IsisCB Explore

Article ID: CBB000773015

From Engineer to Scientist: Reinventing Invention in the Watt and Faraday Centenaries, 1919--31 (2007)

MacLeod, Christine (Author)
Tann, Jennifer (Author)

British Journal for the History of Science
Volume: 40
Pages: 389--411

Outside Links

WorldCat

Google Scholar

JSTOR

Academia.edu

Technology Inventors and invention Memorials; commemorations Engineering 20th century, early Watt, James Faraday, Michael

While important research on the history of scientific commemorations has been published in recent years, relatively little attention has been paid to the commemoration of invention and inventors. A comparison of the centenaries of James Watt's death in 1919 and of Michael Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1931 reveals how the image of the inventor was being refashioned in the early twentieth century. Although shortly after his death Watt had been acclaimed by the Royal Society as a great `natural philosopher', a century later his reputation had been appropriated by the engineering professions and trades. As the title of Dickinson's 1935 biography described him, he was seen primarily as a `craftsman and engineer', not a scientist. With poor publicity, which failed in particular to make any connection between steam power and electricity, the 1919 centenary excited little interest outside engineering circles. Meanwhile, professional scientists, who were seeking financial recognition for the importance of their research in `pure' science, had found a new icon in Michael Faraday. They seized the occasion of the 1931 centenary to reinforce the link between Faraday's scientific research and the wonders of modern electrical technology and thereby to elevate the role of `blue-sky' research over its `mere' application.

...More

Description “A comparison of the centenaries of James Watt's death in 1919 and of Michael Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1931 reveals how the image of the inventor was being refashioned in the early twentieth century.” (from the abstract)

Citation URI

https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB000773015/

Citations Indexes

Similar Citations

Article Miller, David Philip; (2011)
The Mysterious Case of James Watt's “1785 Steam Indicator”: Forgery or Folklore in the History of an Instrument? (/isis/citation/CBB001231623/)

Article Wilson, Jennifer; (2012)
Celebrating Michael Faraday's Discovery of Benzene (/isis/citation/CBB001251471/)

Article Zabelin, K. I.; Ignatenko, Ye. S.; (2011)
The First Russian Electronic Televisions (/isis/citation/CBB001211389/)

Article James, Frank A. J. L.; (2008)
The Janus Face of Modernity: Michael Faraday in the Twentieth Century (/isis/citation/CBB000850475/)

Book Russell, Ben; (2014)
James Watt: Making the World Anew (/isis/citation/CBB001510127/)

Article Kauffman, George B.; (2001)
Charles Goodyear (1800--1860), American Inventor, on the Bicentennial of His Birth (/isis/citation/CBB001252523/)

Book Coad, J. G.; (2011)
Support for the Fleet: British Naval Bases, 1700--1914 (/isis/citation/CBB001422517/)

Book IEEW, ; ()
2008 IEEE History of Telecommunications Conference: Paris, France, 11--12 September 2008 (/isis/citation/CBB001034035/)

Article Rowlinson, J. S.; (2006)
Dr. Thomas Carver and Lord Kelvin (/isis/citation/CBB000770138/)

Article Nick Hall; (2016)
Zoomar: Frank G. Back and the Postwar Television Zoom Lens (/isis/citation/CBB583192403/)

Book Mario Tassoni; (2022)
Mariano Daniello di Jacopo detto Taccola o Archimede da Siena (/isis/citation/CBB744126993/)

Article Rana, Suhail; (2009)
New Evidence Supporting Wolverhampton as the Location of the First Working Newcomen Engine (/isis/citation/CBB001231638/)

Book Hills, Richard Leslie; (2001)
Life and Inventions of Richard Roberts, 1789-1864 (/isis/citation/CBB000301877/)

Book Cheney, Margaret; Uth, Robert; Glenn, Jim; (1999)
Tesla: Master of Lightning (/isis/citation/CBB000110002/)

Article Andrew, J. H.; Allen, J. S.; (2009)
A Confirmation of the Location of the 1712 “Dudley Castle” Newcomen Engine at Coneygree, Tipton (/isis/citation/CBB001231639/)

Article Quinn, Paul; (2010)
I. K. Brunel's Ships: First among Equals? (/isis/citation/CBB001231634/)

Article Leggett, Don; (2011)
Spectacle and Witnessing: Constructing Readings of Charles Parsons's Marine Turbine (/isis/citation/CBB001230706/)

Chapter Pursell, Carroll W.; (1992)
The long summer of boy engineering (/isis/citation/CBB001180209/)

Chapter Burroughs, Stuart; (2008)
Machines and Industry: Engineering and Invention in Bath (/isis/citation/CBB001022824/)

Article Marshall, E. L.; (2009)
The Quest for Thermodynamic Efficiency: Atkinson Cycle Machines versus Otto Cycle Machines (/isis/citation/CBB001231644/)

Comments

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}