National Holocaust Remembrance Day

Posted on April 8, 2013 by

Guest post and display by Elizabeth Livesey

Einstein, General Relativity (Yiddish, 1921).

In recognition of National Holocaust Remembrance Day this Monday, April 8th, several works will be on display on the 5th floor of Bizzell to commemorate the persecution and genocide of approximately six million Jews.

Taken from the History of Science Collections and the Bass Business History Collections, the works showcase only some of the internationally significant contributions made by European scientists of Jewish descent in the early twentieth century, as well as the opposing force of the science of eugenics and the deadly social movement it produced.

Among the pieces on display are those by Nobel Prize winning scientists Niels Bohr, for his discoveries in atomic structure and quantum mechanics, as well as Albert Einstein, via a rare edition of his Theory of Relativity in Yiddish (description).

These books can be viewed at the History of Science Collections on the 5th floor of Bizzell Memorial Library, Monday-Thursday 9 AM -7 PM, Friday 9 AM-5 PM, and Saturday 12-4 PM. For more information, see the Visit link above, or call (405) 325-2741. While there, you may also view the Galileo display and the Living Library exhibition which features more than 100 rare works from the History of Science Collections.

The contributions to science made by Europeans of Jewish backgrounds before and during the Holocaust are remarkable for their breadth and influence even today. Einstein’s and Niels Bohr’s groundbreaking discoveries within the fields of physics won them Nobel Prizes in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Sigmund Freud’s enormously significant work in neurology and psychoanalysis throughout the early 20th century is similarly showcased here through a beautiful allegorical drawing of the unconscious.

However, despite the internationally recognized and honored impact that these works hold today, the work of Jewish scientists was not received or appreciated in the same light immediately after Hitler’s rise to power. In contrast to these notable Jewish scientific achievements during this period, the equally pervasive science of eugenics influenced Nazi ideology and undercut these discoveries. One of the most harrowing and ironic cases involves the German-Jewish chemist and 1918 Nobel Prize winner, Fritz Haber, whose work in developing poisonous gases eventually produced the deadly weapon Zyklon gas. Haber, among the other scientists recognized within this case, was stripped of his position in the university under the Nazis, and his books were burned and denounced in favor of “Aryan” science and achievements.

Posted in Exhibits and events

OU Athletics Department enables OU Libraries to acquire manuscript for the Galileo collection

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

Press Release (original at Public Affairs; photos for media):

Oratio Grassi, De sphaera (1623)NORMAN – A rare manuscript written by a leading astronomer in Rome at the height of Galileo’s astronomical discoveries recently was acquired by the University of Oklahoma’s History of Science Collections.

The newly acquired manuscript, Tractatus de sphaera, by Oratio Grassi, records Grassi’s lectures in mathematics and astronomy. The Grassi manuscript is one of three works by Grassi to enhance OU’s Galileo collection this year. In two just-acquired printed books, Grassi discussed three comets that appeared in the sky in 1618.

Oratio Grassi, De tribus cometis (1619)

Oratio Grassi, De sphaera (1623)“The Grassi manuscript is an important addition to the OU History of Science Collections, which is already recognized as among the small number of great collections in science in the world,” said OU President David L. Boren.

The Grassi manuscript is one of only a few astronomical manuscripts from the leading Jesuit university preceding the publication and subsequent condemnation of Galileo’s Dialogo (1632). OU holds Galileo’s own copy of the Dialogo, containing his handwritten comments in the margins.

Galileo Galilei, Dialogo (1632)

“By any measure, this Grassi manuscript is a significant acquisition for the University of Oklahoma and an important addition to the prestigious Galileo works held by our History of Science Collections,” said Rick Luce, dean of University Libraries. “The penmanship is beautiful,” said Luce, noting that some of the pages have detailed illustrations, all hand-drawn.

Oratio Grassi, De sphaera (1623)The Grassi manuscript discusses Galileo’s discoveries, including imperfections on the surface of the Sun and Moon and the satellites of Jupiter.

These discoveries were first published by Galileo in Sidereus nuncius, printed in Venice in 1610. The OU copy of Sidereus nuncius displays Galileo’s signature on the title page.

Galileo Galilei, Sidereus nuncius (1610)

“The OU Galileo collection is remarkable,” Luce said. “While many major libraries hold one or two first editions of Galileo, OU holds the entire set of 12 first editions. Neither the Library of Congress nor the British Library can say the same. Moreover, four of OU’s first editions, including the Sidereus nuncius and the Dialogo, contain Galileo’s handwriting. The Grassi manuscript and the two other printed books by Grassi acquired this year are unique additions to an already world-class Galileo collection.”

The acquisition was made possible with a $500,000 gift from the OU Athletics Department to establish an endowment to support exhibits and acquire rare works for the History of Science Collections.

“We are grateful to the Athletics Department for funding the endowment that made it possible for this manuscript to find its way to OU for its permanent home,” Luce said.

Key works from the OU Galileo collection, including the newly acquired Grassi manuscript, are now on display in the lobby of the History of Science Collections on the fifth floor of Bizzell Memorial Library (directions, hours). For accommodations on the basis of disability call 405/325-2741.

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Posted in Featured book, Manuscripts, archives, photos, Recent acquisitions | 1 Comment

American Paleontology in 3 minutes – TEDxOU

Posted on March 6, 2013 by

by James Burnes (@LifeThruTime), graduate student, Department of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, presented at TEDxOU, January 25th, 2013.

Posted in Exhibits and events

The secret of books

Posted on March 6, 2013 by
Posted in Exhibits and events

King Richard III at OU

Posted on February 24, 2013 by

We may not have the bones but we have the tomes!

