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American historian (1934–2023)
John Lewis Heilbron (March 17, 1934 – November 5, 2023) was an American
historian of science best known for his work in the
history of physics and the
history of astronomy . He was Professor of History and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus (Vice-Chancellor 1990–1994) at the
University of California, Berkeley , senior research fellow at
Worcester College, Oxford , and visiting professor at
Yale University and the
California Institute of Technology . He edited the academic journal
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences for twenty-five years.
Biography
Born in
San Francisco on March 17, 1934,
[1] Heilbron attended
Lowell High School in
San Francisco, California ,
[2] and was a member of the
Lowell Forensic Society . He received his
A.B. (1955) and
M.A. (1958) degrees in physics and his
Ph.D. (1964) in history from the
University of California, Berkeley .
[1] He was
Thomas Kuhn 's graduate student in the 1960s when Kuhn was writing
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions .
[2]
Heilbron was a member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences .
[3] He died on November 5, 2023, at the age of 89.
[1]
Author
In additition to his university work, Heilbron authored over 20 books primarily dealing with the history of science; they included studies of phenomena such as geometry, electricity and quantum physics, as well as biographies of scientists such as
Galileo and
Max Planck .
[4] His approach saw him investigating the influence of politics, personalities and institutions on the emergence of new scientific ideas.
[2] His study of the relationship between the church and science, The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as Solar Observatories, was awarded the profession's highest prize, the Pfizer Prize from the
History of Science Society .
[1]
[2]
Awards and honors
Main books
2022: The Incomparable Monsignor:
Francesco Bianchini 's World of Science, History, and Court Intrigue.
Oxford University Press .
ISBN
9780192856654
2021: The Ghost of
Galileo in a Forgotten Painting from the English Civil War. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780198861300
2020:
Niels Bohr : A Very Short Introduction , Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780198819264
2018: The History of Physics: A Very Short Introduction , Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0199684120
2013: Love, Literature, and the
Quantum
Atom , with Finn Aaserud, Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780199680283
2010: Galileo , Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-958352-8 .
[8] (See
Galileo Galilei .)
2003:
The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science (ed.), Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-511229-6 .
2003:
Ernest Rutherford and the Explosion of Atoms ,
Oxford Portraits in Science , Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-512378-6 .
1999: The Sun in the Church: Cathedrals as
Solar Observatories .
Harvard University Press .
ISBN
0-674-85433-0 . 2001 paperback:
ISBN
0-674-00536-8 .
1999: Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern Physics.
Dover Publications .
ISBN
0-486-40688-1 .
1997: Geometry Civilized: History, Culture, Technique. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
0-19-850078-5 . 2000 paperback:
ISBN
0-19-850690-2 .
1989:
Lawrence and His Laboratory: A History of the
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory , with Robert W. Seidel.
University of California Press .
ISBN
0-520-06426-7 .
1986: The Dilemmas of an Upright Man:
Max Planck and the Fortunes of German Science , University of California Press.
ISBN
0-520-05710-4
1979: Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern Physics , University of California Press.
ISBN
0-520-03478-3 .
1974:
H. G. J. Moseley : The Life and Letters of an English Physicist, 1887-1915 , University of California Press.
ISBN
0-520-02375-7 .
Notes
^
a
b
c
d
"In Memoriam, John L. Heilbron, 1934-2023 | Department of History" . history.berkeley.edu . Retrieved February 4, 2024 .
^
a
b
c
d Baggott, Jim (November 21, 2023).
"John Heilbron obituary" . The Guardian .
ISSN
0261-3077 . Retrieved February 4, 2024 .
^
"The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences: John L. Heilbron" . Archived from
the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2011 .
^ Carson, Cathryn (January 23, 2024).
"John L. Heilbron (1934–2023), historian of science" . Nature . 626 (7997): 25.
Bibcode :
2024Natur.626...25C .
doi :
10.1038/d41586-024-00195-5 .
PMID
38263309 .
^
"John L. Heilbron" . American Academy of Arts & Sciences . Retrieved April 19, 2022 .
^
"APS Member History" . search.amphilsoc.org . Retrieved April 19, 2022 .
^
"Benjamin Franklin in Europe: electrician, academician, politician | Royal Society" . royalsociety.org . Retrieved February 4, 2024 .
^
Gingerich, Owen (December 24, 2010).
"Starry Messenger (joint review of Galileo by J. L. Heilbron and Galileo: Watcher of the Skies by David Wootton)" . NY Times . (See
David Wootton .)
References
Brief biography in AIP Center for History of Physics Newsletter, Volume XXXVIII, No. 1, Spring 2006.
External links
International National Academics Other