Francis Romeril Maddison (27 July 1927 – 12 July 2006) was an English historian and

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

. He was

Curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

of the History of Science Museum in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England. Francis Maddison was born in

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. He was educated at Hounslow College and

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, where he initially studied Modern Languages and then changed to Modern History. Maddison was President of the Oxford University Archaeological Society. He collaborated with R. J. C. Atkinson, who supervised him when he directed archaeological excavations at

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

and Dorchester in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. In 1949, Maddison was a member of the

British School at Rome The British School at Rome (BSR) is a British interdisciplinary research centre supporting the arts, humanities and architecture established in Rome. Historical and archaeological study are at the core of its activities. History The British Sc ...

expedition to

Leptis Magna Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by #Names, other names in classical antiquity, antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean. Established as a Punic people, Puni ...

Tripolitana Tripolitania (), historically known as the Tripoli region, is a historic region and former province of Libya. The region had been settled since antiquity, first coming to prominence as part of the Carthaginian empire. Following the defeat ...

(now

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

). He then became an assistant archivist, first at Glamorgan County Record Office, followed by

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. He became assistant curator at the Museum of the History of Science at the encouragement of the head curator, C. H. Josten. Maddison's expertise in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, initially learnt under the tutelage of his father, was reinforced through the museum's extensive collection of Arabic-Islamic

astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

s. He also has research interests in the history of

horology Chronometry or horology () is the science studying the measurement of time and timekeeping. Chronometry enables the establishment of standard measurements of time, which have applications in a broad range of social and scientific areas. ''Hor ...

, time measurement, and early sea

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

. He was promoted to Curator in 1964 on the retirement of C. H. Josten and held the post for thirty years until his own retirement in 1994. In 1965, he was made a

Fellow 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 society, learned or professional society, p ...

Linacre College, Oxford Linacre College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college was founded in 1962 and is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), founder of the Royal College of Ph ...

, becoming an Emeritus Fellow in 1994. He was the second president of the Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science, founded in 1987 by Jean Gimpel. In 1978, Maddison was elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

. In 1983, he was elected to the

International Academy of the History of Science 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. Sig ...

. On his retirement in 1994 he was presented with a festschrift containing essays by 20 eminent academics from the disciplines of linguistics and the history of science. Contributors included J. W. Allan (Oxford), Giles Barber (Oxford), Silvio Bedini (Washington), John Bergsagel (Copenhagen), John North (Groningen), Brian Scott (Belfast), Charles Dowsett (Oxford).W. D. Hackmann and A. J. Turner (eds.), ''Learning, Language and Invention — Essays Presented to Francis Maddison''. Variorum and the Société Internationale de l'Astrolabe, 1994. Maddison's first wife was Audrey Kent (died 2004), with whom he had a daughter and a son. He had another son with his second wife, Patricia Brown.

Works

* F. R. Maddison, ''A Supplement to a Catalogue of Scientific Instruments in the Collection of J. A. Billmeir Esq C.B.E. Exhibited by the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford''. Frank Partridge & Sons, 1957. * F. R. Maddison, Margaret Pelling, Charles Webster (ed.), ''Essays on the Life and Work of Thomas Linacre c. 1460-1524''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1977. * E. Savage-Smith, F. R. Maddison, et al., ''Science, Tools & Magic''. Oxford University Press, 1997. Two volumes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maddison, Francis 1927 births 2006 deaths People from Hounslow Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English archaeologists English curators British historians of science Technology in the medieval Islamic world Fellows of Linacre College, Oxford Directors of museums in the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London 20th-century English historians