Lisa Anne Jardine (née Bronowski; 12 April 1944 – 25 October 2015) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

of the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. From 1990 to 2011, she was Centenary Professor of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Studies and director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. From 2008 to January 2014 she was

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Jardine was a Member of Council of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

, until 2009. On 1 September 2012, she relocated with her research centre and staff to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(UCL) to become founding director of its Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities.

Education and personal life

Jardine was born on 12 April 1944 in Oxford, the eldest of four daughters of mathematician and polymath,

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to science, and as the presenter and writer of the thirteen-part 1973 BBC television ...

, and the sculptor, Rita Coblentz.Lisa Jardin
Obituary: Rita Bronowski oblentz">Obituary: Rita Bronowski [Coblentz
/nowiki> ''The Guardian">oblentz
/nowiki>">oblentz">Obituary: Rita Bronowski [Coblentz
/nowiki> ''The Guardian'', 22 September 2010. Bronowski, who died in 1974 and is best remembered for his 13-part television series, ''The Ascent of Man'' (1973), was the subject of Jardine's Conway Memorial Lecture, "Things I Never Knew About My Father", delivered at the Conway Hall Ethical Society on 26 June 2014. An avid reader with an interest in history from a very young age, Jardine won a mathematics scholarship to

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College (CLC) is a private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school for girls aged 11 or older in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school was established in 1853 to provide "a sound academic edu ...

and later attended

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, and the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

. For two years, she took the

Cambridge Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a distinctive written examination of undergraduate s ...

before, in her final year and under the influence of

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

, she read English. She graduated with upper second-class honours. Fluent in eight languages (including Greek and Latin), she studied for an MA in the Literary Theory of Translation with Professor Donald Davie at the

. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge with a dissertation on ''Francis Bacon: Discovery and the Art of Discourse'' (subsequently published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

). In striking out on her own career path, Jardine recalled that she initially found her father's celebrity something of a burden, noting that she was "very, very conscious" of being his daughter. When in 1969 she married Cambridge historian and philosopher of science, Nicholas Jardine, she was relieved to assume her husband's surname, which she continued to use after the couple's divorce in 1979. The couple had a son and a daughter. "Until 1999, the name Bronowski never occurred in cuttings about me, and it was broadly unknown that I was his daughter", she later stated. In 1982, she married architect John Hare, with whom she had one son. She was reported to have said that her greatest achievement was her three "well-balanced children". Jardine had been raised in a secular Jewish household, but when appointed new chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Britain's fertility regulator, she expressed her loyalty to her observant grandparents'

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

faith, which she described as going back "all the way back to whenever – Abraham", and her reluctance to clash with the Catholic Church on embryology.

Career and research

Jardine was professor of Renaissance studies at

, where she was director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. She was a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

, and a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of King's College and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

. She was a trustee of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

for eight years, and was for five years a member of the Council of the

in London. She was Patron of the Archives and Records Association and the Orange Prize. For the academic year 2007–2008 she was seconded to the Royal Society in London as Expert Advisor to its Collections. She was a Trustee of the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the scie ...

. From 2008 to 2014, she served as chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority – the UK government regulator for assisted reproduction. In December 2011 she was appointed a Director of The National Archives. Jardine published more than 50 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals and books, and 17 full-length books, both for an academic and for a general readership, a number of them in co-authorship with others (including Professor

Anthony Grafton Anthony Thomas Grafton (born May 21, 1950) is an American historian of early modern Europe and the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University, where he is also the Director the Program in European Cultural Studies. He i ...

, Professor Alan Stewart and Professor Julia Swindells). She was the author of many books, both scholarly and general, including ''The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London'', ''Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution'' and biographies of

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...

, and Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...

(''On a Grander Scale: the Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren''). Her 2008 book ''Going Dutch'', on Anglo-Dutch reciprocal influence in the 17th century, won the 2009 Cundill International Prize in History, the world's premier history book prize worth $75,000. Jardine wrote and reviewed widely for the media, and presented and appeared regularly on arts, history and current affairs programmes for TV and radio. She was a regular writer and presenter of ''A Point of View'' on BBC Radio 4; a book of the first two series of her talks was published by Preface Publishing in March 2008 and a second in 2009. She judged the Novel category of the 1996 Whitbread Book Awards, the 1999

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspa ...

, the 2000

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a board of trustees. Four prizes are award ...

and was Chair of Judges for the 1997

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

and the 2002

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. During the first semester of the 2008–2009 academic year, Jardine was Distinguished Visiting Professor at the

Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is an independent research institute in the field of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences founded in 1970. The insti ...

