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  • 11 - United Kingdom

  • from Europe
  • Edited by Hugh Richard Slotten, University of Otago, New Zealand, Ronald L. Numbers, University of Wisconsin, Madison, David N. Livingstone, Queen's University Belfast
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Science
    Published online:
    21 March 2020
    Print publication:
    09 April 2020, pp 151-191

  • Summary

    The territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and (Northern) Ireland, as it now is, has been the site of major scientific endeavors from the seventeenth century to the present, as is evident from any history of science. Indeed with the great expansion of Anglophone historiography of science since the 1970s, British cases, for the period 1750 to 1914 especially, were central to general arguments about the nature of science, situated in very local contexts but speaking to global concerns. In contrast, national modes of writing long suggested systematic deficits in British science. In the 1820s, Charles Babbage reflected on the “decline of science” compared to Continental Europe, and later in the century scientific campaigns relied on exaggerated contrasts with other nations, especially Germany.

The Cambridge History of Science
  • Volume 6, The Modern Biological and Earth Sciences
  • Edited by Peter J. Bowler, John V. Pickstone
  • Published online:
    28 November 2009
    Print publication:
    13 April 2009
  • This book in the highly respected Cambridge History of Science series is devoted to the history of the life and earth sciences since 1800. It provides comprehensive and authoritative surveys of historical thinking on major developments in these areas of science, on the social and cultural milieus in which the knowledge was generated, and on the wider impact of the major theoretical and practical innovations. The articles are written by acknowledged experts who provide concise accounts of the latest historical thinking coupled with guides to the most important recent literature. In addition to histories of traditional sciences, the book covers the emergence of newer disciplines such as genetics, biochemistry and geophysics. The interaction of scientific techniques with their practical applications in areas such as medicine is a major focus of the book, as is its coverage of controversial areas such as science and religion, and environmentalism.

  • 1 - Introduction

  • Edited by Peter J. Bowler, Queen's University Belfast, John V. Pickstone, University of Manchester
  • Book:
    The Cambridge History of Science
    Published online:
    28 November 2009
    Print publication:
    13 April 2009, pp 1-12

  • Summary

    Preparation of this volume has been a daunting task for both editors and authors. We have had to create a workable framework through which to present an overview of the development of a diverse range of sciences through a period of major conceptual, methodological, and institutional changes. Equally problematic has been the need to ensure that the presentation takes note of both the enduring traditions within the history of science and the major historiographical initiatives of the last few decades. We have tried to ensure adequate treatment of both the sciences themselves and historians’ concerns about how they should be studied. Some sacrifices have had to be made to create a viable list of topics. The result is, we hope, representative, but it is by no means encyclopedic. Topics that might have been expected were dropped either because there was not enough space to cover them adequately or, in a few cases, because the editors could not find authors willing to synthesize vast ranges of information and insights in the space that could be allowed. We are particularly conscious that agriculture and related sciences are barely present and that some areas of the environmental sciences could not be covered, including oceanography and meteorology. Delays have been inevitable in the production of so complex a text, and although some efforts have been made to update the references in the chapters, we and the authors are conscious of the fact that what we are presenting will not always reflect the very latest developments and publications.

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