Silvio Bedini
Encyclopedia
Silvio Bedini was an American
historian
, specialising in early scientific instruments. He was Historian Emeritus
of the Smithsonian Institution
, where he served on the professional staff for twenty-five years, retiring in 1987.
in 1917.
In 1958 he accepted an invitation to write a brochure
about the history of his hometown for its 250th anniversary
, a project that just three months later resulted in a 411-page book titled Ridgefield in Review.
In 1961 he accepted the offer of a position in Washington, D.C.
as curator
at the Smithsonian Institution in the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History
), which was under construction.
, and in 1997 in Darmstadt, Germany he was awarded the Paul-Bunge-Preis at the General Assembly of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry "for the book of foremost quality on the history of scientific instruments."
In 2000, in Munich, Germany he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci
Medal, "the highest recognition from the Society of the History of Technology."
, the American Antiquarian Society
, the Society of American Historians, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Instrument Society (London), the Astrolabe Society (Paris), the Surveyors Historical Society, and most recently, the DC Association of Land Surveyors, which extended to him an Honorary Membership in December 2003.
Bedini was completing his twenty-third book.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, specialising in early scientific instruments. He was Historian Emeritus
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
, where he served on the professional staff for twenty-five years, retiring in 1987.
Biography
Bedini was born in the Colonial town of Ridgefield, ConnecticutRidgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 24,638 at the 2010 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough, is defined by the U.S...
in 1917.
In 1958 he accepted an invitation to write a brochure
Brochure
A brochure is a type of leaflet. Brochures are most commonly found at places that tourists frequently visit, such as museums, major shops, and tourist information. Brochure racks or stands may suggest visits to amusement parks and other points of interest...
about the history of his hometown for its 250th anniversary
Anniversary
An anniversary is a day that commemorates or celebrates a past event that occurred on the same day of the year as the initial event. For example, the first event is the initial occurrence or, if planned, the inaugural of the event. One year later would be the first anniversary of that event...
, a project that just three months later resulted in a 411-page book titled Ridgefield in Review.
In 1961 he accepted the offer of a position in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
at the Smithsonian Institution in the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
), which was under construction.
Awards
For his research and publications in 1962 Bedini received the Abbott Payson Award of the Society for the History of TechnologySociety for the History of Technology
The Society for the History of Technology, or SHOT, is the primary professional society for historians of technology. Founded in 1958, its flagship publication is the journal Technology and Culture...
, and in 1997 in Darmstadt, Germany he was awarded the Paul-Bunge-Preis at the General Assembly of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry "for the book of foremost quality on the history of scientific instruments."
In 2000, in Munich, Germany he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
Medal, "the highest recognition from the Society of the History of Technology."
Memberships
His memberships include the American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, the American Antiquarian Society
American Antiquarian Society
The American Antiquarian Society , located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and national research library of pre-twentieth century American History and culture. Its main building, known also as Antiquarian Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark...
, the Society of American Historians, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Instrument Society (London), the Astrolabe Society (Paris), the Surveyors Historical Society, and most recently, the DC Association of Land Surveyors, which extended to him an Honorary Membership in December 2003.
Bedini was completing his twenty-third book.
1950s
- "Johann Philipp Trefler: Clockmaker of Augsburg", Bulletin of the National Association of Watch and Clock CollectorsNational Association of Watch and Clock CollectorsThe National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors is an American non-profit organization with about 18,000 members.The NAWCC was founded in 1943 by members of the Horological Society of New York and the Philadelphia Watchmakers' Guild who wished to create a national organization...
(1956–1957), reprinted as pamphlet. (1957). - Ridgefield in Review. (1958).
1960s
- Agent for the Archduke: Another chapter in the story of Johann Phillip Treffler, Clockmaker of Augsburg. (1961).
- XIVth and XVth century public clocks of the papal marches. (1962).
- Galileo GalileiGalileo GalileiGalileo Galilei , was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism...
and time measurement: A re-examination of pertinent documents. (1963). - "The scent of time: A study of the use of fire and incense for time measurement in Oriental countries" (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new ser). (1963).
- "The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology", Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35, United States National Museum Bulletin, Volume 240, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. (1966).
- Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers. (1964).