, jointly sponsored by NIAS and the Royal Library in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. In 2009–2010, she was a Scaliger Visiting Fellow at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

in the Netherlands, and held the Sarton Chair and received the Sarton Medal at

Ghent University Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

in Belgium. She sat for several years on the Apeldoorn British Dutch Conference Steering Board, and was a member of the Recommendation Committee Stichting Huygens Tentoonstelling Foundation, set up to oversee the Constantijn and Christian Huygens Exhibition in the Grote Kerk in The Hague in 2013. In June 2015 she was the guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

''. Her musical choices included ''

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

'' by

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

, ''

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is a song written by American musician and Nobel laureate Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962 and recorded later that year for his second studio album, '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (1963). Its lyrical structure is based ...

'' by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, and '' Once in a Lifetime'' by

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

. Her book choice was the full 12 volumes of P.S. Allen's ''Latin Letters of

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and theologian, educationalist, satirist, and p ...

''. On 26 January 2011, Jardine appeared in a BBC documentary investigating her father's life and the history of science in the 20th century."My Father, the Bomb and Me"
bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 October 2015. She was known for her cross-disciplinary approach to intellectual history and has been called "the pre-eminent historian of the scientific method."

Awards and honours

Jardine was president of the Antiquarian Horological Society, a learned society focused on matters relating to the art and history of time measurement. Jardine was a former chairman of the governing body at Westminster City School for Boys in London (which her younger son attended), and a former chair of the Curriculum Committee on the governing body of St Marylebone Church of England School for Girls also in London. In 2012, she was awarded the President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015. Her certificate of election reads: Jardine held honorary doctorates of Letters from the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield station, Sheffield railway station, whil ...

and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

, and an honorary doctorate of Science from the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. In November 2011, she was made an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. She was awarded the Francis Bacon Award in the History of Science by the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

in 2012, and collected the Bacon Medal for this award at the annual History of Science Society meeting in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in September 2012. In November 2012 she received the British Academy President's Medal. In 2013–2014 she served as President of the British Science Association, which in 2012 made her an Honorary Fellow.

Death

Grave of Lisa Jardine in Highgate Cemetery

Jardine died of cancer on 25 October 2015, aged 71, and her ashes were buried next to those of her parents, in the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

in north London. In the tributes which followed, she was remembered for her commitment to her students, and "her deep empathy for outsiders of all kinds—rebels, misfits and migrants." In 2017, she was featured in a conference, ''London's Women Historians'', held at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

Publications

*''

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

: Discovery and the Art of Discourse'' (1974) *''Still Harping on Daughters: Women and Drama in the Age of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

'' (1983) *''From Humanism to the Humanities: Education and the Liberal Arts in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-century Europe'', with

(1986) *''What's Left?: Women in Culture and the Labour Movement'', with Julia Swindells (1990) *''

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

, Man of Letters: The Construction of Charisma in Print'' (1993) *''Reading Shakespeare Historically'' (1996) *''Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance'' (1996) *''

: The Education of a Christian Prince with the Panegyric for Archduke Philip of Austria'', editor (1997) *''Hostage to Fortune: The Troubled Life of Francis Bacon'', with Alan Stewart (1998) *''Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution'' (1999) *''

: The New Organon'', edited with Michael Silverthorne (2000) *''Global Interests: Renaissance Art Between East and West'', with Jerry Brotton (2000) *''On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren'' (2002) *''For the Sake of Argument'' (2003) *''The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London'' (2003) *''London's Leonardo: The Life and Work of Robert Hooke'', with Jim Bennett, Michael Cooper and Michael Hunter (2003) *''Grayson Perry'' (2004) *''The Awful End of Prince

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

: The First Assassination of a Head of State with a Handgun'', edited with Amanda Foreman (2005) *''Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory'' (2008) *
Temptation in the Archives: Essays in Golden Age Dutch Culture
' (2015)

Broadcasting and lectures

*''A Point of View''. BBC Radio 4 series (2008, 2010, 2011, 2014) *''My Father, the Bomb and Me''. BBC Four (26 January 2011)
''Seven Ages of Science''
BBC Radio 4 series (2013) *
Things I Never Knew About My Father
''Conway Memorial Lecture, Conway Hall Ethical Society (26 June 2014)

References

External links

Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 31 October 2008 (video)

Profile
at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters] {{DEFAULTSORT:Jardine, Lisa 1944 births 2015 deaths Deaths from cancer in England Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of University College London People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Essex Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of King's College, Cambridge British people of Polish-Jewish descent English historians Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Female fellows of the Royal Society People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum British women historians 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century British women writers Historians of the early modern period Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society 21st-century British women writers Shakespearean scholars Burials at Highgate Cemetery