Frederic Lawrence Holmes(6 February 1932,Cincinnati,Ohio– 27 March 2003,New Haven, Connecticut)[1][2]was an American historian of science, specifically of chemistry, medicine and biology. He was Avalon Professor of the History of Medicine atYale Universityand was known for his work developing Yale's programs in history of science and medicine. His scholarship included notable studies ofClaude Bernard,Antoine Lavoisier,Justus Liebig,Hans Adolf Krebs,Matthew Meselson,Franklin Stahl,andSeymour Benzer.He was awarded aGeorge Sarton Medalfor lifetime achievement in the history of science and served as a president of theHistory of Science Society.[3]
Frederic Lawrence Holmes | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 6, 1932 |
| Died | March 27, 2003(aged 71) |
| Awards | |
| Academic background | |
| Education | |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Historian of science |
| Sub-discipline | |
| Institutions | |
| Notable students | Margaret W. Rossiter |
Education
editHolmes earned his bachelor's degree inquantitative biologyfromMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) in 1954[3]and then began graduate study in the history department ofHarvard University,where he graduated with MA in 1958.[3]His graduate study was interrupted by two years of service in theUnited States Air ForceROTC[3]and when he returned to Harvard he transferred to the department of the history of science, graduating with PhD in 1962[3]with thesisClaude Bernard and the concept of internal environmentunder the direction ofEverett MendelsohnandJohn Edsall.[2]For his dissertation, he reconstructedClaude Bernard's path of discovery of basic physiological functions, such as those of theglucogenicfunctions of theliver,on the basis of Bernard's laboratory books from the 1840s.[3]Mirko Grmekreferred the laboratory books to Holmes.[3][4]
Career
editHolmes spent two years at MIT as an assistant professor starting in 1962, teaching in the Humanities Department.[2][3]In 1964 Holmes became an assistant professor of the history of science atYale Universityand in 1968 he became an associate professor. Holmes was a founder of the Joint Atlantic Seminars in History of Biology in 1965.[3]At Yale, he supervisedMargaret W. Rossiter,[3]who graduated in 1971.[5]In 1972 he moved to become a full professor and department chair at theUniversity of Western Ontario.[2]In 1979 he returned to Yale as a full professor and from 1979 to 2002 he chaired the Section of the History of Medicine in theYale School of Medicine.[6]
Holmes became Avalon Professor of the History of Medicine at Yale in 1985,[2]and from 1982 to 1987 he was Master ofJonathan Edwards College.[2]He became a leading force in building the history of science and medicine at the university.[2]He initiated an undergraduate major in the history of science and history of medicine and in 1986 he initiated a graduate program in the history of medicine and the life sciences.[2]In 2002 he helped establish a new Program in the History of Medicine and Science.[2][6]
Holmes was the author of more than sixty papers and several books on the history of medicine and the biological sciences.[2]For his two-volume work onHans Adolf Krebsand the discovery of thecitric acid cycle,Holmes not only evaluated Krebs's lab books, but also conducted detailed interviews with Krebs; he also repeated this pattern withMatthew MeselsonandFranklin Stahl.[2]Holmes won several prizes and was a leading contributor to the history of medicine and the biological sciences for two generations.[6]
During the final months of his life, he was intent on attempting to finish his study ofSeymour Benzerand molecular biology, and those who visited him at the Yale Health Service Clinic recall a room filled with books, papers, a laptop, and a scholar eager to talk about ideas. He completed the final chapter two weeks before his death...[4]
He and his wife Harriet Vann Holmes (d. 2000) had three daughters.[2]
Awards and honors
edit- 1962 —Schuman Prizeof theHistory of Science Society[3]
- 1975 —Pfizer Awardof the History of Science Society[3]
- 1978 —William H. Welch MedalofAmerican Association for the History of Medicine[2]
- 1981–1983 — President of the History of Science Society[3]
- 1994 —Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistryfrom theAmerican Chemical Society.[7]
- 1994 — Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences[2]
- 2000 —George Sarton Medalof the History of Science Society[3]
- 2000 — Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society[2]
Selected publications
edit- Claude Bernard and Animal Chemistry, Harvard University Press 1974
- Lavoisier and the Chemistry of Life: an exploration of scientific creativity, Princeton University Press, 1985;Reprint University of Wisconsin Press, 1987
- Antoine Lavoisier - the next crucial year: or, the sources of his quantitative method in chemistry, Princeton University Press 1997;Reprint (pbk), 2014
- Hans Krebs: the formation of a scientific life 1900–1933,Oxford University Press 1991
- Hans Krebs: Architect of intermediary metabolism 1933–1937,Oxford University Press 1993
- Meselson, Stahl and the Replication of DNA: A history of the most beautiful experiment in biology, Yale University Press 2001;Reprint (pbk), 2008(See alsoMeselson–Stahl experiment.)
- Investigative Pathways: pattern and stages in the careers of experimental scientists, Yale University Press 2004[8]
- with William C. Summers: Reconceiving the gene: Seymour Benzer's adventures in phage genetics, Yale University Press 2006;[9]Reprint (pbk), 2008
- Historians and Contemporary Scientific Biography, Pauling Symposium 1995
References
edit- ^"Frederic Lawrence Holmes".data.bnf.fr(in French). Bibliothèque nationale de France.Retrieved28 December2023.
- ^abcdefghijklmnoRocke, Alan; Warner, John Harley (2003). "Eloge: Frederic Lawrence Holmes, 6 February 1932–27 March 2003".Isis.94(4): 661–665.doi:10.1086/386388.JSTOR10.1086/386388.
- ^abcdefghijklmnNye, Mary Jo(2001). "News of the Society: Annual Meeting of the History of Science Society, Vancouver, 2-5 November 2000: Sarton Medal Citation".Isis.92(2): 349–350.JSTOR3080633.
- ^abWarner, John Harley (January 2004)."Frederic Lawrence Holmes 1932–2003".Medical History.48(1): 112–114.doi:10.1017/s0025727300007080.ISSN0025-7273.PMC546298.PMID14968648.
- ^"Margaret W.Rossiter".Cornell University.Retrieved25 February2021.
- ^abc"Frederic L. Holmes (1932–2003) (biographical information supplied by Susan Holmes), copyrighted material of the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society"(PDF).scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv.2006.
- ^"Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry".Division of the History of Chemistry.American Chemical Society.Retrieved30 April2015.
- ^Kohler, Robert E. (Autumn 2004). "Review ofInvestigative Pathways: Patterns and Stages in the Careers of Experimental Scientistsby Frederic Lawrence Holmes ".Journal of the History of Biology.37(3): 585–588.doi:10.1007/s10739-004-2086-3.JSTOR4331900.S2CID83759223.
- ^Weiner, Jonathan(28 December 2006). "Review ofReconceiving the Gene: Seymour Benzer's Adventures in Phage Geneticsby Frederic Lawrence Holmes, edited by William C. Summers ".N Engl J Med.355:2794–2795.doi:10.1056/NEJMbkrev57338.
External links
edit- Frederic Lawrence Holmes Papers (MS 1835).Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library.