Simon J. Schaffer (born 1 January 1955) is a professor of the history and philosophy of science at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and was editor of ''

The British Journal for the History of Science ''The British Journal for the History of Science'' (a.k.a. ''BJHS'') is an international academic journal published quarterly by Cambridge University Press in association with the British Society for the History of Science. It was founded under ...

'' from 2004 to 2009.

Early life and education

Schaffer was born in Southampton in 1955. His family moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia that same year, returning to the UK in 1965 to live in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. His father, Bernard, was an academic social scientist who was a professorial fellow at the

Institute of Development Studies The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) is a think tank affiliated with the University of Sussex in Brighton, England, and based on its campus in Falmer, East Sussex. It delivers research and teaching in the area of development studies, ...

at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

from 1966 until his death in 1984. Simon's mother, Sheila, who died in 2010, was a university librarian and Labour councillor who was Mayor of Brighton in 1995. Schaffer attended Varndean Grammar School for Boys in Brighton before studying

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, specialising in the history and philosophy of science in his final year. While at Trinity, he captained the winning college team in the 1974 ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

''. After completing his undergraduate degree, Schaffer went to

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 ...

for a year as a

Kennedy Scholar Kennedy Scholarships provide full funding for up to ten British post-graduate students to study at either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Susan Hockfield, the sixteenth president of MIT, described the scho ...

to study the history of science. He returned to Cambridge in 1976, and gained his PhD in 1980 with the thesis ''Newtonian cosmology and the steady state''.

Career

Schaffer has taught at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

. Since 1985, he has been a Fellow of

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and women. The college is named after one of th ...

. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, including '' Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life'' with Steven Shapin. In addition to his work at Cambridge, he has been a presenter on the BBC, in particular the series '' Light Fantastic'' broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in 2004. He has been a regular contributor and reviewer for the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published twice monthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review o ...

.''

Awards and honours

In 2005, Schaffer shared the

Erasmus Prize The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the board of the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation to individuals or institutions that have made exceptional contributions to culture, society, or social science in Europe and the rest of the world. I ...

with Steven Shapin for ''Leviathan and the Air-Pump''. In 2013, he received the Sarton Medal, the most prestigious honor awarded 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 ...

, in recognition of his "lifetime of scholarly achievement". In 2018, he received the

Dan David Prize The Dan David Prize is a major international award that recognizes and supports outstanding contributions to the study of history and other disciplines that shed light on the human past. It awards nine prizes of $300,000 each year to outstanding ...

Selected bibliography

* * *Schaffer, Simon (1995). 'Accurate Measurement is an English Science,' ''The Values of Precision.'' Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. . *

References

External links

Schaffer's page on the Department of History and Philosophy of Science website
at the University of Cambridge

��Ideas: How to Think about Science
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 27 June, continued 1 and 2 July 2008 (video)

Simon Schaffer's 2010 Tarner Lectures
"When the stars threw down their spears": Histories of Astronomy and Empire
Simon Schaffer's Videos at Imperial College Simon Schaffer's contributor page for the ''London Review of Books''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schaffer, Simon British historians British philosophers British Jews Jewish philosophers 1955 births Living people Harvard University alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Darwin College, Cambridge Historians of science Philosophers of science Contestants on University Challenge History journal editors Kennedy Scholarships