Edward Grant (April 6, 1926 – June 21, 2020) was an American historian of
medieval science. He was named a Distinguished Professor in 1983. Other honors include the 1992
George Sarton Medal
The George Sarton Medal is the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society. It has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to an historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifet ...
, for "a lifetime scholarly achievement" as an historian of
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
.
[Academic page in Indiana University](_blank)
(archived 4 November 2013)
Biography
Edward Grant was born in 1926. He attended
City College in
New York
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* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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where he graduated in 1951. He continued to the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
where he received a
Master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. and a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
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* '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
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** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
in the History of Science and Medieval History in 1957. During this time, Grant spent a year at the
University of Utrecht
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
as a
Fulbright Scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
from 1955-1956.
Grant began his successful teaching career while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. He was an assistant to a well-known scholar in the field
Marshall Clagett
Marshall Clagett (January 23, 1916, Washington, D.C. – October 21, 2005, Princeton, New Jersey) was an American historian of science who specialized in medieval science. John Murdoch describes him as "a distinguished medievalist" who was "the ...
, whom he would continue to respect and correspond with throughout his career.
Grant taught at the
University of Maine
The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
and in the
history of science
The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal.
Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...
program at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
.
[
In 1959, Grant came to ]Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
as an Assistant Professor of History. His teaching career spanned over thirty years at IU. He was instrumental in starting the department later to be known as History and Philosophy of Science. Grant was named Distinguished Professor of both that department and the History department. A distinguished medievalist, Grant wrote prolifically throughout his professorship at IU. Professor Grant was twice chair of his department (1973–1979; 1987–1990) where he taught courses on medieval science, natural philosophy
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science.
From the ancien ...
and science and religion
The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern u ...
.[ Grant was given the title ]Distinguished Professor
Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs.
In the United States
Often specific to one institution, titles such ...
Emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained primarily as either historians or as philosophers, there ...
, Indiana University.
Grant was also a prominent member of several organizations, such as the Medieval Academy of America
The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...
, the International Academy of the History of Science The International Academy of the History of Science (french: Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences) is a membership organization for historians of science.
The academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science b ...
, and the History of Science Society
The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...
. He served as Vice-President of the History of Science Society
The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...
from 1983-1984 and as president from 1985–86. Grant was also a frequent lecturer for organizations such as the Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
Associates Panel of Distinguished Speakers from 1990-1998.
Grant received many honors and awards, including the George Sarton Medal
The George Sarton Medal is the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society. It has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to an historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifet ...
in 1992, the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society
The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...
that "recognizes those whose entire careers have been devoted to the field and whose scholarship is exceptional."[
]
Work
In his book ''The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages: Their Religious, Institutional and Intellectual Contexts'', Grant discussed the developments and discoveries that culminated in the Scientific Revolution
The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transforme ...
of the 17th century. He emphasized how the roots of modern science were planted in the ancient and medieval worlds long before the modern period, and that the Christian Latin civilization of Western Europe began the last stage of its intellectual development. One basic factor was how Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
developed in the West with the establishment of the medieval universities
A medieval university was a corporation organized during the Middle Ages for the purposes of higher education. The first Western European institutions generally considered to be universities were established in present-day Italy (including ...
around 1200.
In ''God and Reason in the Middle Ages'' he argued that the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
had acquired an undeserved reputation as an age of superstition, barbarism, and unreason.
Selected publications
Edward Grant published more than ninety articles and twelve books, including:
* ''Physical Science in the Middle Ages'' (1971)
* ''Much Ado About Nothing: Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution'' (1981)
* ''Planets, Stars, & Orbs: The Medieval Cosmos, 1200–1687'' (1994)
* ''The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages'' (1996)
* ''God and Reason in the Middle Ages'' (2001)
* ''Science and Religion, 400 B.C. to A.D. 1550: From Aristotle to Copernicus'' (2004)
* ''A History of Natural Philosophy from the Ancient World to the Nineteenth Century'' (2007)
References
External links
Harvard University Press
Edward Grant papers, 1950-2001
at the Indiana University Archives.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Edward
American historians of science
Indiana University faculty
University of Maine faculty
Harvard University faculty
2020 deaths
Philosophers of science
1926 births
Historians from Indiana