- The makers of Galileo's scientific instruments. (1964).
- "Mechanical Universe. The Astrarium of Giovanni de Dondi" from Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, Volume 56, Part 5. (1966).
- Sundials and dialling: A bibliography of Italian and other references. (1966).
- Seventeenth century magnetic timepieces. (1969).
1970s
- Benjamin BannekerBenjamin BannekerBenjamin Banneker was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer.-Family history and early life:It is difficult to verify much of Benjamin Banneker's family history...
and the survey of the District of ColumbiaHistory of Washington, D.C.The history of Washington, D.C. is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. Originally inhabited by an Algonquian-speaking people known as the Nacotchtank, the site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was originally selected by President George Washington. The city came...
, 1791. (1971). - The tube of long vision : (the physical characteristics of the early 17th Century telescope). (1971).
- The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The Definitive Biography of the First Black Man of Science. (1972).
- Moon Man's Greatest Adventure (with Wernher von; Whipple, Fred L. and Thomas, Davis Braun. (1973).
- Thinkers and tinkers: Early American men of science. (1975).
- The Spotted Stones. (Library Binding - 1978).
1980s
- Introduction—the Vatican's astronomical paintings and the Institute of the Sciences of Bologna. (1980).
- Thinkers and Tinkers: Early American Men of Science. (1980).
- Th. JeffersonThomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and science: Exhibition catalogue. (1981). - Declaration of IndependenceUnited States Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
Desk, Relic of Revolution. (1982). - Thinkers and Tinkers: Early Men of Science. (1983).
- "At the Sign of the Compass and Quadrant: The Life and Times of Anthony Lamb" (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society). (1984).
- "The scientific instruments of the Lewis and Clark expeditionLewis and Clark ExpeditionThe Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
", Great Plains Quarterly. (1984). - Thomas Jefferson and His Copying Machines (Monticello monograph series). (1984)
- Clockwork cosmos: Bernardo Facini and the Farnese planisferologio (Studi e testi). (1985).
- Thomas Jefferson and American vertebrate paleontology (Virginia Division of Mineral Resources publication). (1985).
- Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers. (1986).
- Marshall's meridian instrument. (1987).
1990s
- Thomas Jefferson: Statesman of Science. (1990).
- The Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
Encyclopedia. (1991). - The pulse of time : Galileo Galilei, the determination of longitude, and the pendulum clock. (1991).
- Science and Instruments in Seventeenth-Century ItalyItalian RenaissanceThe Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
(Collected Studies Series, Cs448). (1994). - The Trail of Time : Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia, Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
. (1994). ISBN 0-521-37482-0 - "The Mace and the Gavel: Symbols of Government in America", (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society). (1997).
- Pope's Elephant: An Elephant's Journey from Deep in India to the Heart of Rome. (1997).
- Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration: An Encyclopedia, (with David Buisseret). (1998).
- Maryland Historical Magazine - Summer 1998 (Vol. 93 No. 2) (with Michael P. McCarthy, Merle T. Cole and Karen Robbins). (1998).
- The Pope's Elephant, Nashville, Sanders. (1998).
- Patrons, Artisans and Instruments of Science, 1600-1750, (Collected Studies, Cs635.), (1999)
2000s
- William ChurtonWilliam ChurtonWilliam Churton was an early North Carolina surveyor.He moved to Great Britain's North American colonies in about 1749 as a surveyor and cartographer for the Granville District which included all of North Carolina north of the 35 degree, 34 minute parallel, a strip wide. This line had only been...
(fl.FloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1749-1767): North Carolina Cartographer (Professional surveyor). (2001). - With Compass and Chain: Early American Surveyors and Their Instruments. (2001).
- Jefferson and Science (with Donald Fleming). (2002).
External links
- Silvio A. Bedini Papers, 1952-1996 Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Patricia Sullivan, "Silvio A. Bedini 1917–2007", ACSM Bulletin (December 2007) 25.
- Silvio Bedini, The Times Obituaries (January 1, 2008).
- Marc and Jackie Cheves, In Memoriam: Silvio Bedini, The American Surveyor (December 2007).
- Robert C. Post, "Silvio A. Bedini, 1917–2007", Technology and Culture 49 (2008).