History of Science Society

History of Science Society

Historians of science attending the 2007 international meeting in Washington, D.C.
Formation	1924
Type	Professional Society
Headquarters	University of Notre Dame
Location	United States
President	Janet Browne[1]
Key people	Robert Jay Malone (Executive Director)
Website	www.hssonline.org

The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924^[2] by George Sarton^[3] and Lawrence Joseph Henderson,^[4] primarily to support the publication of Isis, a journal of the history of science Sarton had started in 1912.^[5] The society has over 3,000 members worldwide.^[3] It continues to publish the quarterly journal Isis, the yearly Osiris, sponsors the IsisCB: History of Science Index,^[6] and holds an annual conference.

As of 2016, the current president of the HSS is Janet Browne.^[1]

Awards and recognition

HSS sponsors two special lectures annually:

• The George Sarton Memorial Lecture, delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1960 (with a break from 1973 to 1975)
• The History of Science Society Distinguished Lecture (formerly the History of Science Society Lecture), delivered at a plenary session of the annual meeting of the HSS since 1981

In addition, the HSS awards a number of prizes:

• The Suzanne J. Levinson Prize, established in 2006, is awarded biennially for a book in the history of the life sciences and natural history
• The Nathan Reingold Prize (formerly the Schuman Prize), established in 1955, for an outstanding essay in the history of science written by a graduate student
• The Derek Price/Rod Webster Prize (formerly the Zeitlin-Ver Brugge Prize), established in 1978, for an outstanding article in Isis
• The Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize, first awarded in 1987, for an outstanding work on the subject of women in science (the prize alternates annually between books and journals)
• The Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize, established in 1998, for outstanding contributions to teaching history of science
• The Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize, established in 1985, for a textbook or popular book on the history of science
• The Pfizer Award, established in 1958, for an outstanding book in the history of science (a medal accompanies this award)
• The George Sarton Medal, first awarded in 1955, for lifetime achievement in the history of science

See also

• International Academy of the History of Science

References

1. Browne, Janet. "January 2016 – From the President: Janet Browne". History of Science Society. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
2. "History of Science Society". American Council of Learned Societies. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
3. "History of the Society". History of Science Society. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
4. Smith, Charles H. "Henderson, Lawrence Joseph (United States 1878-1942)". Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists and Ecologists: Chrono-Biographical Sketches. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
5. Rossiter, Margaret W. (1999). Catching Up with the Vision: Essays on the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the History of Science Society. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press for the History of Science Society.
6. "IsisCB Explore".

External links

• Official website
• IsisCB Explore: History of Science Index An open access discovery service for the history of science
• History of Science Society, Publications, 1989-1999 from the Smithsonian Institution Archives