Sarton, George

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1884-08-31
Death 1956-03-22
Americans,
Arabic, German, French, English,

Biographical notes:

Sarton was an historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He founded and edited Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in the U.S. and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915.

From the description of George Sarton additional papers, 1913-1955. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612824513

From the guide to the George Sarton additional papers, 1913-1955., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He was the founder (1912) and editor (1912-1952) of Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in the U.S. and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915. His daughter was the author, May Sarton.

From the guide to the George Sarton diaries and appointment books, 1903-1956., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Sarton taught history of science at Harvard.

From the description of Papers of George Sarton, ca. 1920-ca. 1956 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76973173

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. Stimson was a science writer.

From the guide to the Letters to Dorothy Stimson Bullitt, 1901-1956., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

George Sarton was a Belgian-born American writer, professor, and scholar of the history of science and the founder of the journals "Isis" and "Osiris," and the father of May Sarton (b. 1912).

From the description of George Sarton collection of papers, 1906-1956 bulk (1917-1956). (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 122465542

From the guide to the George Sarton collection of papers, 1905-1956, 1917-1956, (The New York Public Library. Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature.)

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He was the founder (1912) and editor (1912-1952) of Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in theU.S. and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915.

From the description of George Sarton diaries and appointment books, 1903-1956. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612718329

Historian of science, George Alfred Leon Sarton was born on August 31, 1884, in Ghent, Belgium. He studied the natural sciences at the University of Ghent, and received his D.Sc. in 1911. Escaping to England before World War I, Sarton then came to the United States in 1915. After spending some time in lecturing positions, Sarton came to Harvard University in 1920, was made a full professor there in 1940 and retired in 1951 when he was made professor emeritus. He was founder of the journals, Isis and Osiris, and author of numerous books on the history of science. He married Eleanor Mabel Elwes on June 22, 1911, and had one daughter, May, in May 1912.

From the description of George Sarton papers, 1890-1949 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702168743

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He was the founder (1912) and editor (1912-1952) of Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in the U.S. and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915.

From the description of George Sarton additional papers, 1901-1956. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612366536

From the description of Miscellaneous correspondence, 1915-1954. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612788718

From the guide to the Miscellaneous correspondence, 1915-1954, (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

George Alfred Leon Sarton (1884-1956) was an historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He founded and edited Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in the United States and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915. His daughter was May Sarton (1912-1995), the American poet, novelist, and memoirist.

From the description of George Sarton additional papers, 1899-1988. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612840197

From the guide to the George Sarton additional papers, 1899-1988., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. Dorothy Stimson Bullitt purchased a small Seattle radio station with almost no listeners in 1947. She arranged a swap for the call letters KING and expanded it into one of the finest broadcasting empires in America.

From the description of Letters to Dorothy Stimson Bullitt, 1901-1956. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 78435065

Historian of science, George Alfred Léon Sarton was born on August 31, 1884, in Ghent, Belgium. He studied the natural sciences at the University of Ghent, and received his D.Sc. in 1911. Escaping to England before World War I, Sarton then moved to the United States in 1915. After spending some time in lecturing positions, Sarton came to Harvard University in 1920, was made a full professor there in 1940 and retired in 1951 when he was made professor emeritus. He was founder of the journals, Isis and Osiris, and author of numerous books on the history of science. He married Eleanor Mabel Elwes on June 22, 1911, and had one daughter, May, in May 1912.

From the guide to the George Sarton papers, 1890-1949, (Manuscripts and Archives)

George Sarton established the journal Isis, at first published in Wondelgem in Belgium, and was its editor throughout this period.

From the description of Records of the journal Isis, 1912-1939. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612818201

Sarton was a founding member of the History of Science Society and founding editor of its journal, Isis. He lectured in the history of science at Harvard University and published Introduction to the History of Science . His major contributions were in the study of ancient Greek and medieval science.

From the description of Appreciation of ancient and medieval science during the Renaissance (1450-1600) : annotated typescript, 1953. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 122630705

Sarton was a historian of science and professor at Harvard University. He founded and edited Isis, an international review devoted to the history and philosophy of science; studied Arabic and Islam in the Middle East; and lectured at many universities in the U.S. and Europe. Sarton was born in Belgium and emigrated to the U.S. in 1915.

From the description of Papers, 1906-1956. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 122505744

From the guide to the Papers, 1906-1956., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

From the guide to the George Sarton additional papers, 1901-1956., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

Ashley Montagu, born Israel Ehrenberg on June 28, 1905, was a British-American anthropologist, specializing in the areas of race and gender issues, as well as a prolific speaker and author, publishing over 50 books in his lifetime. The son of Jewish tailor Charles Ehrenberg and his wife, Mary Plot Ehrenberg, Montagu was born and raised in London's working class East End neighborhood. Although the reasoning behind his name change was never revealed, it may have been due to anti-Semitic prejudice faced by many East End Jews during his childhood, and Montagu might have felt the need to distance himself from his parents’ Russian and Polish backgrounds.

