Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik (DGHMT)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik (DGHMT)
Name	Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik
Abbreviation	DGHMT
Formation	1912
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Berlin
Region served	Germany
Languages	German

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik (DGHMT) is a German learned society dedicated to the historical study of medicine, natural sciences, and technology. It facilitates research, publication, and public outreach connecting scholars from universities, museums, archives, and libraries. The society maintains networks with national and international institutions to promote interdisciplinary dialogue among historians, historians of science, curators, and policymakers.

History

The society traces roots to early 20th-century initiatives linked to Berlin Museum für Medizinische Wissenschaften, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft, and scholars associated with Rudolf Virchow, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Friedrich von Hugo. During the Weimar Republic the society interacted with Prussian Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Society, and the Deutsches Hygienemuseum; World War II and the division of Germany affected relations with Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, German Historical Institute, and regional archives in Dresden, Munich, and Leipzig. Postwar reconstruction saw renewed links to Bundesrepublik Deutschland institutions such as Universität Heidelberg, Universität Freiburg, Universität Tübingen, Universität Göttingen, and Universität Hamburg, while engaging with international bodies including International Committee of Historical Sciences, International Congress of the History of Science and Technology, Royal Society, Smithsonian Institution, Wellcome Trust, and World Health Organization.

Organization and Structure

Governance follows traditions found in learned societies like Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chemie, Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte, and Deutscher Museumsbund. The executive board convenes in parallel with university faculties at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and Universität zu Köln. Advisory committees include curators from Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, historians from Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, archivists from Bundesarchiv, and librarians from Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. The DGHMT collaborates with regional affiliates in Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Sachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and partner societies such as British Society for the History of Science, Société Française d'Histoire des Sciences, American Association for the History of Medicine, and International Academy of the History of Science.

Activities and Programs

The society organizes annual conferences modeled on gatherings like the International Congress of Historical Sciences and hosts symposia at venues including Heidelberg Castle, Deutsches Museum, Bayerisches Armeemuseum, and Technische Universität Berlin. It sponsors workshops on archival research involving collections from Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, Robert Koch Institute, and Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. Educational outreach includes lectures in collaboration with Museumsinsel, Deutsche Kinemathek, and school programs linked to Landeszentrale für politische Bildung offices. The DGHMT also runs thematic sections comparable to subdivisions in Royal Society of Medicine, covering topics connected to figures like Robert Koch, Paul Ehrlich, Hermann von Helmholtz, Otto von Bismarck (public health policy), and technological histories tied to Siemens, BASF, and Zeiss.

Publications

The society publishes journals and monograph series akin to outputs from Isis (journal), Medical History (journal), and Annals of Science. Its flagship periodicals present research on archival holdings from Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Archiv der Akademie der Künste, and manuscript collections related to Alexander von Humboldt, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Immanuel Kant, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Felix Hausdorff, Friedrich Engels, and Max Weber. Collaborative volumes appear with university presses such as Springer, De Gruyter, Cambridge University Press, and Oxford University Press. Edited conference proceedings have featured studies on topics linked to Ludwig Pasteur, James Clerk Maxwell, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Heinrich Hertz, and Johannes Kepler.

Awards and Recognitions

The DGHMT confers awards comparable to honors from Royal Society, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and Wellcome Trust, celebrating scholarship in the history of medicine, natural science, and technology. Prizes recognize dissertation work, lifetime achievement, and public history projects that mobilize archives like the Deutsches Ärzteblatt records, collections of Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, and holdings related to Friedrich Loeffler, Emil von Behring, Theodor Schwann, and Rudolf Carnap. The society has honored researchers affiliated with Universität Jena, Universität Marburg, Technische Universität München, and museums including Naturkundemuseum Berlin.

Membership and Affiliated Societies

Membership comprises academics from institutions such as Universität Bonn, Universität Mainz, Universität Würzburg, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and professionals from Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Deutsches Institut für Medizinische Dokumentation und Information, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and Helmholtz Association. Affiliated regional societies include organizations in Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and cooperative links with European Society for the History of Science, Asian Network for the History of Science, and Latin American Society for the History of Science.

Notable Figures and Leadership

Leading scholars associated with the society have included historians and scientists comparable to Jakob von Uexküll, Martin Gierl, Horst Kant, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Sheldon J. Planken, Peter J. Bowler, Roger Cooter, Geoffrey Cantor, Lynn T. White Jr., Roy Porter, Anne Hardy, Sigrid Schotten, Ulrich Tröhler, Matthias Dörries, Christoph Lüthy, Fritz Stern, Jürgen Osterhammel, Alfred Super, Klaus Hentschel, Sybille Krämer, Michael Hagner, Johannes Ranke, Wolfram Fischer-Rosenthal, and Margaret F. Wagner. Past presidents, secretaries, and editors have also worked with institutions like Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Stiftung Deutsches Technikmuseum, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, and Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur Mainz.

Category:German learned societies Category:History of science organizations