Arnold Thackray
Arnold Wilfrid Thackray | |
---|---|
Born | northwest England | July 30, 1939
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Science historian |
Known for | Founding President of the Chemical Heritage Foundation |
Title | Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus |
Awards | Dexter Award |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | Cambridge University |
Thesis | (1966) |
Doctoral advisor | Mary Hesse |
Academic work | |
Discipline | History of Science |
Arnold Thackray (born 30 July 1939) is an
Early life and education
Thackray was born in
Ravetz, a native of Philadelphia, was himself exploring the new, inchoate discipline of history of science. He encouraged Thackray to apply to the fledging
Academic and professional career
In the 1960s the United States was locus of and the leader in science, as well as the leader in the fledging field of science history. It is not surprising then that, PhD in hand, Thackray decided to seek his BTA—his 'been to America' degree. In September 1967 he intermitted his Fellowship to accept a one-year visiting lectureship at Harvard University, fully intending to return to the original Cambridge.[6] Enjoying the competitive nature of American academe, he then chose to join the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. When invited him to its regular faculty, Thackray chose instead to establish a novel Department of the History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania (the first university department to concentrate on modern science, technology, and medicine in their social context.) [1] He joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, in 1968.[6]
As chairman of the brand-new HSS Department, Thackray drew on
Thackray was a member of the Penn faculty for 28 years, retiring in 1996 as Joseph Priestley Professor emeritus. His academic
He also served as an Executive Committee member and Treasurer of the American Council of Learned Societies (1985-1995). He was one of the four co-founders of, and the 1982-83 President of, the Society for Social Studies of Science. He also participated on many review committees and advisory boards, such as those of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Science Foundation. In his years at Penn, Arnold Thackray additionally served as curator of The Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection in the History of Chemistry.[9]
Chemical Heritage Foundation
A 1979-1980 task force led by historian John H. Wotiz
In 1987 CHOC was promised its first endowment.[13] by eighty-seven year old Californian entrepreneur and chemist Arnold Beckman, in the form of a US $2 million gift, subject to matching 1:1 within 12 months. To hold this money ACS and AIChE incorporated a new non-profit, the National Foundation for the History of Chemistry. Then, almost immediately, a fresh challenge arose as eighty-three year old New York chemical engineer, Donald Othmer, made a rival pledge of $5 million, to be matched 1:1 within six months, to create an Othmer Library of Chemical History. In 1992, ‘’’both’’’ the Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry (BCHOC) and the Othmer Library of Chemical History (OLOCH) became components in what was renamed the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF).[15] Faced by these rapidly multiplying realities, Professor Thackray sought to move CHF to a home of its own somewhere in the greater Philadelphia (Wilmington, DE to Princeton, NJ) area. The answer was found in a location rich in scientific history. The structure that had been built in 1865 as the First National Bank, which stood in the backyard of Benjamin Franklin's home, within what by the 1980s had become Philadelphia's Independence National Park. The 1993 purchase of the property was rapid. However, its build-out into a modern 120,000 sq. ft. facility took over a decade of planning and fundraising. The repurposed complex eventually included offices, archives, and space for the Othmer Library (itself steadily growing in size and stature as an internationally-acclaimed resource). Also deemed essential was a capacious public museum designed by
Thackray served as president of CHF until 2009, after which time he served a seven-year term as Chancellor. Over the 28 years of his active leadership of a growing organization, and from a standing start, he raised a permanent endowment of $130 million, while investing almost $50 million to create CHF’s home.[23][24]
Life Sciences Foundation
After stepping down as president of CHF, Thackray relocated to Silicon Valley. There he founded the Life Sciences Foundation .[2] The foundation was conceived at a 2009 meeting with four biotechnology industry leaders. The group reasoned that biotech, by then 40 years old, had a poorly understood history. The time had come to document the heritage of biotechnology before it was lost.[25] The Life Sciences Foundation was formed in 2011 to capture the stories of the industry’s founders, while increasing awareness of the field’s significance through oral histories, public events, and a variety of publications, including a free magazine.[26]
An immediate success, within five years LSF had achieved substantial financial reserves, a growing public outreach and strong industry enthusiasm. The Life Sciences Foundation merged with the Chemical Heritage Foundation in 2015.[27] In 2018 the combined organization was renamed the Science History Institute, to reflect its wider range of historical interests, from chemical sciences and engineering to the life sciences and biotechnology.[28][29] In 2018 the combined organization was renamed the Science History Institute, to reflect its wider range of historical interests, from chemical sciences and engineering to the life sciences and biotechnology.[28]
As early as 1986, through his meetings with industry leaders, Dr. Thackray had perceived the need for focused, confidential studies telling the stories of particular individuals and industrial companies. Thus was born Science History Consultants (SHC), as a minor component of his work. Building on an extensive knowledge of modern American technoscience, and its leaders and key events, Dr. Thackray has focused the last stages of his career to help key entrepreneurs tell their stories.
