Marie Boas Hall (October 18, 1919 – February 23, 2009) was an American historian of science and is considered one of the postwar period pioneers of the study of the

Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of History of science, modern science during the early modern period, when developments in History of mathematics#Mathematics during the Scientific Revolution, mathemati ...

during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Early life and education

Boas was born Marie Boas in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, on October 18, 1919.. Her older brother was mathematician

Ralph P. Boas Jr. Ralph Philip Boas Jr. (August 8, 1912 – July 25, 1992) was a mathematician, teacher, and journal editor. He wrote over 200 papers, mainly in the fields of real and complex analysis.. Biography He was born in Walla Walla, Washington, the son ...

Marie Boas Hall (1919-2009)
, ''The Times'', 20 March 2009 She graduated from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1940. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she worked in the

MIT Radiation Laboratory The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was a microwave and radar research laboratory located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was first created in October 1940 and operated until 3 ...

with

Henry Guerlac Henry Edward Guerlac (June 14, 1910 – May 29, 1985) was an American historian of science. He was a professor at Cornell University, where he was the Goldwin Smith Professor of History and a member of the Department of History. Biography Guerla ...

in writing the history of the laboratory and of the operational use of

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

during the war. She continued her work with Guerlac at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and received her PhD in 1949. Her thesis covered the mechanical philosophy of

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

and was published in the history of science journal ''

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

'' in 1952.

Career

After receiving her doctorate from

, she took a teaching position at the

University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...

and subsequently moved to

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

Marie Boas went to England from the US, "to work on
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...
's papers, and met Hall, who was working on
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...
's. In 1957 she returned to the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
; and in 1959 Hall, whose first marriage had ended in divorce, joined her there and they were married. Two years later they went to
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
. In 1963 they were invited back to London, to
Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...
, where Hall became the first professor of the history of science and she senior lecturer. There they trained many graduate students."

She was elected a Fellow of 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 ...

in 1955. She won the

George Sarton Medal The George Sarton Medal is the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society. It has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to a historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifet ...

, the most prestigious award of the

History of Science Society The History of Science Society (HSS), founded in 1924, is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. The society has over 3,000 members worldwide. It publishes the quarterly journal ''Isis'' and the yearly ...

, together with her husband

Alfred Rupert Hall Alfred Rupert Hall (26 July 1920 – 5 February 2009) was a prominent British historian of science, known as editor of a collection of Isaac Newton's unpublished scientific papers (1962), and Newton's correspondence, in 1977. Life Hall was born ...

in 1981.

Works

* ''Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958. * ''The Scientific Renaissance, 1450-1630.'' New York: Harper, 1962. * ''Robert Boyle on Natural Philosophy: An Essay, with Selections from His Writings.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1965. * ''Nature and Nature's Laws. Documents of the Scientific Revolution.'' London: Macmillan, 1970. * ''The Mechanical Philosophy.'' New York: Arno Press, 1981. * ''All Scientists Now: The Royal Society in the Nineteenth Century.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
''Promoting Experimental Learning: Experiment and the Royal Society, 1660-1727.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
* ''Henry Oldenburg: Shaping the Royal Society.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

References

Sources

External links