Silvio A. Bedini

Silvio A. Bedini was born in 1917 in Ridgefield, Connecticut, and died more than 90 years later outside Washington DC. He was a historian of science and a writer, authoring 23 books and innumerable articles and other small pieces. His interests were broad and his experience varied. He studied comparative literature at Columbia University, was a cryptographer for the Army in WW2, and ran a construction and landscaping business. His professional expertise spanned early American surveying instruments, 17th century Italian clockmaking, and ancient Asian timekeeping. After 15 years in administration at the Smithsonian Institution, Bedini served for 9 years as its Keeper of Rare Books before retiring as Historian Emeritus in 1987. He was a member of numerous professional societies, and was a recipient of the Abbott Payson Usher Award, the Paul Bunge Prize, and the highly recognized Leonardo da Vinci Medal from the Society of the History of Technology.