A series of books that he created through SHC runs from Journey: Seventy Five Years of Kodak Research (1986) and Out of Thin Air ( Air Products and Chemicals 1990) to varied studies of key individuals, as in George and Edith Rosenkranz (Syntex and the Birth Control Pill 2011), Building a Petrochemical Industry in Saudi Arabia: the Life of Abdulaziz Abdullah Al-Zamil (2017), to Fred Kavil (Kavilco and the Kavli Prizes 2019)
Awards and honors
Thackray was the 1983 recipient of the
Personal life
Thackray became a citizen of the United States in 1981.[1] His first marriage to his English high school sweetheart lasted 25 years: Barbara (née Hughes) Thackray, is a physicist, who became a teacher at the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.[33] Their three children include Helen Thackray MD, a leading executive in biotechnology, Gillian, a prominent intellectual property lawyer and Timothy, who is autistic and differently abled.[33][34] Thackray's wife since 1994 is Diana (née Schueler) Thackray, a sweet and wise Indiana farm-girl.[35] Walking, gardening, reading, and raising roses have been his hobbies.[11]
Selected publications
- Thackray, Arnold (24 August 2022). Sturchio, Jeffrey L.; Lewenstein, Bruce V. (eds.). Science: Has its Present Past a Future?: Selected Essays. Seasons Associates Publishing. pp. 112–133. ISBN 979-8551167730.
- Thackray, Arnold; Ulrych, Richard (2017). Building a Petrochemical Industry in Saudi Arabia: A Vision Becomes a Reality : the Life of Abdulaziz Abdullah Al-Zamil Former Minister of Industry & Electricity. Obeikan. Also in Arabic. ISBN 978-603-02-4331-0.[36]
- Thackray, Arnold; Brock, David C.; Jones, Rachel; Brock, Davd C. (2015). Moore's law: the life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley's quiet revolutionary. New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 978-7300239231[37]
- Thackray, Arnold, ed. (1998). Private science: biotechnology and the rise of the molecular sciences. Philadelphia, Pa: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press.
- Thackray, Arnold; Sturchio, Jeffrey L.; Carroll, P. Thomas; Bud, Robert (1985). Chemistry in America 1876–1976 Historical Indicators. Springer Dordrecht. ISBN 978-9027726629.[40]
- Morrell, Jack; Thackray, Arnold (1981). Gentlemen of science: early years of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (1st ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Pr.[41]
- Thackray, Arnold (1974). "Natural Knowledge in Cultural Context: The Manchester Mode". The American Historical Review. 79 (3): 672–709. ISSN 0002-8762.
