The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Third Edition, Volume I (Abbe to Leavitt)

From the story behind Einstein's revolutionary theory of relativity to Oppenheimer's opposition to U.S. construction of the hydrogen bomb, from the prejudice against women that barred Lise Meitner from working in a major laboratory to the false nose worn by Tycho Brahe after his own was cut off in a duel, the lives of the world's great scientists form a fascinating backdrop to their stunning achievements. Now in its second edition, The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists offers in one convenient volume over 1,200 comprehensive and accessible introductions to the visionary men and women of astronomy, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, engineering and technology, and geology. In addition to recounting basic biographical information, each entry details the significance of each scientist's landmark contributions while providing intriguing insights into the complicated process--including meditation, observation, experimentation, exploration, debate, and synthesis--that culminated in the theories and discoveries that often define our understanding of the world around us. Throughout, the dictionary stresses how each scientist operated in a unique historical and scientific context, and how their lives and work were affected by their relationships with other scientists as well as by personal, social, political, religious, and artistic concerns. Over 150 illustrations, seven chronological reviews of significant developments in major scientific fields, an extensive glossary with more than 2,000 definitions, complete lists of Nobel prizewinners in science and medicine, and a comprehensive index round out the dictionary. The new edition combines in one convenient volume the material originally published in six separate books, eliminating the need to know exactly which field a particular scientists may have practiced in before looking up their entry. Nearly 100 new entries have been added, expanding the dictionary's multicultural coverage, with an emphasis on the contributions of women The entries on scientists active since the publication of the first edition have been updated, and the unified glossary has been expanded with many new terms. Unrivaled in scope and authority, The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Second Edition is a wonderfully engaging reference that introduces all readers--students and scientists alike--to the personalities behind the discoveries that have forever altered our scientific landscape.

About the Editor
Consultant editor Roy Porter is Reader in the Social History of Medicine at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine in London. He is the author of English Society in the Eighteenth Century (1982), A Social History of Madness (1987), and has co-edited the Macmillan Dictionary of the History of Science (1981).