Montagu earned his undergraduate degree from University College London in psychology and anthropology. After studying anthropology at the London School of Economics under Bronislaw Malinowski, Montagu left England for the United States. He arrived at New York City in 1927 and began taking graduate classes at Columbia University. Montagu then traveled to Italy in 1928, where he took classes in ethnography and anthropology at the University of Florence. Upon his return to the United States in 1931, while working as an assistant professor of anthropology at New York University, Montagu married Marjorie Peakes. The couple would have two daughters, Audrey and Barbara, as well as a son, Geoffrey. In 1934 Montagu returned to Columbia University, culminating his postgraduate work at Columbia in 1936 with his dissertation, Coming into being among the Australian Aborigines: A study of the procreative beliefs of the native tribes of Australia, produced under the direction of Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Based largely on his dissertation, Montagu’s first book, Coming into Being among the Australian Aborigines, was published in 1937. After he completed his education, Montagu taught anatomy at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia in 1938 and became an American citizen in 1940. It was during his time at Hahnemann that he began to produce work relating to race, resulting in his seminal work, Man's Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race, published in 1942. The work controversially advanced the argument that race was a social construct imposed upon a complex biological substratum and demolished the arguments for inherent inequality between human populations. The influential nature of Man’s Most Dangerous Myth led to Montagu’s service on the 4th United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) task force, in 1949. The ten member UNESCO committee, composed of such world-renowned social scientists as Claude Levi-Strauss and E. Franklin Frazier, was created to collect information about the problem of race and to establish educational programs to disseminate its findings. The resultant document, authored by Montagu, the group’s rapporteur, was published as the “Statement on Race” in 1951. The Committee’s final statement on race asserted: 1)All mankind belong to the same species and that the differences between groups are few compared to all of the genetic similarities. 2)That Race designates a group with high frequency of physical characteristics or particular genetic trait and that these traits fluctuate or even disappear over time. 3)The way in which people are grouped does not reflect the capacity or character traits of a particular group. The differences between races are physical and have no correlation with other traits like intelligence.

Upon leaving Hahnemann Medical College in 1949, Montagu moved to Rutgers University, where he was a professor of anthropology and head of the department from 1949 to 1955. While at Rutgers, Montagu wrote perhaps his most famous work, The Natural Superiority of Women, published in 1953. Examining the differences between the sexes anthropologically, Montagu concluded that women were the superior sex because they possessed a better capability to survive both as individuals and in groups- talents necessary for an advancing society. Based on these conclusions, he suggested that women receive equal pay for equal work, a controversial stance at the time.

With his prolific writing skills to rely on financially, and facing strong backlash for his openly liberal views and anti-McCarthy public statements, Montagu accepted a forced retirement from Rutgers in 1955 at the age of 50. Though retired from academic life, he continued to lecture at such institutions as Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Santa Barbara, and New York University. Settling in Princeton, New Jersey, Montagu’s work took up a more humanist element with Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin, his effort to encourage parents to take a more physical role in raising their children and especially to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies. Published during that same year, Montagu’s book The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity, a history of the life of disfigured Briton Joseph Merrick, inspired a Tony winning play and later a motion picture. He continued publishing through the 1980s, including The Nature of Human Aggression (1976) and Growing Young (1981), while making numerous and notable television appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show as well as the Phil Donahue Show.

In his lifetime, Montagu received many major awards, among them the American Association of Humanists’ 1995 Man of the Year award, the Darwin Award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologist in 1994, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the American Anthropological Association in 1987. Montagu maintained an active schedule of lecturing and gardening around his Princeton, New Jersey, home until he was hospitalized in March 1999; he died on November 26, 1999 from heart disease, at the age of ninety-four. He was survived by his wife of sixty-eight years, Marjorie, as well as his son and two daughters.

From the guide to the Ashley Montagu papers, 1927-1999, 1927-1999, (American Philosophical Society)

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Subjects:

  • Anthropology
  • Anthropology, ethnography, fieldwork
  • Astronomy
  • Biology
  • Biology, genetics, eugenics
  • Celestial mechanics
  • Chemistry
  • Ecology
  • Gender
  • Geology
  • Human ecology
  • Inventions
  • Mechanics
  • Medicine
  • Race
  • Race, race relations, racism
  • Sarton medal
  • Science
  • Science
  • Science
  • Science, ancient
  • Science, Medieval
  • Science, Renaissance
  • Social conditions, social advocacy, social reform
  • Social inequality
  • Zoology

Occupations:

  • Editors
  • Historians of science
  • Inventors
  • Scientists

Places:

  • Latin America (as recorded)
  • Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.) (as recorded)
  • United States (as recorded)

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