Dr. Robert Fox (born 7 October 1938) MA,

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

, FSA

FRHistS The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

is a leading

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

authority on the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

. He is interested in the history of sciences and technology in Europe from the 18th century onwards. He has published extensively. His book ''The Savant and the State'' examines science, culture and politics in France between 1814 and 1914, while ''Science without Frontiers'' examines developments from the late nineteenth-century until the

Second World War 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 ...

. In 2015, Fox received 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 premier award of the international

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 ...

(HSS). He was recognized as a Chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

by France's Ministry of Culture in 2006.

Education

Robert Fox attended the Imperial College of Science and Technology at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

from 1957 to 1958, followed by

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

. He received a BA ( Oxon) in

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 ...

in 1961, an MA (Oxon) in 1965, and a D.Phil. (Oxon) from the Faculty of Modern History in 1967, supervised by

Alistair Cameron Crombie Alistair Cameron Crombie (4 November 1915 – 9 February 1996) was an Australian historian of science who began his career as a zoologist. He was noted for his contributions to research on competition between species before turning to history. ...

. His thesis was ''The study of the thermal properties of gases in relation to physical theory from Montgolfier to Regnault''.

Career

Robert Fox taught at the

University of Lancaster Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

between 1966 and 1988, first as a lecturer and later as professor of the History of Science. Between 1986 and 1988, Fox was director of research at the Centre de recherche en histoire des sciences et des techniques (CRHST) at the Cité des sciences et de l'industrie in Paris, and assistant director of the

Science Museum, London The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019. Like other publicly funded ...

. In 1988, Fox became a professor of history of science at the University of Oxford; retiring from that position in 2006. Fox is now an

Emeritus Professor ''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 ...

of the history of science at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, an Emeritus Fellow of Linacre College and an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...

. He was succeeded as chair of the history of science by Pietro Corsi. Fox was the first organizer of the annual

Thomas Harriot Thomas Harriot (; – 2 July 1621), also spelled Harriott, Hariot or Heriot, was an English astronomer, mathematician, ethnographer and translator to whom the theory of refraction is attributed. Thomas Harriot was also recognized for his con ...

Lectures at Oriel College, Oxford. He has edited two volumes based on the lecture series: ''Thomas Harriot. An Elizabethan Man of Science'' (2000) and ''Thomas Harriot and His World. Mathematics, Exploration, and Natural Philosophy in Early Modern England'' (2012). Since 2006, Fox has been a visiting professor at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

, the

Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) () is one of the largest universities in the Czech Republic with 8 faculties, and is one of the oldest institutes of technology in Central Europe. It is also the oldest non-military technical universi ...

, the Horning Visiting Scholar at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

(2013), and the Gordon Cain Distinguished Fellow at the

Chemical Heritage Foundation The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

(2013). Fox was the founding president of the European Society for the History of Science, which was founded on 12 October 2003, and served through 2006. Fox has also served as president of the

British Society for the History of Science The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) was founded in 1947 by Francis Butler, Joan Eyles and Victor Eyles. Overview It is Britain's largest learned society devoted to the history of science, technology, and medicine. The society' ...

and the

International Union of History and Philosophy of Science The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology is one of the members of the International Science Council (ISC). It was founded in 1955 by merging the International Union of History of Science (IUHS) and the Internation ...

. Between 2008 and 2014, Fox edited '' Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science''. Fox has appeared on the BBC radio program '' In Our Time'', discussing the work of the Curie family: Marie and

Pierre Curie Pierre Curie ( ; ; 15 May 1859 – 19 April 1906) was a French physicist, Radiochemistry, radiochemist, and a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity, and radioactivity. He shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics with his wife, ...

, their daughter

Irène Joliot-Curie Irène Joliot-Curie (; ; 12 September 1897 – 17 March 1956) was a French chemist and physicist who received the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with her husband, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity. They were ...

and her husband

Frédéric Joliot-Curie Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie (; ; 19 March 1900 – 14 August 1958) was a French chemist and physicist who received the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with his wife, Irène Joliot-Curie, for their discovery of induced radioactivity. They were t ...

.BBC Radio 4, In Our Time, 26 March 2015
'' The Curies''

Awards and honors

* 2018, Gustav Neuenschwander Prize, the lifetime award of the European Society for the History of Science * 2017, Alexandre Koyré Medal, the lifetime career award of 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 ...

* 2015,

, the premier award of the international

(HSS) * 2006, Chevalier of the

, French Ministry of Culture * 2004, Oskar von Miller Gold Medal,

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science museum, science and technology museum, technology, with a ...

, Munich * 1998, Dickinson Medal of the Newcomen Society for the History of Technology * 1989, Elected as 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 ...

* 1988, Chevalier in the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

* 1986, Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

* 1986, Full Member of the

(Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences) * 1981, Corresponding member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences * 1974, Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

Bibliography

Fox has published extensively as an author, editor and contributor. Some of his works include: * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Robert 1938 births Living people Fellows of Linacre College, Oxford 20th-century English historians 21st-century British historians 20th-century British biographers 21st-century British biographers Historians of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Members of the International Academy of the History of Science Historians of the University of Oxford Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Academics of Lancaster University People associated with the Science Museum, London