Martin Jesse Klein (June 25, 1924 – March 28, 2009), usually cited as M. J. Klein, was a

science historian The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history that examines the development of the understanding of the natural world (science) and humans' ability to manipulate it (technology) at different points in time. This academic discip ...

of 19th and 20th century

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Biography

Klein was born in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was an only child and both his parents were schoolteachers. After graduating from James Monroe High School at the age of 14, he attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

in 1942 and a master's degree in physics in 1944. In 1948, he received a Ph.D. in physics under

László Tisza László Tisza (July 7, 1907 – April 15, 2009) was a Hungarian-born American physicist who was Professor of Physics Emeritus at MIT. He was a colleague of famed physicists Edward Teller, Lev Landau and Fritz London, and initiated the two ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. From 1949 to 1966, Klein was a member of the staff of the physics department of Cleveland's

Case Institute of Technology Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, starting as an instructor and becoming a full professor in 1960. Throughout the 1950s, he became more interested in the history of physics. During this time, Klein contributed to the Theoretical Physics Department at the

Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) () is a statutory independent research institute in Dublin, Ireland. It was established, under the Institute For Advanced Studies Act 1940, by the government of the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Vale ...

. During the academic year 1958–1959 he was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

at the

Lorentz Institute The Lorentz Institute () is the institute for theoretical physics at Leiden University the Netherlands. Established in 1921, it was named after physicist Hendrik Lorentz, the first professor of theoretical physics in the country. Together with the ...

of 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 ...

. He joined

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

's Department of the History of Science and Medicine in 1967 and in 1971 became the chair of the department. In 1977, due to fiscal concerns, Yale University eliminated the department and Klein became a professor in the physics department, where he remained until his retirement. From 1963 to 1979, Klein wrote 20 articles devoted exclusively to Einstein's work. From 1988 to 1998, he was the editor-in-chief of ''The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein'' under the aegis of

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

. The Einstein Papers Project started in the mid-1970s and published 2 volumes before Klein took over. He led the team that produced volumes 3 through 6, covering Einstein's papers from 1909 through 1917. At Yale University, he was the Eugene Higgins

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of the

history of physics Physics is a branch of science in which the primary objects of study are matter and energy. These topics were discussed across many cultures in ancient times by philosophers, but they had no means to distinguish causes of natural phenomena fro ...

and an emeritus professor of

. He was elected to the

Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences The International Academy of the History of Science () is a membership organization for historians of science. The Academy was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E. Sigerist ...

(1971), the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(1977) and the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1979). In 2005 Klein was the first recipient of the

Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics The Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics is an award given each year since 2005 jointly by the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics for "''outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics''". The prize is ...

, a joint award of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

and the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

. His doctoral students include

Russell McCormmach Russell Keith McCormmach (born 9 October 1933) is an American historian of physics. McCormmach grew up in Walla Walla, Washington and studied physics at Washington State University, Washington State College with bachelor's degree in 1955. As a Rho ...

. He died in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States census, making Chapel Hill the List of municipa ...

Publications

;Author * 1970: ''Paul Ehrenfest: The Making of a Theoretical Physicist.'' Biography of

Paul Ehrenfest Paul Ehrenfest (; 18 January 1880 – 25 September 1933) was an Austrian Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who made major contributions to statistical mechanics and its relation to quantum physics, quantum mechanics, including the theory ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

. . 1985 edition: * 1993: ''Physicists' Inaugural Lectures in History''.

Amsterdam University The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlands still in operati ...

Press. . ;Editor * 1993-1996:

Einstein Papers Project The Einstein Papers Project (EPP) produces the historical edition of the writings and correspondence of Albert Einstein. The EPP collects, transcribes, translates, annotates, and publishes materials from Einstein's literary estate and a multitude ...

. Lead editor, Volumes 3 , 4, 5; editor, Volume 6, ''The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein.''

: ** Volume 3: The Swiss Years: Writings, 1909 - 1911. Editors: Martin J. Klein, A. J. Kox, Jürgen Renn, Robert Schulmann ** Volume 4: The Swiss Years: Writings, 1912 - 1914. Editors: Martin J. Klein, A. J. Kox, Jürgen Renn, Robert Schulmann ** Volume 5: The Swiss Years: Correspondence, 1902 - 1914. Editors: Martin J. Klein, A. J. Kox, Robert Schulmann ** Volume 6: The Berlin Years: Writings, 1914 - 1917. Editors: A. J. Kox, Martin J. Klein, Robert Schulmann ;Subject * 1995: A. J. Kox and Daniel M. Siegel, ''No Truth Except in the Details: Essays in Honor of Martin J. Klein.''

Kluwer Academic Publishers Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...

. .

References

Other sources

* Academic biography i
Pais Prize announcement
AIP Center for History of Physics ''Newsletter,'' Volume XXXVII, No. 2, Fall 2005. *

an
past editors.

Martin J. Klein Papers (MS 1866).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Martin J. 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers American historians of science Yale University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Columbia College (New York) alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Case Western Reserve University faculty People from the Bronx Historians from New York (state) James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni American male non-fiction writers Academics of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies