History of Science & Technology

A look at historical science with subjects as diverse as the history of plumbing, Roman engineering, women in science, the invention of printing and the innovation of flight.

Resources in this category:

Center for History of Physics (American Institute of Physics)
http://www.aip.org/history/

This site has "a mission to preserve and make known the history of modern physics and allied fields including astronomy, geophysics, optics, and the like." Features include a newsletter, information on physics-related publications, syllabi on the history of physics, as well as exhibits on Einstein, the discovery of the electron, and more.

Flight-History.com
http://www.flight-history.com/

"Flight-History is dedicated to capturing aviation history. The archives feature a growing collection of photographs, stories and aircraft specifications. The site includes the aviation artwork of several artists."

4000 Years of Women in Science
http://www.astr.ua.edu/4000WS/

Features biographical information of over 100 women inventors, scholars, writers, mathematicians and astronomers throughout recorded history.

Guide to the History of Science
http://www.hssonline.org/guide/

"Search the Guide to learn about people, institutions, organizations, and publications pursuing science history. Learn about history of science graduate programs. Contact more than 5000 scholars of science around the world. Discover a list of good places to start reading about the history of science." The Guide is easy to navigate and search. It is updated biennially.

History of Plumbing
http://www.theplumber.com/#history

"In ancient Rome, rich people's bathrooms were like small, heated, marble swimming pools; in ancient Greece, real men took cold showers because warm water was for sissies. Queen Elizabeth I may have bathed only monthly, but she did have the first flush toilet in England. Still, it took the British a long time to get their - um - sewage together. Even a century ago, the Thames River was a reeking sewer for London's raw waste. Nothing gives an intimate portrait of a people like a description of their ablutions. The History of Plumbing, prepared by 'Plumbing & Mechanical Magazine', traces epidemics such as typhus, cholera and bubonic plague to poverty, ignorance and poor plumbing. Prince Edward, Queen Victoria's son, nearly died of typhus. When the royal plumber found the contaminated pipe and fixed it, Edward reportedly exclaimed, 'If I could not be a prince, I would rather be a plumber.'"

The History of Women and Science, Health, and Technology: a Bibliographic Guide to the Professions and the Disciplines
http://womenst.library.wisc.edu/bibliogs/hws/hws.htm

Offers extensive bibliographies about women in science, including bibliographies of biographies, scientific views of women, feminist critiques of science, and works on women in every scientific discipline. Other topics include women's health, the history of home economics, and the impact of technology on women. Searchable.

IEEE History Center
http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/

"The mission of the IEEE History Center is to preserve, research and promote the history of information and electrical technologies." Online resources include Historical FAQs, Historical Articles, Oral Histories, a Bibliography, Newsletters, and a threaded bulletin board.

The Infancy of Printing
http://www.uwm.edu/Library/special/exhibits/incunab/inchome....

Online exhibit created by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Golda Meir Library featuring their collection of incunabula (books printed before 1501). Includes both descriptive text and scanned images of the books themselves.

The Influence of Roman Engineering and Architecture
http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/arch304/winter2001/cs...

An article on the effect Roman engineering (particularly of roads and water) had on its conquests and neighbors.

Inland Marine Radio History Archive
http://www.imradioha.org/

This history of the radio in Great Lakes and Mississippi River shipping industry provides technical descriptions as well as personal recollections of retired radio operators. This site invites its audience to contribute knowledge and facts and is constantly growing as a result.

Invention History at the Lemelson Center - Smithsonian Institute
http://invention.smithsonian.org/home/

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History. It provides information about invention and innovation, encourages innovative creativity for young people, and documents the role of innovation and invention in the history of the United States. This website provides resources for studying the history of invention.

Inventive Women
http://www.inventivewomen.com/

"Imagine, from the tasty chocolate chip cookie to computer programming, inventions by women are everywhere! And many of these inventions were created by Canadian women. This site begins to tell their impressive story."

Nobel Laureates in Physics
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/library/nobel/

A listing of the Nobel Prize in Physics winners from 1901 to the present. Gives name(s) of the winners, their nationality, and words from the commendation for the award. Many have links to biographical sketches, photos, bibliographic citations, and text of speeches.

Reaching Out: The Evolution of Communication
http://library.thinkquest.org/26451/newmenu.html

This is an "educational web site that takes visitors on a journey of discovery through the fascinating world of communication. It is about the development of verbal and non-verbal communication through human history." The site, which includes a timeline, covers the spoken and written word, mass media, and various communication technologies throughout history.

Science Service Historical Image Collection
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/scienceservice/

"The Science Service historical image collection represents twentieth-century scientific research consisting of images and their original captions as they appeared in period publications. The captions were written by Science Service journalists and have been transcribed exactly. We are providing a 40-year sample of innovation and invention; which is specific to the subject of electricity." The site is searchable.

Sebastopol College Science Learning Area
http://www.sebas.vic.edu.au/links/sci/sci.htm

Sebastopol College in Victoria, Australia, provides this page to organize URL links for a variety of scientific disciplines. By selecting one of the science subject areas - general science, history of science, astronomy/space, biology, chemistry, environmental science, forensic science, geology/paleontology, investigations, physics, or weather/meterology - users are taken to web pages where lists of appropriate URL links are provided. Sebastopol College last tested the links in November 2002. Links to more general URls such as "How Stuff Works" are also included.