Dibner Library Lecture, December 6, 2011

I am excited to announce that I will be delivering the Dibner Library Lecture at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. Last year’s Dibner Library Lecturer was Richard Holmes, author of The Age of Wonder; previous lecturers include Anthony Grafton (Princeton), Joyce Chaplin (Harvard), Owen Gingerich (Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory), Katherine Park (Harvard) and many other distinguished scholars in the history of science.

I will speak on “The Philosophical Breakfast Club and the Invention of the Scientist.” The lecture will be held in the Smithsonian Castle Commons/Schermer Hall at 5pm, followed by a reception. It is free and open to the public. I hope to see many friends and fans of The Philosophical Breakfast Club there!

The Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology opened in 1976. Its core collection of 10,000 rare books and 1000 manuscript groups came to the Smithsonian from the Burndy Library, founded by Bern Dibner. The collection includes some of the most important scientific texts spanning the 15th to the early 20th centuries. The Dibner Lecture was begun in 1992, and since 2000 the lectures become available in published form and also on the Smithsonian Institution’s website.

More to follow, when the Smithsonian makes its official announcement!