Science

The exploration of the world we live in has raised fundamental questions and led to elaborate explanations across time and across societies and continents. In this theme ideas put forward in the pursuit of organised science are explored, the impact of those ideas and the changes they may have led to are discussed. Key individuals in the development of scientific thought are studied and ideas around how science has affected history and human development are addressed.

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  • Podcast Series: Diversity in Early Modern Britain

    Multipage Article

    This series of podcasts looks at Diversity in Early Modern Britain and features Onyeka, Dr Kathy Chater and Dr Sumita Mukherjee. Our first set of podcasts looks initially at African and Caribbean British History, South Asian British History and the Huguenouts.

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  • Podcast Series: The History of Science

    Multipage Article

    In this series of podcasts we take a look at the history of the Royal Society and the influence it has had on the history and development of science. This series features: Keith Moore, Head of Libraries and Archives at the Royal Society, Dr Jordan Goodman, Dr Patricia Fara of...

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  • Podcast Series: The Renaissance

    Multipage Article

    In this podcast Dr Gabriele Neher of the University of Nottingham provides an introduction to the Renaissance.

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  • Podcast: The Life and Significance of Alan Turing

    Article

    In this podcast Dr Tommy Dickinson of the University of Manchester discusses the life and significance of Alan Turing. Please note this is only the first section of the full podcast which is available to HA Members Alan Mathison Turing, (23 June 1912–7 June 1954) was a British pioneering computer scientist, mathematician,...

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  • Real Lives: Anna Wessels Williams (1863–1954)

    Article

    Patrick J Pead writes about a truly remarkable woman whose contribution to advances in medicine deserves far wider recognition. Our series ‘Real Lives’ seeks to put the story of the ordinary person into our great historical narrative. We are all part of the rich fabric of the communities in which we live...

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  • Real Lives: Eduard Friedrich Kärger

    Article

    In this article, Alex van der Ham and Ling-Hua Huang explain how a casual browse through a nineteenth century journal led to an intriguing research journey into the author of a scientific dissertation. Here they discovered interesting insights into Prussian society in the years leading to the Unification of Germany,...

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  • Religion and Science in the Eighteenth Century

    Article

    Much has been said about the clash between religion and science in Victorian times but there has been less research into the relationship between them in the eighteenth century. This article considers three Georgian clergymen who were also notable scientists – the Reverend William Stukeley, the pioneer of scientific field...

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  • Social Darwinism: the myth and its reinvention

    Article

    ‘Social Darwinism’ has been associated in academia and popular consciousness with negative concepts such as hyper-nationalism and eugenics. Geoffrey M. Hodgson challenges the notion that Social Darwinism or its proponents were ever well-defined. By tracing the use of ‘Social Darwinism’ across academic disciplines and globally over a long period, Hodgson...

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  • Tank development in the First World War

    Article

    The emergence of the tank as a further weapon of war is inextricably associated with Lincoln where various early models were developed. By 1915 the Great War had gone just about as far as it could and for the first time, the way an entire war was fought was described...

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  • The Life & Significance of Alan Turing

    Podcast

    In this podcast, Dr Tommy Dickinson of the University of Manchester, discusses the life and significance of Alan Turing.

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  • The Venerable Bede: recent research

    Article

    The eighth-century monk is renowned as the ‘Father of English History’, but recent scholarship has demonstrated how important he was as a scientist and theologian and how his writings on the Bible can illuminate his famous history.

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  • The Victorian Age

    Article

    This Classic Pamphlet was published in 1937 (the centenary of the accession of Queen Victoria, who succeeded to the throne on June 20, 1837). Synopsis of contents: 1. Is the Victorian Age a distinct 'period' of history? Landmarks establishing its beginning: the Reform Bill, railways, other inventions, new leaders in...

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  • The amazing adventures of Pytheas the Greek

    Article

    Alf Wilkinson explores the achievements of Pytheas, the first person, as far as we know, to sail completely around the British Isles in around 325 BC. When we think of the Ancient Greeks we tend to think of warfare, drama, myths and legends, perhaps mathematics, medicine and science. What we...

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  • The mechanical heroes of the Battle of Britain

    Article

    The Battle of Britain is often described as the point at which the Nazi threat began to diminish and cracks began to form in Hitler's regime. The air campaign launched by the Germans in the summer of 1940 intended to wipe out the existence of the British Royal Air Force...

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  • The year that lost eleven days

    Article

    From its Roman origins to the dating of the tax year, David Fleming describes how the changes made to the British calendar in 1752 came about and their effect on everyday life, both at the time and since...

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  • Vera Ignatievna Giedroyc: her missions of mercy, 1899–1932

    Article

    Historical research takes place in many forms and in many locations. This research, which has been translated for us, introduces us to an heroic pioneering Ukrainian woman surgeon. During the Spring of 1932 in the Ukrainian city of Kiev, on a sunny day in March, a very small group of...

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  • What Have Historians Been Arguing About... the consequences of the industrial revolution

    Article

    The British industrial revolution stands out as a pivotal moment in human history. Its timing, causes and consequences have all been major topics of historical enquiry for well over one hundred years. Many of the great Victorian commentators – Engels, Dickens, Blake to name a few – who lived through...

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  • White heat or hot air? The politics of science in 1960s Britain

    Article

    Britain in the 1960s was captivated by scientific advancements. The public interest in ‘science’ was reflected in popular culture during this period. This zeitgeist for scientific revolution also captured aspects of British politics. The government of Harold Wilson sought to encourage scientific progress. Yet the difference between political aims and...

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