Johann Beckmann (1739–1811) was a German scientific author and coiner of the word

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

, to mean the science of trades. He was the first man to teach

and write about it as an academic subject.

Life

He was born on 4 June 1739 at

Hoya Hoya may refer to: Places *Hoya, Germany, a city in Lower Saxony, Germany *County of Hoya, a former state in present Germany *Hōya, Tokyo, now incorporated within Nishi-tokyo, Tokyo, Japan * Hoya, Hpruso, a place in Hpruso Township, Kayah, Myanma ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, where his father was postmaster and receiver of taxes. He was educated at Stade and the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

, where he studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

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 ...

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 ...

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, and public

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and administration. After completing his studies, in 1762 he made a study tour through Brunswick and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

examining mines, factories, natural history museums, private collections, universities and their professors. The death of his mother in 1762 having deprived him of his means of support, he went in 1763 on the invitation of the pastor of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

community,

Anton Friedrich Büsching Anton Friedrich Büsching (27 September 172428 May 1793) was a German geographer, historian, educator and theologian. His ''Erdbeschreibung'' ("Earth description") was the first geographical work of any scientific merit. He also did significant w ...

, the founder of the modern historic statistical method of geography, to teach natural history in the Lutheran gymnasium St. Petrischule in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia. This office he relinquished in 1765, and travelled in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, during 1765–66, where he studied the methods of working the mines, factories and foundries as well as collections of art and natural history. He made the acquaintance of

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

. (His travel diary of these journeys ''Schwedische Reise in den Jahren 1765–1766'' was published in Uppsala in 1911.) In 1766 he was appointed extraordinary professor of philosophy at

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

. There he lectured on political and domestic economy, and in 1768 he founded a botanic garden on the principles of Linnaeus. Such was his success that in 1770 he was appointed ordinary professor. He was in the habit of taking his students into the workshops, that they might acquire a practical as well as a theoretical knowledge of different processes and handicrafts. While thus engaged he determined to trace the history and describe the existing condition of each of the arts and sciences on which he was lecturing. But even Beckmann's industry and ardour were unable to overtake the amount of study necessary for this task. He therefore confined his attention to several practical arts and trades; and to these labors we owe his ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Erfindungen'' (1780–1805), translated into English as the ''History of Inventions, discoveries and origins'' (1797, 4th ed 1846) a work in which he relates the origin, history and recent condition of the various machines, utensils, etc., employed in trade and for domestic purposes. This work entitles Beckmann to be regarded as the founder of scientific

, a term which he was the first to use in 1772. Beckmann's approach was that of a scholar working in the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, and his analytical writings on technology mirrored the work of

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during t ...

and his Encyclopedie, and the Descriptions des Arts et Metiers. He must have been inspired by the taxonomic work of

and the '' Bibliothecae'' of

Albrecht von Haller Albrecht von Haller (also known as Albertus de Haller; 16 October 170812 December 1777) was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, encyclopedist, bibliographer and poet. A pupil of Herman Boerhaave and Jacob Winslow, he is sometimes r ...

. Nothing similar was being produced in English at that time. He was the first to write historical and critical accounts of the techniques of craft and manufacture and publish classifications of techniques. His goal was to produce a survey which would inspire others to make useful improvements. In 1772 Beckmann was elected a member of the

Royal Society of Göttingen Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

, and he contributed valuable scientific dissertations to its proceedings until 1783, when he withdrew from all further share in its work. He was also member of scientific societies in Celle, Halle, Munich, Erfurt, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Saint Petersburg. In 1784, he was appointed a Councillor to the Hanoverian Court. In 1790, he was elected a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...

. In 1809 he became member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands. He died on 3 February 1811. Klemm states ' eshould be credited with being the first reliable historian of inventions' and so must be regarded as the father of the study of the

History of Technology The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques by humans. Technology includes methods ranging from simple stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and information technology that has emerged since the 19 ...

A Johann Beckmann Society was founded in 1987 at Hoya to celebrate his life and work.There is no longer a web page.

Works

* * * ''Über Einrichtung der oeconomischen Vorlesungen'', Göttingen 1767. * ''Grundsatze der teutschen Landwirtschaft'', 1769, 1896 (''Basics of German Agriculture.'') * ''Physikalische-okonomoische Bibliothek'' 1770–1806 (a quarterly periodical of which 23 volumes were published) * (7th ed by 1823) * ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Erfindungen'', 5 vols., Leipzig/Göttingen, 1780–1805. Translated into English as the ''History of Inventions, discoveries and origins'' (1797, 4th ed 1846). * ''Anleitung zur Handelswissenschaft'', Göttingen, 1789. * ''Vorbereitung zur Warenkunde'' (1795–1800) (''Introduction to the Commodity Sciences.'') * ''Beitrage zur Okonomie, Technologie, Polizei- und Cameralwissenschaft'' (1777–1791, 1809) (''Guide to Technology, or to the knoweledge of crafts, factories and manufactories.'') * ''Entwurf der algemeinen Technologie'', Leipzig und Göttingen, 1806. (''Draft on general technology.'') * ''Schwedische Reise in den Jahren 1765–1766'', Uppsala, 1911 * ''Literatur der älteren Reisebeschreibungen: Nachrichten von ihren Verfassern, von Ihrem Inhalte'', Johann Friederich, Göttingen, 1804.

Notes

References

* * Friedrich Klemm, article 'Beckmann, Johann', in ''

Dictionary of Scientific Biography The ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'' is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980 by publisher Charles Scribner's Sons, with main editor the science historian Charles Coulston Gillispie, Charles Gillispie, from Pri ...

'' * There appear to be no other English language biographies, but German language ones are cited in Klemm.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckmann, Johann 1739 births 1811 deaths People from Nienburg (district) People from the Electorate of Hanover Uppsala University alumni German historians of science Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences German economists 19th-century agronomists 18th-century agronomists Members of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities 18th-century German scholars