Although unrecognized for his scientific achievements during his life, Gregor Mendel pioneered our modern understanding of the gene, work that shaped the field of genetics and advances in biology and medicine. The field that he set in motion 200 years ago lies at the center of current ethical debates about the future of humanity, the limits of…

In 1900, three botanists claimed they had found regularities in inheritance, which soon would be known as Mendel's Laws, without knowing the work of Gregor Mendel or of each other. Their claims of independent (re)discovery have been thoroughly studied during the past decades, with various outcomes. The case is still of interest today as it offers…

It has been 150 years since D.I. Mendeleev formulated the Periodic law and expressed it visually in the form of a table of elements in 1869. As is clearly well known today, Mendeleev's ideas, confirmed by the discovery of the elements he predicted, turned out to be very promising indeed. However, Mendeleev was not the first, nor the only scientist…

Oscillating chemical reactions in the homogeneous phase have been studied intensively only since the mid-1960s, but they were known since 1920, having as forerunners the chemist William C. Bray and an "atypical" chemist Alfred J. Lotka. This contribution is the result of a careful reading of their literature and patient research into…

This dissertation proposes to answer several questions that arise from the actions of American scientists between 1840 and 1900. How did the broader organization of science in the late nineteenth century create a system of professional disciplines? Why did the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) form, and why did specialized…

Teaching false theories goes against the general pedagogical and philosophical belief that we must only teach and learn what is true. In general, the goal of pedagogy is taken to be epistemic: to gain knowledge and avoid ignorance. In this article, I argue that for realists and antirealists alike, epistemological and pedagogical goals have to come…

The British scientist Augustus Matthiessen (1831-1870) is widely known for his investigations on the influence of temperature on the electric conductivity of metals and alloys. However, his contributions to other areas of science throughout his career are not widely acknowledged. His research on the electrolytic decomposition of metallic salts…

This paper is an attempt to reconstruct how C.V. Raman, a peripheral scientist in the early 20th century colonial India, managed to develop a research programme in physical optics from his remote colonial location. His attempts at self-training and self-education eventually led him to the discovery of the Raman Effect and to the Nobel Prize in…

Accidental discoveries have been of significant value in the progress of science. Although accidental discoveries are more common in pharmacology and chemistry, other branches of science have also benefited from such discoveries. While most discoveries are the result of persistent research, famous accidental discoveries provide a fascinating…

This paper analyses the real origin and nature of scientific errors against claims of science critics, by examining a number of examples from the history of electricity and optics. This analysis leads to a conclusion that errors are a natural and unavoidable part of scientific process. If made available to students, through their science teachers,…

James Clerk Maxwell "translated" Michael Faraday's experimentally-based field theory into the mathematical representation now known as "Maxwell's Equations." Working with a variety of mathematical representations and physical models Maxwell extended the reach of Faraday's theory and brought it into consistency with other…

Regardless of the increased interest in technological innovation in universities, relatively little is known about the technology developed by academic scientists. Long-term analyses of researchers' technological contribution are notably missing. This paper examines university-based technology in Finland during the period 1900-85. The focus is on…

This paper discusses the findings of a search for the intellectual tools used by Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) in his chemistry, education, and theology documents. Priestley's enquiring democratic view of knowledge was applicable in all three areas and constitutes a significant part of his lifework. Current epistemological issues in science…

Jose Maria Albareda (1902-1966) was an applied chemist and a prominent member of the Roman Catholic organization, Opus Dei, who played a crucial role in organizing the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC), the new scientific institution created by the Franco regime in 1939. The paper analyses first the formative years in…

Monk and Osborne ("Sci Educ" 81:405-424, 1997) provide a rigorous justification for why history and philosophy of science should be incorporated as an integral component of instruction and a model for how history of science should be used to promote learning of and about science. In the following essay we critique how history of science is used on…