- Thackray, Arnold (1972). John Dalton. Critical Assessments of his life and science. Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674475259.[42]
- Thackray, Arnold (1970). Atoms and Power. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674052574. Italian translation Atomi e force (1981) Bologna
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Arnold Thackray (1939–)" (PDF). American Chemical Society Division of the History of Chemistry. 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b "The Life Sciences Foundation – Telling the Story of Biotechnology | BIO". www.bio.org. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Confirmed in a conversation with Arnold Thackray 30 May 2023
- ^ "Spotlight on Old Mancunians: Arnold Thackray | Manchester Grammar School". Manchester Grammar School. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b Baykoucheva, Svetia (Fall 2008). "The Chemical Heritage Foundation: Past, Present, and Future". Chemical Information Bulletin. 60 (2): 10–13. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0674475259.
- ^ "Department History". hss.sas.upenn.edu. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- ^ "Arnold Thackray | History and Sociology of Science". History and Sociology of Science. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ Manning, Kenneth. "A History of Chemistry". Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ^ "John H. Wotiz (1919–2001)" (PDF). American Chemical Society, Division of the History of Chemistry. American Chemical Society Dexter Awards. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Center for History of Chemistry Inaugural". CHOC News. 1 (3): 1–5. Summer 1983.
- ^ Gussman, Neil. "The Power of John C. Haas's Good Name". Chemical Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Carpenter, Ernest (16 November 1987). "Chemistry History Center Receives Large Grant". Chemical & Engineering News. 65 (46): 6.
- ^ "American Institute of Chemical Engineers Joins CHOC Endeavor". CHOC News. 2 (1): 1–3. Spring 1984.
- ^ "History". Science History Institute. 31 May 2016.
- ^ "Philadelphia's Chemical Heritage Foundation Features Digital Signage Media Column". Digital Signage Universe. 24 April 2012.
- ^ "Making Modernity: A Gallery Preview". 23 March 2008.
- .
- ^ bArnaud, Celia Henry (27 October 2008). "The Art of Science". Chemical and Engineering News. 86 (43): 34–36. doi:10.1021/cen-v086n043.p034
- ^ REISCH, MARC (5 August 2002). "CHF HOSTS MULTIPLE CELEBRATIONS". Chemical & Engineering News. 80 (31): 49.
- ^ "Othmer Gold Medal". Science History Institute. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ "Affiliate Partnership Awards". 31 May 2016.
- doi:10.1021/cen-v085n026.p011a. Archived from the originalon 12 July 2016.
- ^ "Arnold Wilfrid Thackray". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 25 April 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
- ^ "Life Sciences Foundation Appoints Carl Feldbaum as New Board Chair", Life Sciences Foundation via Globe Newswire, San Francisco, 2 July 2014, retrieved 19 July 2015
- ^ Morrison, Trista (2 February 2012). "Life Sciences Foundation Looks to Capture History of Biotech". BioWorld Today. 23 (22): 1.
- ^ Brubaker, Harold (15 October 2015). "Chemical Heritage and Life Sciences foundations merging". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ a b Salisbury, Stephan (3 January 2018). "Chemical Heritage Foundation is morphing into the Science History Institute".
- ^ "Chemical Heritage and Life Sciences foundations merging". Philadelphia Inquirer. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
- ^ "Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry". scs.illinois.edu. American Chemical Society. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "George Sarton Memorial Lecture". hssonline.org. History of Science Society. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ^ American Chemical Society Division of the History of Chemistry Program and Abstracts 238th ACS National Meeting Washington, DC (PDF). American Chemical Society. 2009. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Weddings; Helen Thackray, Lawrence Kessner". The New York Times. New York Times. 19 May 2002. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Jenkins, Kristina M. (30 November 2015). "Helen Thackray '86: Developing Treatments through Biotechnology". Shipley News. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Obituary OSCAR J. SCHUELER". Fort Wayne newspaper. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- .
- ISSN 1938-1425.
- ISSN 1086-3176.
- ISSN 0022-5010.
- ISSN 0036-8075.
- ISSN 0036-8075.
- ISSN 0021-9584.
External links
- Science History Institute (formerly the Chemical Heritage Foundation)
- Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania
- Edgar Fahs Smith Memorial Collection