International Academy of the History of Science

International Academy of the History of Science
Name	International Academy of the History of Science
Native name	Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences
Founded	1928
Founder	George Sarton
Headquarters	Paris
Field	History of science

Contents

International Academy of the History of Science is an international learned society founded in 1928 to promote the scholarly study of the history of science. The Academy connects historians associated with institutions such as University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of Oxford, University of Paris, Yale University and University College London, and engages with museums and libraries including the Vatican Library, the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Smithsonian Institution and the Louvre. Its work intersects with scholars from disciplines represented at bodies like the Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences (United States), the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, the Max Planck Society and the Russian Academy of Sciences.

History

The Academy was established in 1928 during a period when figures such as George Sarton, Pierre Duhem, Erwin Panofsky, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn shaped historiography, and when institutions like the International Congress of Historical Sciences and the Union Académique Internationale expanded transnational networks. Early membership included historians who worked on topics from Babylon and Alexandria to Renaissance Italy and Islamic Golden Age, engaging with archives such as the Bodleian Library, the Wellcome Collection and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Throughout the 20th century the Academy navigated geopolitical disruptions including the Second World War, the Cold War, and decolonization movements involving states like India, Egypt, and Nigeria, adapting its meetings during periods of crisis and aligning with postwar institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies.

Membership comprises full members, corresponding members and honorary members drawn from universities and research institutes including Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Stanford University, Cornell University, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Melbourne, University of Tokyo, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Seoul National University, University of Buenos Aires, University of São Paulo, University of Cape Town and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Governance structures follow elected offices such as president, vice-president and secretary, and operate in dialogue with funding bodies like the European Research Council, national academies (for example Académie des Sciences and Academia Sinica), and professional associations including the History of Science Society, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik, and the Société Française d'Histoire des Sciences et des Techniques.

The Academy supports publication of monographs and edited volumes in collaboration with publishers and journals linked to Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Springer Nature, Brill, Routledge, Elsevier, and periodicals such as Isis, British Journal for the History of Science, Annals of Science, Centaurus, Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, Osiris, Historia Scientiarum and Revue d'histoire des sciences. It sponsors prizes and awards that recognize scholarship comparable to awards like the Koyré Medal, the Sarton Medal, the George Sarton Memorial Lecture, the MacArthur Fellowship (in related contexts), and national honors conferred by bodies such as the Legion of Honour, the Order of the British Empire, and the Order of Merit (United Kingdom).

The Academy convenes regular meetings, symposia and triennial congresses often associated with major gatherings such as the International Congress of History of Science and Technology, and partners with museums and universities to host sessions in cities including Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Cambridge, UK, Edinburgh, Leiden, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Istanbul, Cairo, Jerusalem, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Cape Town and Sydney. Notable themed meetings have examined episodes such as the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the Green Revolution, the Manhattan Project, and the development of institutions like the Royal Institution and the Max Planck Institutes.

Prominent figures associated with the Academy include early historians like George Sarton, Abraham Wolf, Charles Singer, Joseph Needham, Ludwik Fleck, Erwin Panofsky, Alistair Crombie, Ibn Khaldun-related scholars, and later members such as Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, Peter Galison, Simon Schaffer, Dorothy Nelkin, Janet Browne, Margaret Rossiter, A. Rupert Hall, Katherine Park, Nancy Siraisi, David Wootton, Allan Chapman, James Burke, Londa Schiebinger, Peter Bowler, Charles Coulston Gillispie, M. J. S. H. Evans, Otis A. Singletary, Alfred North Whitehead-related scholars, and members drawn from scientific communities connected to Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace and Rosalind Franklin. Leadership has included presidents, secretaries and treasurers who liaise with entities like the International Committee of Historical Sciences and national research councils such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Category:History of science organizations