Henry Oldenburg: Shaping the Royal Society

by Marie Boas Hall

Overview

Henry Oldenburg, born in 1619 in Bremen, Germany, first came to England as a diplomat on a mission to see Oliver Cromwell. He stayed on in England and in 1662 became the Secretary of the Royal Society, and its best known member to the entire learned world of his time. Through his extensive correspondence, now published, he disseminated the Society's ideals and methods at home and abroad. He fostered and encouraged the talents of many scientists later to be far more famous than he, including Newton, Flamsteed, Malpighi, and Leeuwenhoek with whom, as with many others, he developed real friendship. He founded and edited the Philosophical Transactions, the world's oldest scientific journal.

His career sheds new light on the intellectual world of his time, especially its scientific aspects, and on the development of the Royal Society; his private life expands our knowledge of social mobility, the urban society, and the religious views of his time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198510536
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/28/2002
Edition description:	UK ed.
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Imperial College, London

Table of Contents

IntroductionI: The rise to prominence1. The slow development of a diplomat 1619-542. Learning the art of scientific communication 1655-613. Towards a settled life 1661-54. The difficult years 1665-7II: The correspondence: method and content5. The promoter of philosophical intelligence 1665-706. Scientific diplomacy 1669-77 (1) Newton's ambassador7. Scientific diplomacy 1669-77 (2) Huygens, mathematics, mechanics, and horology8. The encouragement of talent 1667-77III: Personal relations9. From friends to enemies: Hooke and Oldenburg 1662-7710 Colleagues, friends, and family.11. AftermathAppendix: The fate of Oldenburg's children (with the assistance of P.D. Buchanan)Abbreviated titlesNotesBrief Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Hall's book is much more than a biography—it is simultaneously a history of the early Royal Society, to which Oldenburg devoted the better part of his life....More than 2,900 of Oldenburg's letters to and from some 70 correspondents were studied."—CHOICE

"Thanks to the work of Marie Boas Hall, the poignancy of the extinction of Oldenburg's line can be contrasted with the achievements of his 20-year career in the service of natural knowledge....In Hall's hands, Oldenburg is restored to his full humanity as well as to the intellectual reputation that he deserved."—Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London

From the Publisher