Resources
The Museum of the History of Science (www.mhs.ox.ac.uk)
The Ashmolean Museum,
inaugurated in 1683, now the
Museum of the History of Science
The Museum is housed in the celebrated Old Ashmolean Building in Broad Street. It is one of the finest examples of seventeenth-century architecture in Oxford, and the oldest purpose-built museum in this country. It was erected between 1679 and 1683 to promote the new sciences, and for most of the next two centuries it remained the centre of science teaching in the University.
The Museum, which has recently been extended and refurbished with the aid of a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, possesses an unrivalled collection of early mathematical and astronomical instruments, telescopes, microscopes, early cameras and photographs, and apparatus associated with chemistry, natural philosophy, and physics. This material is complemented by a unique reference library of books and manuscripts on the history of scientific instruments and related subjects. The collections give the Museum an international standing in teaching and research on instrumentation and material culture in the history of science, and offer graduate students a resource unmatched anywhere in the world. A one-year M.Sc. course in History of Science (Instruments, Museums, Science, Technology) is based in the Museum. Details are available via the Contact Information section of this site.
The Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine (www.wuhmo.ox.ac.uk)
The Wellcome Unit was founded in 1972 as an inter-faculty and inter-disciplinary venture. It is now a leading international centre for graduate research in most aspects of the history of medicine. Seminars and classes encourage a wide range of methods and approaches, as well as using the rich resources of Oxford’s historical and scientific libraries. The Unit currently has a special focus on the history of tropical medicine and infectious diseases, although research is also undertaken on broader aspects of the history of medicine in Europe, as well as in tropical areas.
Recent work includes a history of malaria in Britain, malaria control in East Africa, the history of leprosy since 1800, the history of hospitals in the developing world, smallpox eradication and hospitals in British India, and the history of medicine in Britain’s tropical colonies, 1700–1900. The Unit’s excellent working library includes archival collections, especially in public health, and tropical medicine, and has good study and computer facilities.
The Faculty of History (www.history.ox.ac.uk)
One of the strengths of the history of science, medicine, and technology in Oxford is its integration in the work of a large and thriving Faculty of History. Most of the senior members of staff in the discipline are members of the faculty, and specialist lectures, classes, and supervision are closely integrated with the activities of a wider historical community. This community includes a number of historians holding college fellowships who have an active interest in cognate subjects, as well as colleagues in the philosophy of science, the social sciences, and the many departments of science and medicine. The Faculty of History also possesses substantial computing resources that are available to graduate students, and houses a meeting room and small specialist library for students and staff working in the history of science and technology.
The University and Colleges
As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford maintains a proud tradition in both the sciences and the humanities, and offers not only a superb intellectual and architectural setting for graduate study but also a combination of faculty and college life that sets it apart from most other universities. Students are admitted not only to the University but also to one of the University’s 36 colleges, which provide excellent facilities for both work and social life.
Libraries (www.lib.ox.ac.uk)
Oxford is exceptionally rich in both printed and manuscript sources for work in the history of science, medicine, and technology. The Bodleian Library, with over five million volumes, is one of the five copyright libraries in Britain. Its major manuscript collections include extensive holdings on medieval astronomy in the department of Western Manuscripts and on Islamic and Indian mathematics, astronomy, and medicine in the Department of Oriental Books and Manuscripts. The resources of the Bodleian and of the associated Radcliffe Science Library are supplemented by the collections not only in the Museum of the History of Science and the Wellcome Unit but also in other museums and in many departments and colleges.
The University Museum of Natural History (www.oum.ox.ac.uk)
The University Museum of Natural History houses rich collections of books, manuscripts, and specimens relevant to the history of the life sciences. The museum was opened in 1860 to house most of the University’s scientific departments.
Sources for the History of Science in Oxford
- PDF version of booklet produced by Katherine D. Watson in 1994