Pioneers of Science

by Oliver Lodge

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: History Of Science, Science

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, FRS was a physicist and writer involved in the development of key patents in wireless telegraphy. Lodge, in his Royal Institution lectures ("The Work of Hertz and Some of His Successors"), coined the term "coherer." He gained the "syntonic" (or tuning) patent from the United States Patent Office in 1898.

Reviews

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and generally quite accessible summary of some of history's greatest men of science, and the most significant discoveries within their fields. Lodge's approach towards the regrettably, but inevitably thorny relationship between science and the Catholic Church in the Early Modern Period was particularly interesting and refreshingly non-partisan. He does not shy away from pointing out the Church's wrongdoings and contradictory actions - particularly in executing some scientists, only to later absorb their discoveries into its teaching - but he does not go overboard in thus condemning Christianity in return as if it were spiritually and theologically incompatible with the human pursuit of knowledge. Indeed, nearly all the great men who were confronted by or had to sidestep around the bigoted Inquisition were themselves devoted Christians of some form or another till the day they died.

No doubt there are much more recent books than this one, which are likely of more value to a modern reader. But as this can be accessed for free on Librivox (and most likely other places on the internet), it's a worthy book for those that are interested in the history of science.