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Reminiscences of Silvio A. Bedini
Childhood; interest in horology and in collecting scientific instruments, experience in cryptography; discussion of his publications; preserved documents of Thomas Jefferson and early methods for reproducing documents; research at The Vatican; work at The Smithsonian Institution: difficulties in acquisitions, discussion of various collections and exhibits, especially rare books, problems with replicas and fakes, museum management, the future of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Pope's Elephant
Examines the court of Pope Leo X in sixteenth-century Rome, and discusses the popularity of the Pope's white elephant, Hanno, a gift from the king of Portugal.
Jefferson and Science
Though we most often think of Jefferson as president and statesman, he is also recognized, in the words of the late Dumas Malone, "as an American pioneer in numerous branches of science, notably paleontology, ethnology, geography, and botany." In this fascinating book, Silvio Bedini, the acknowledged authority on Jefferson's "supreme delight" in the sciences, explores his wide-ranging mathematical and scientific pursuits. Taught surveying by his map-making father, Jefferson developed an interest in measurement and observation at an early age. He was captivated not only by the topography around him, but also by the stars and planets in the heavens above and by the minerals, fossils, artifacts, and plants in the soil below. Known internationally as a man of learning and as the long-serving president of the American Philosophical Society, Jefferson read widely, corresponded with other science enthusiasts worldwide, promoted scientific exploration--most notably, the Lewis and Clark expedition--and performed his own diverse experiments. Painting a broad picture of Jefferson as scientist, this book offers a captivating new look at one of America's great Renaissance men.
The Quest for the Invisible
The eighteenth century has often been viewed as a period of relative decline in the field of microscopy, as interest in microscopes seemed to wane after an intense period of discovery in the seventeenth century. As such, developments in the field during the Enlightenment have been largely overlooked. This book therefore fills a considerable gap in the study of this life science, providing a thorough analysis of what the main concerns of the field were and how microscopists learned to communicate with each other in relevant ways in order to compare results and build a new discipline. Employing a substantial body of contemporary literature from across Europe, Marc J. Ratcliff is able to presen...
Giuseppe Campani, “Inventor Romae,” an Uncommon Genius
The ingenious and ambitious Campani brothers—Matteo, Pier Tommaso, and Giuseppe—were at the core of thriving activity of technological and scientific innovation that involved popes, the Sun King, and other rulers of baroque Europe. Especially Giuseppe’s outstanding production of innovating clocks, telescopes, and microscopes, attracted the attention of the most important scientific characters and experimental academies of the time. This posthumous book by Silvio Bedini is the result of a fifty-year-long study that will serve not just as a reference work for scholars interested in seventeenth-century clockmaking, practical optics, astronomy, and science and technology in general, but it also will provide you with unique insights into the scientific and technological landscape of baroque Rome and its links to a broader European scene. The author's narrative style and the many illustrations which accompany the story, make this book also for non-specialists an enjoyable read.
The Life of Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker, born in 1731, was a man ahead of his time. As a free African American in a time of slavery, Banneker was not welcome in white society, and he spent most of his life on his Maryland farm. There he harnessed his keen and curious intellect to teach himself complex mathematics and astronomy. Banneker secured a place in history with his role in surveying the site for the capital city, Washington D.C., and his published almanacs with precise tide calculations and weather predictions. Also, Banneker himself was one of the first African Americans to speak out against slavery. Banneker's accomplishments were used by abolitionists as proof of the intellectual powers of his race.
Forty Years of Scientific Instrument Studies
Since 1981, the Scientific Instrument Commission has provided a forum for annual international discussion of topics close to the hearts of those caring for and researching historic scientific instruments. During these years, increasing professionalisation of curatorship and deepened engagement by historians have led to important changes in these roles. This volume is a cornucopia illustrating how instrument studies have changed and flourished over the past forty years. Four chapters review the work of the Scientific Instrument Commission by decade. The remaining chapters consider the historiography of instrument studies, the cataloguing of collections, historic instruments in exhibitions and...
Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers
Title: Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers Author: Silvio A. Bedini
