Biomaterial Database

The changing role of the historiography of chemistry in continental Europe since 1800. 2011

Marco Beretta

Museo Galileo, Florence, Italy. m.beretta@museogalileo.it

Throughout the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, many distinguished chemists attributed an important, at times crucial, role to the historical narrative. When the first professional histories were published during the nineteenth century, their role was intimately interwoven with the identity of chemistry, a science that in spite (or because) of its rapidly growing importance in the industrialisation of Europe, did not have the same reputation as either the exact sciences or the medical-biological disciplines. With the works by Berthelot, Lippmann, and Mieli, the history of chemistry focused on its rich and varied documentary sources. The histories of chemistry produced during this period set the ground for a variety of approaches that reflect, to a large degree, the main currents of old and recent history of science. Moreover, historians of chemistry, both continental and Anglo-American, had a prominent role in establishing the history of science as an independent discipline.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D002621	Chemistry	A basic science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter; and the reactions that occur between substances and the associated energy exchange.
D005060	Europe	The continent north of AFRICA, west of ASIA and east of the ATLANTIC OCEAN.	Northern Europe,Southern Europe,Western Europe
D006663	Historiography	The writing of history; the principles, theory, and history of historical writing; the product of historical writing. (Webster, 3d ed)	Historiographies
D012586	Science	The study of natural phenomena by observation, measurement, and experimentation.	Sciences
D049672	History, 19th Century	Time period from 1801 through 1900 of the common era.	19th Century History,19th Cent. History (Medicine),19th Cent. History of Medicine,19th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 19th Century,History of Medicine, 19th Cent.,History, Nineteenth Century,Medical History, 19th Cent.,Medicine, 19th Cent.,19th Cent. Histories (Medicine),19th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 19th (Medicine),Cent. History, 19th (Medicine),Century Histories, 19th,Century Histories, Nineteenth,Century History, 19th,Century History, Nineteenth,Histories, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 19th Century,Histories, Nineteenth Century,History, 19th Cent. (Medicine),Nineteenth Century Histories,Nineteenth Century History
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History
D049674	History, 21st Century	Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.	21st Century History,21st Cent. History (Medicine),21st Cent. History of Medicine,21st Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 21st Century,History of Medicine, 21st Cent.,History, Twenty-first Century,Medical History, 21st Cent.,Medicine, 21st Cent.,21st Cent. Histories (Medicine),21st Cent. Medicines,21st Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 21st (Medicine),Cent. History, 21st (Medicine),Cent. Medicine, 21st,Cent. Medicines, 21st,Century Histories, 21st,Century Histories, Twenty-first,Century History, 21st,Century History, Twenty-first,Histories, 21st Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 21st Century,Histories, Twenty-first Century,History, 21st Cent. (Medicine),History, Twenty first Century,Medicines, 21st Cent.,Twenty-first Century Histories,Twenty-first Century History