The History of Science Society
George Sarton became inspired by the work of Leonardo Da Vinci, so he attempted to chronicle the entire history of scientific discovery. Before his death in March of 1956, Sarton had managed to tell the story of science up until the 14th century. Sarton and Lawrence Joseph Henderson decided to form the History of Science Society to try and finish the work Sarton had started.
The Society has a quarterly publication called Isis, which was originally published and written in four different languages. The quarterly book is full of peer-reviewed research, book reviews and essays related to the history of science.
The Society was founded to ensure the journal would be published well into the future, and anyone can join. The Society currently counts 3,000 members around the world, and it publishes quite a bit more than just Isis. Osiris is the annual component, revived in 1985 after a roughly 20 year hiatus, and the company also publishes IsisCB, or “current bibliography”, which collects the citations used in the Society’s reporting throughout the year.
The Society also has yearly meetings. Lately, those meetings have been spread over two and a half days, covering everything from space to pharmaceuticals and the natural sciences. Today’s Society is an international organization, but it primarily represents the North American scientific community.
The Society is a non-profit organization, incorporated in Washington D.C. The organization has a governing body consisting of 22 officials, and the day-to-day operations are carried out by the group’s Executive Office located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
About the Author: Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media and Telecom group. You may contact Phin on his Phineas Upham website or Twitter page.