. Profes- sional historians of chemistry were, indeed, somewhat thin on the ground – one solitary live specimen serving as representative of the Seeing Stars: Rebekah Higgitt (National Maritime Museum) and participants in the ‘Con- species (another two or three were thanked stellation Cards’ workshop about the history of astronomy at the Royal Holloway Science in the credits). However, the decision to use Open Day on 27th February 2010. 14 Viewpoint No. 92

HPSTM People: The Questionnaire

Thomas Dixon, winner of the 2009 BSHS Dingle Prize for his book Science and Religion: A very short introduction, answers the Ques- tionnaire. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in History at Queen Mary, University of London. Alongside science and religion, Thomas’ research interests are varied and include the history of theories of passion and emo- tion and the history of debates surrounding ‘altruism’ in Victorian Britain.

Interview by Emily Hankin.

Who or what first turned you towards the one in London and History of Science, Technology and Medi- one in Manchester. It cine (HSTM)? was also fantastic, in view of the role of his My first degree was in theology and book in introducing religious studies, and in my final year I me to the field, to took a course on science and religion. organise a conference Reading John Hedley Brooke’s Science and in John Brooke’s hon- Religion: Some Historical Perspectives, then our in 2007, and to only recently published, opened my eyes co-edit the resulting to a whole new way of thinking about the book, with Geoffrey subject, and introduced me to the history Cantor and Stephen of science. I remember being particularly Pumfrey... out now gripped by Brooke’s lively account of Tom from CUP! Paine’s Age of Reason, and of the scientific, political and philosophical dimensions of Enlightenment natural theology. The fol- Which historical person would you most like undergraduate course on Wilde, I would be lowing year I applied to study for a Masters to meet? absolutely mesmerised by that encounter. in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology in London; and about ten years If I had a time machine I would make regular If you did not work in HSTM, what other after that I found myself teaching an under- trips back to the nineteenth century, espe- career might you choose? graduate course at Lancaster University on cially to Victorian London. I’d be tempted to the life, career, and writings of Tom Paine. pay a visit to the whole Darwin family at Down I would like to be a Victorian sage. House in Kent for an afternoon, to help with What’s your best dinner-table HSTM story? some observations of plants and insects in What are your favourite HSTM books? the garden, and possibly to play a bassoon to The story of the dinner table under which some earthworms. In view of the amount of They include Thomas Huxley, Evolution and the psychic medium D. D. Home made an time I’ve spent reading their dry and troubling Ethics, John Hedley Brooke and Geoffrey accordion in a cage play a tune without philosophical writings, I’d also like to have Cantor, Reconstructing Nature, James Moore, touching it, under the observation of the a word with Auguste Comte and Herbert The Darwin Legend, James Secord, Victorian chemist Sir William Crookes in 1871. Spencer. But I think, if I was forced to choose Sensation, Edward Larson, Summer for the just one visit back in time, I would want to be Gods, Roy Porter and Lesley Hall, The Facts What has been your best career moment? at Thomas Huxley’s house on the evening his of Life, Mary Midgley, Science as Salvation, daughter Nettie brought Oscar Wilde back Bas van Fraassen, The Scientific Image, Rich- Winning the BSHS Dingle Prize in 2009 for to meet her father. After Wilde’s departure, ard Rorty, Philosophy and Social Hope, and my book on science and religion was, of Huxley told Nettie: ‘That man never enters for both entertainment and enlightenment course, a particular high point, as was de- my house again’. Having written my Masters Paul Feyerabend’s autobiography, Killing livering the two associated Dingle lectures, dissertation on Huxley and now teaching an Time. Viewpoint No. 92 15

