Adolphe Ganot (1804–87) and Edmund Atkinson (1831–1900) are obscure figures in the pantheon of science. However, their education and careers tell us a great deal about the making of science in nineteenth-century Europe, illustrating the emergence of physics as a discipline in interaction with mathematics, chemistry and medicine. Furthermore, they exemplify the major role of teaching, reading and writing in science. Recognition of the important role of these practices in the making of science is still rare. However, there is already cutting-edge work pointing in this direction.

In this chapter, I offer a practical example of this approach by examining the work of Ganot and Atkinson. In this context, I stress the connections and intersections between textbook science and journal science and between teaching and research. In addition, this chapter serves the purpose of transferring the focus from the broad overview of the emergence of the physics textbook previously presented, to the specific case that this book is primarily concerned with.

The contribution of Ganot and Atkinson to physics was marked by the production of textbooks which soon acquired canonical status in France, England and other countries as tools for teaching and research and thus for the disciplinary formation of physics. However, little was known then – and still today – about Ganot and Atkinson, beyond their textbook authorship. I begin this chapter by introducing contemporary testimonies on these authors.