Richard III, Nichols Collections, OU LibrariesThe remains of King Richard III (1452-1485) were recently recovered from underneath a parking lot (cf. “Royal Recovery,” NPR, February 4). In recognition of this event, we have identified several rare books relating to the ill-fated monarch held at OU libraries.

Come see the following items from the John and Mary Nichols Rare Books and Special Collections, currently on display on the 5th floor of Bizzell Library:

  • 1646, The History of the Life and Reigne of Richard the Third
  • 1674, A Chronicle of the Kings of England
  • 1707, A Genealogical History of the Kings and Queens of England
  • 1788, The Battle of Bosworth Field between Richard the Third and Henry Earl of Richmond, August 22, 1485

In addition to these historical works, you may view this treasure:

  • 1632, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (The Second Folio)

Download a brochure (pdf):

Richard III, brochure

These books may be viewed at the History of Science Collections on the 5th floor of Bizzell library, Monday-Thursday 9-7 pm, Friday 9-5 pm, Saturday 12-4 pm, through February 28 (325-2741; directions and more info). While there, you may also view the Living Library exhibit, a display of more than 100 works from the History of Science Collections.

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Image from: The History of the Life and Reigne of Richard the Third (London, 1646), courtesy John and Mary Nichols Rare Books and Special Collections.

Posted in Exhibits and events

Isis Bibliography survey

Posted on February 24, 2013 by

Isis Bibliography Seeks Participation in Online Survey over Historical Research Methods and Social Media

The editor of the History of Science Society’s Isis Current Bibliography, Stephen Weldon, requests participation in a 10-minute online questionnaire on how students and professionals in history of science and related fields use reference tools and social media in their research.

The link to the survey is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7H3XD63

The purpose of this questionnaire is to help Weldon’s research team design a new set of discovery and networking tools for research in the history of science. He is working with a group of scholars, librarians, and technical experts on this project, exploring new possibilities for research tools in the current digital environment.

Participation in this survey by anyone whose research may include the history of science, technology, and medicine, whether or not they use the Isis Bibliography, will help provide data on current research practices that will assist in the creation of a new research tool.

The survey will be accessible until Friday, March 15. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

Posted in In the news

Digital edition of Darwin’s Origin

Posted on February 20, 2013 by

“The currently available digital copies of Darwin’s great work suffer serious defects from the point of view of both human and machine readers.” (Goldstein, editor’s introduction)

Adam M. Goldstein, of Iona College, has created a structured source text of Charles Darwin, Origin of Species (London, 1859). Here is the link to download a digital edition of the source text, in pdf (6.4MB), at the American Museum of Natural History website:

http://darwin.amnh.org/files/images/pdfs/e83461.pdf

The source text underlying this edition was produced by editing, correcting, and reformatting the Oxford Text Archive’s text number 1783. In the editor’s introduction, Goldstein relays the results of an initial proof-reading of the 1783 text by Eric English:

“The base text (text 1783) is rife with errors, approximately 1,000 of them identified during the first round of proofreading. Some seem to be typographical errors or errors of transcription, and some of these significantly alter the meaning of the text: missing words, a variant of a word differing in meaning from the correct word; missing punctuation; and, most startling, missing phrases or sentences. The base text is Anglicized in some cases, Americanized in others. For instance, “organization” and “organisation” both appear regularly in the base text, and double quotes where Americans today would expect them are frequently changed to single quotes in a manner that accords with today’s British practice. Additionally, no diphthongs, ampersands, or accented characters appear anywhere in text 1783. Dashes, commas, and semicolons are often deleted or misplaced. Superscripts, subscripts, and mathematics are either deleted or incorrectly represented.”

This edition rectifies these issues, creating a nearly word-for-word replica of the 1859 edition. As Goldstein states in his introduction: “The central principle informing the editorial practices used in production of the digital Origin is that the text be presented in a manner as close to its original rendering as possible….” Features which still differ from the original text (for example, the lack of running heads) are identified in the editor’s introduction.

Goldstein expresses the hope that this new source text will “provide a basis in machine-readable code for producing the text of the 1859 Origin in a range of designs, for instance, a large-type edition for the visually impaired, or an edition formatted for reading on a hand-held device.” In addition, the source text is structured to support machine analysis. Goldstein envisions the creation of an appropriate informatics tool that will enable scholars to analyze this source text of the Origin more powerfully than is possible through basic key word searching. Not only is this pdf the most accurate digital copy of the Origin to date, but Goldstein’s preparation of the structured source text underlying the pdf is an important step toward the application to the Darwin corpus of analytical techniques adapted from informatics.

This is the first version of this digital edition; revisions will be posted at the same link. At present, the AMNH site is the only authorized distribution point; refer users to the link above rather than distributing the file itself.

Notes about the edition:

  • The editor’s introduction is an invaluable guide to the technical ins and outs of making an accurate digital edition and a sustainable encoded source text. It discusses the edition’s necessity and methodology.
  • The pdf includes a hyperlinked table of contents and two hyperlinked indices, one that refers to the pagination of the edition in hand, the other to Darwin’s original Origin pagination. The latter is more accurate than the index in Ernst Mayr’s facsimile edition.

A copyright mark appears on every page of the pdf. Goldstein explains that the document is available under the terms set by the AMNH for use of material on the Darwin Manuscripts Project site. He intends eventually to release the source text under the GNU GPL, but that’s taking a little time to work out.

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The OU History of Science Collections is providing high resolution facsimile images of Darwin first editions to the Darwin Manuscripts Project of the American Museum of Natural History. For more about the OU Darwin collection, see Darwin First Editions and Darwin@theLibrary.

Posted in Digital projects