Editorial: Science

Read The Historian 167: Science

2025 is a memorable year for scientific anniversaries: it is 350 years since the foundation of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich; 200 years since the start of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures and Michael Faraday’s discovery of benzine; and for the contemporary historians among our readers, just 35 years since the launch of the Hubble space telescope. So, it seems an appropriate year for the magazine to explore the history of science and the issues surrounding the relationship between science and history.

In this edition, we have chosen to explore a wide range of scientific topics from botanic gardens to the history of cold cream, from Social Darwinism to the ‘white heat of technology’. First, Geoffrey Hodgson argues that the idea of Social Darwinism was never clearly defined and was more complicated than has been suggested in the past. He points out that proponents of ideas of racism and eugenics, with which the phrase has been identified, rarely used it to describe themselves – in fact, when it was used, it was most frequently employed by their critics.

The 1960s saw tremendous enthusiasm across both the British public and politicians for the scientific and technological advances of the age. Steve Illingworth asks whether the Wilson government’s adoption of the ‘White Heat’ agenda delivered its hopes for a scientific revolution. On the science of cosmetics, Farhana Qayoom Shaikh traces the history of cold cream and outlines how Galen’s treatment for skin complaints transitioned over the centuries into a luxury beauty product. 

Some of our regulars have a scientific flavour too. Margaret Crump’s Doing History explains how she garnered information about the life of Victorian scientist, James Cowles Prichard, from a variety of sources, including newspapers, genealogical databases, and archives. In Real Lives, Dexter Plato looks at the ‘long’ life of Old Tom Parr, who was allegedly born during the Wars of the Roses and died in 1635, when royal physician William Harvey, who carried out his autopsy, appears to have accepted his age as 152. We are also delighted to feature another winning entry in the Historical Association’s Young Historian Competition, as Mia Andreasen’s History Out and About, which examines the history of the world-renowned Oxford Botanic Gardens and its impact on medical and scientific history, came top in the 17+ category.

Other features in this edition explore history from the Norman Conquest to the politics of trade tariffs. Jamie Page re-examines the Anglo-Norman world through the life of the last credible Anglo-Saxon heir to Edward the Confessor, Edgar Aetheling. In the aftermath of 1947, a team of authors examine the development of ‘shadow states’ among the regional communities which straddled the newly defined borders between India, Pakistan/Bangladesh, and Burma/Myanmar, while Ronan Thomas explores two very different Second World War bomb shelters – Churchill’s secret one in Mayfair and the huge Clapham South Deep Bunker. Tim Thornton updates readers on the latest developments in the story of the ‘princes in the tower’ since his own research was published in the Historical Association’s journal, History, in 2021. He also discusses the standard of proof it is possible to achieve in historic cases. In his Opinion piece, Chris Godden suggests that historians looking to compare Donald Trump’s tariff policies to past US Presidents might find a better comparison in one of nineteenth-century Britian’s most controversial political figures – Joseph Chamberlain.

As always, we are also pleased to receive your letters and queries. This edition’s Ask The Historian responds to an inquiry that asks for support in researching the details of the 1778 mutiny by the 75th Regiment of Foot. Our upcoming spring edition will focus on visual art, so if you have always wanted to know how historians ‘read’ portraits of Elizabeth I, how the Aztecs used pictograms to write their calendar, or you have any other questions about art in history, please contact Ask The Historian at: thehistorian@history.org.uk.

And finally, we have a bumper selection of book reviews which we hope will help some of you with gift ideas in the run-up to Christmas.