Abbott Payson Usher (January 13, 1883 – June 18, 1965) was an American

economic historian Economic history is the study of history using methodological tools from economics or with a special attention to economic phenomena. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of ...

. The

Society for the History of Technology The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is the primary professional society for historians of technology. SHOT was founded in 1958 in the United States, and it has since become an international society with members "from some thirty-five ...

(SHOT) has awarded the Abbot Payson Usher Prize, named in his honor, annually since 1961. In the late 1920s Usher, the American historian

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a ...

and the Swiss art historian

Sigfried Giedion Sigfried Giedion (also spelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, '' Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mechanization ...

began to systematically investigate the social consequences of technology. In ''A History of Mechanical Inventions'' Usher argued that

technological innovation Technological innovation is an extended concept of innovation. While innovation is a rather well-defined concept, it has a broad meaning to many people, and especially numerous understanding in the academic and business world. Innovation refers to ...

was a slow, collective process with many contributors, not relying on the genius of great inventors. In 1963 Usher was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal by the

(SHOT). His daughter Miriam Usher Chrisman was a noted historian of the German Reformation. He earned his BA and PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Publications

* * * (Harvard University Press, 1954; Dover Publications, 1988 ) *

References

1883 births 1965 deaths American economic historians Leonardo da Vinci Medal recipients Harvard College alumni {{US-sci-historian-stub