Announcements Centaurus, the Journal of the that will be accompanied by invited commen- taries and authors’ responses. British Science Festival European Society for the His- I look forward to receiving your high-quality tory of Science (ESHS) papers via our electronic submission system Birmingham (see http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cnt). At the European Conference for the History 14-19th September 2010 I am also open to your suggestions about of Science in Barcelona this November (18-20 We are delighted to welcome Frank James topics for future spotlight sections and target November, 2010) the members of the Euro- as History of Science Section President. articles. You can always reach me by email pean Society for the History of Science (ESHS) The Presidential Session, revisiting the [email protected] and contact me at the will vote on the motion that membership Huxley / Wilberforce debate, takes place meetings of the BSHS (this summer in Aber- of the ESHS and subscription to Centaurus on Sunday 19th September, 6-8pm. deen) and ESHS (this autumn in Barcelona). become linked. The General Assembly of the Other events organised by the History Centaurus can be found at: www.wiley.com/ ESHS will also decide whether the Centaurus of Science Section: bw/journal.asp?ref=0008-8994. Editor will become a member of the ESHS ‘Food in our Lives’ – Thursday 16th Sep- To become member of the European Council. This will mark the end of successful tember, 1-3pm Society and at the same time receive Cen- negotiations between the nascent European ‘Philosophical Pirates: Industrial Espio- taurus, you may contact Leonardo Gariboldi Society, which was established in 2004, and nage as a Form of Knowledge Transfer in at [email protected]. The price is the more mature journal, Centaurus, which Eighteenth Century Birmingham’ – Thurs- €25,00/year for ESHS membership plus on-line celebrated its 50th volume in 2008. day 16th September, 3-4.30pm Centaurus subscription, and €45,00 for ESHS The journal was founded by Jean Anker in ‘Tomorrow’s World: Past Visions of membership plus print and on-line Centaurus 1950 with the aim of creating an ‘international Future Technology’ – Saturday 18th Sep- subscription. journal of an independent character’. The tember, 6-8pm (with Metropolis screening hitherto exclusively Danish editors served the at the Electric Cinema, Sunday 19th – TBC) Ida Stamhuis international professional community well by And, organised by the BSHS Outreach Editor, Centaurus giving historians of science the opportunity and Education Committee, the Young [email protected] to publish their scholarship in a first class People’s Programme features ‘Science and journal. Over the years interest in the history Islam: Discover the Astrolabe’. Thursday of science increased all over Europe. Many 16th and Friday 17th September. countries founded national history of science For details of speakers and session con- societies and started national journals in tent, please see the Section web pages, their own language. The British Society was http://bahistoryofscience.wordpress.com. founded in 1947 and the British Journal for the For queries about History of Science at History of Science published its first volume in the British Science Festival, contact katy. 1962. When in 2004 a European Society was [email protected] established, the editor and staff at Aarhus University soon realized that the moment had arrived for Centaurus to become the official Joseph Rotblat’s Archive and The Bomb journal of the new ESHS, although it was Joseph Rotblat studied nuclear physics at the Kingdom, but not without another incident. acknowledged that the journal would still University of Warsaw and in 1939 was invited Before leaving Los Alamos I packed all my doc- serve the wider international community. to work at Liverpool University with James uments-research notes as well as correspond- A non-Danish editor could be considered Chadwick, winner of the Nobel Physics Prize ence and other records-in a box for me by my a natural next step in the journal’s process of for the discovery of the neutron. Chadwick assistant. En route I stayed for a few days with transformation and as a historian of science was building a particle accelerator, a cyclo- the Chadwicks in Washington. Chadwick per- at the Free University in Amsterdam I was tron, to study fundamental nuclear reactions. sonally helped me put the box on the train to pleased to be invited to become the journal’s As Rotblat wanted to build a similar machine New York. But when I arrived there a few hours editor. There was however no reason to move in Warsaw, he decided to join Chadwick’s later, the box was missing. Nor, despite valiant the journal from its home base in Aarhus, group. Towards the end of 1939 Rotblat began efforts, was it ever recovered’. where it has been nurtured for almost all of experiments in Liverpool which demon- Rotblat’s Archive is now becoming available its life. In consequence, I became an honorary strated that the nuclear bomb was feasible , at the Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill Col- professor of Aarhus University’s Department but it would require a massive technological lege, Cambridge University. This Archive has of Science Studies where the assistant editor effort to produce sufficient quantities of the revealed a considerable body of papers from Claire Neesham is based. Uranium isotope required to manufacture an his time at Los Alamos. This is a significant My aim in the near future is to cultivate atomic bomb. finding and the contradiction is subject to further the relationship with the European At the beginning of 1944 Rotblat joined the ongoing investigation. Society for the History of Science, but also to Chadwick group at Los Alamos, New Mexico I am grateful to the staff of Churchill offer members of the international history of Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge science community a journal in which they to work on the Manhattan Project, which was developing the atomic bomb. He arrived in for their help and support. I am most thankful have the opportunity to publish papers on for financial support as grant-in-aid from the the history of science that treat broad issues Los Alamos in January 1944. Rotblat soon became ambivalent about his involvement Friends of the Center for History of Physics, of general interest. I follow my predecessor American Institute of Physics. Hanne Andersen in the ambition to use the and once he learned, towards the end of journal as an information base for dissemina- 1944, that the Germans had abandoned their Martin Underwood tion of important trends in our discipline. atomic bomb project he decided that his par- Department of Physics, Sub-Department of These aims will be pursued in particular in a ticipation was no longer justified. He resigned Particle Physics, University of Oxford spotlight section and through target articles and returned to England. Rotblat said on ‘Christmas Eve 1944, I sailed for the United [email protected] 16 Viewpoint No. 92

The British Journal for the History of Science

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

Melissa Smith, ‘Architects of Armageddon: the Home Office Scientific Advisers’ Branch and civil defence in Britain, 1945–68’ (winning essay of the BSHS Singer Prize)

Karin Ekholm, ‘Tartaglia’s Ragioni: A maestro d’abaco’s mixed approach to the bombardier’s problem’

Jaume Navarro, ‘Electron diffraction chez Thomson: early responses to quantum physics in Britain’

Janet Vertesi ‘Instrumental images: the visual rhetoric of self-presentation in Hevelius’s Machina Coelestis’

Essay review by Jonathan Harwood on the history of genetics

www.bshs.org.uk/bjhs

Viewpoint: the Newsletter of the BSHS

Contributions All contributions and correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Dr Melanie Keene, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PH; [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 2010 and the deadline for copy is 15th August 2010.

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 advertise- ments 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; exec- [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.