The Department of History and Philosophy of Science was established at Indiana University in 1960, largely due to the persistence of Professors Edward Grant and Norwood Russell Hanson. The Board of Trustees approved their plan and created the department, originally called the Department of History and Logic of Science, on February 27, 1960. The 1960-61 COAS Bulletin states that the intentions of the department were “to explore, as an independent field of study, the conceptual development of scientific ideas, as well as their integral logical structure.” Classes began in the fall of 1960, and Dr. Hanson served as the first chair of the Department. By the 1963-64 academic year, its name had changed to the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. The Department was soon granting a large number of degrees, the peak coming in 1971 when ten Ph.D.s were awarded. In the 1970s and 1980s class numbers dropped due in part to lack of growth in the field and limited job opportunities. During the 1990s, however, the department experienced a substantial revision of its faculty; new hires brought new perspectives, and the department neared its record in the number of Ph.D.s granted.
From the guide to the Indiana University Department of History and Philosophy of Science records, 1958-2001, bulk 1970-1995, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)
