1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910493170803321

Autore

Higgitt Rebekah

Titolo

Recreating Newton : Newtonian biography and the making of nineteenth-century history of science / / by Rebekah Higgitt

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Abingdon, Oxon : , : Routledge, , 2016

ISBN

0-8229-4477-4

0-8229-8179-3

1-315-65306-0

1-317-31494-8

1-281-12503-2

9786611125035

1-85196-547-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (297 p.)

Collana

Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century ; ; Number 2

Disciplina

530.092

Soggetti

Scientists - History and criticism

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

First published 2007 by Pickering & Chatto (Publishers) Limited.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Acknowledgements; List of Illustrations and Tables; Introduction; 1 Jean-Baptiste Biot's 'Newton' and its English Translation (1822-1829); 2 David Brewster's Life of Sir Isaac newton (1831): Defending the Hero; 3 Francis Baily's Account of the Revd John Flamsteed (1835); 4 Newtonian Studies and the History of Science 1835-1855; 5 David Brewster's Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton (1855): The 'Regretful Witness'; 6 The 'Mythical' and the 'Historical' Newton; Conclusion; Notes; Appendix: Translations of Quotations from Biot's 'Newton' in Chapter 1; Works Cited; Index

Sommario/riassunto

Higgitt examines Isaac Newton's changing legacy during the nineteenth century. She focuses on 1820-70, a period that saw the creation of the specialized and secularized role of the 'scientist'. At the same time, researchers gained better access to Newton's archives. These were used both by those who wished to undermine the traditional, idealised depiction of scientific genius and those who felt obliged to defend Newtonian hagiography. Higgitt shows how debates about Newton's



character stimulated historical scholarship and led to the development of a new expertise in the history of science.