Charles Coulston Gillispie
Encyclopedia
Charles Coulston Gillispie (born 1918) is an American
historian of science, and the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History of Science, Emeritus at Princeton University
.
The son of Raymond Livingston Gillispie, Gillispie grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
. He attended Wesleyan University
, graduating in 1940, and gained his PhD from Harvard University
in 1949.
Gillispie joined the Department of History at Princeton University, establishing the Program in History of Science at Princeton in the 1960s. He headed the editorial board of the Dictionary of Scientific Biography
, for which he received the Dartmouth Medal
in 1981. Gillispie also received the Pfizer Award
in 1981. He was awarded the George Sarton Medal
in 1984 and the Balzan Prize
in 1997 for "the extraordinary contribution he has made to the history and philosophy of science by his intellectually vigorous, precise works, as well as his editing of a great reference work".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian of science, and the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History of Science, Emeritus at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
.
The son of Raymond Livingston Gillispie, Gillispie grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
. He attended Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, graduating in 1940, and gained his PhD from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1949.
Gillispie joined the Department of History at Princeton University, establishing the Program in History of Science at Princeton in the 1960s. He headed the editorial board of the Dictionary of Scientific Biography
Dictionary of Scientific Biography
The Dictionary of Scientific Biography is a scholarly reference work that was published from 1970 through 1980. It is supplemented by the New Dictionary of Scientific Biography and an electronic version that includes both publications....
, for which he received the Dartmouth Medal
Dartmouth Medal
The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year.-History:...
in 1981. Gillispie also received the Pfizer Award
Pfizer Award
The Pfizer Award is awarded annually by the History of Science Society "in recognition of an outstanding book dealing with the history of science"- Pfizer Awardees :...
in 1981. He was awarded the George Sarton Medal
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 an historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifetime of scholarly achievement" in the field...
in 1984 and the Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
in 1997 for "the extraordinary contribution he has made to the history and philosophy of science by his intellectually vigorous, precise works, as well as his editing of a great reference work".
Works
- Genesis and geology: a study in the relations of scientific thought, natural theology, and social opinion in Britain, 1790-1850, 1951
- The edge of objectivity: an essay in the history of scientific ideas, 1960
- Lazare Carnot savant, 1971
- Science and polity in France at the end of the old regime, 1980. Winner of the 1981 Pfizer AwardPfizer AwardThe Pfizer Award is awarded annually by the History of Science Society "in recognition of an outstanding book dealing with the history of science"- Pfizer Awardees :...
. - Science and Polity in France: The Revolutionary and Napoleonic Years. (2004)
- The Montgolfier brothers and the invention of aviation, 1783-1784, 1983
- Pierre-Simon Laplace, 1749-1827: a life in exact science, 1997
- Essays and reviews in history and history of science, 2006