D. ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY AND TEACH- 

 ING OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



21. NATIONAL SOCIETIES 

 DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE 



There is generally but one society concerning the history of science in each coun- 

 try, though in the larger countries it may be necessary to establish local sections or 

 branches in various districts. In addition to the society devoted to the history of 

 science, there may be others devoted to the history of medicine, the history of chem- 

 istry, etc. We shall not attempt to enumerate those other societies but restrict our- 

 selves to the main societies defined by our title. 



The term "national" in that title should not be understood in the sense of "official" 

 (approved and supported by the government ) ; the societies enumerated by us are not 

 official, or they are official only in an indirect way. 



The earliest of these societies is an English one founded in London in 1841, but 

 it soon ceased to exist. It is mentioned here pro memoria. 



1841: Historical Society of Science. — Founded by James Orchard Halliwell 

 (- Phillipps) in London 1841, it lasted only a year or two. For its publication 

 (2 vols.) see list of serials under the Society's name. The Society was duly con- 

 stituted under the presidency of the Duke of Sussex assisted by an imposing 

 council; Halliwell was the secretary. At the end of its vol. 1 (out of 2) one 

 may find its by-laws and a list of members. 

 H. W. Dickinson: J. O. Halliwell and the Historical Society of Science, 



London 1841 (Isis 18, 126-32, 1932). 



The first society which survived was the German one, born in 1901. We may 



thus say that the existing societies devoted to the history of science are all creations 



of the twentieth century. 



1901 : Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaf- 

 ten. — Founded at Hamburg, Sept. 25, 1901, by Karl Sudhoff and others. Pub- 

 lishes the Mitteilungen ((/.«.). 



The German Society met each year with the Versammlung Deutscher Natur- 

 forscher und Aerzte. Reports of its proceedings were issued by a German medical 

 journal ( name not indicated on the offprints ) and also by Janus. I have reports of 

 the 9th to 12th annual meetings, 1910-14, which were parts of the 82nd to 85th 

 meetings of the Deutsche Naturforscher. I also have reports of the meetings which 

 took place from 1920 to 1922, from 1926 to 1932. 



The German Society became in 1932 a group of the Academic. 

 The Deutsche Gesellschaft has been recently reorganized under the sfightly 

 different name Deutsche Vereinigung der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik. 

 Its first meeting was held on 24 September 1949. The president is Paul Diepgen, 

 director of the Medizinhistorisches Institut der Johannes Gutenberg Universitat in 

 Mainz, and the secretary, Dr. Johannes Stendel, (22c) Bonn, Reuterstr. 2 B. 



1907: Societa Italiana di Storia Critica delle Scienze Mediche e Naturali. — Founded 



at Perugia, October 9, 1907 by Domenico Barduzzi ( 1847-1929) and others. 



See our notes on the 1907 Atti della Societa and on the 1910 Rivista di storia 

 critica delle scienze ... 



LuiGi Castaldi and Umberto Tergolina: Trent' anni di vita della Societa 

 . . . (Ott. 1907-Ott. 1937). Cenni illustrativi e indice delle publicazioni sociali. 

 A cura dell' Ufficio stampa medica itafiana (122 p., Siena 1938). 



Address care of Museo di storia delle scienze, Piazza dei Giudici, 1, Firenze. 



