Helge Stjernholm Kragh (born February 13, 1944) is a Danish
historian of science
The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal.
Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Mesopo ...
who focuses on the development of 19th century physics, chemistry, and astronomy.
His published work includes biographies of
Paul Dirac
Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...
,
Julius Thomsen
The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain t ...
and
Ludvig Lorenz
Ludvig Valentin Lorenz (; 18 January 1829 – 9 June 1891) was a Danish physicist and mathematician. He developed mathematical formulae to describe phenomena such as the relation between the refraction of light and the density of a pure transp ...
, and ''The Oxford Handbook of the History of Modern Cosmology'' (2019) which he co-edited with
Malcolm Longair
Malcolm Sim Longair (born 18 May 1941)Anon (2017)
is a British physicist. From 1991 to 2008 he was the Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Since 2016 he has been editor-in ...
.
Biography
Kragh studied physics and chemistry at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
, graduating with a degree in 1970. He earned his Ph.D. in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
in 1981 at the
University of Roskilde. He received a second doctorate, in
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
, from the
University of Aarhus
Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...
in 2007.
Kragh was an associate professor of history of science at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
from 1987 to 1989, a professor at the
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
from 1995 to 1997, and a professor at Aarhus University in Denmark from 1997 to 2015.
As of 2015 he retired, becoming emeritus professor at the
Niels Bohr Institute
The Niels Bohr Institute (Danish: ''Niels Bohr Institutet'') is a research institute of the University of Copenhagen. The research of the institute spans astronomy, geophysics, nanotechnology, particle physics, quantum mechanics and biophys ...
at the
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
.
He is also a professor emeritus at the Centre for Science Studies of
Aarhus University
Aarhus University ( da, Aarhus Universitet, abbreviated AU) is a public research university with its main campus located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Gr ...
.
Kragh's areas of study are the
history of physics
Physics is a branch of science whose primary objects of study are matter and energy. Discoveries of physics find applications throughout the natural sciences and in technology. Physics today may be divided loosely into classical physics and mode ...
from the mid-19th century onward, the
history of astronomy, the
history of cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
and the
history of chemistry. He is known for his work on the history of the
periodic system
The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ...
, early
quantum atomic models, speculative
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...
and the
northern lights.
Honors and awards
*2019,
Roy G. Neville Prize for ''Julius Thomsen: A Life in Chemistry and Beyond'' (2016),
Science History Institute
The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center.
It was f ...
* 2019,
Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics,
American Physical Society (APS)
* President, European Society for the History of Science 2008–2010
* Member,
Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences (corresponding member since 1995, full member since 2005)
* Member,
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
{{Infobox organization
, name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
, full_name =
, native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
, native_name_lang =
, logo = Royal ...
Selected writings
* ''Julius Thomsen: A Life in Chemistry and Beyond'' (2016)
* ''Ludvig Lorenz: A Nineteenth-Century Theoretical Physicist'' (2018)
* ''The Weight of the Vacuum'' (2014)
* ''Masters of the Universe'' (2015)
* ''Varying Gravity: Dirac’s Legacy in Cosmology and Geophysics'' (2016)
* ''
Dirac
Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) is an integrated supercomputing facility used for research in particle physics, astronomy and cosmology in the United Kingdom. DiRAC makes use of multi-core processors and provides a variety o ...
: A Scientific Biography''. Cambridge University Press 1990, 2005,
* ''Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century''.
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...
, 1999
* ''An introduction to the Historiography of Science''. Cambridge University Press, 1987
* ''Matter and Spirit in the Universe: Scientific and Religious Preludes to Modern Cosmology''. 2004
* ''Conceptions of Cosmos: From Myths to the Accelerating Universe: A History of Cosmology''.
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2006
* ''Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe''. Princeton University Press, 1999
* ''The Moon that wasn't – the saga of Venus' spurious satellite''. Birkhäuser, 2008
* ''Den Sære Historie om Venus' Måne og Andre Naturvidenskabelige Fortællinger'' (The Strange History of Venus' Moon and Other Scientific Tales).
Lindhardt og Ringhof
The Egmont Group (formerly The Gutenberghus Group) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise mass me ...
, 2020,
[Kragh, H.]
"Venus has no moon, yet this moon was discovered in the 1700s"
''ScienceNordic'', June 3, 2020.
* ''Entropy Creation: Religious Contexts of Thermodynamics and Cosmology''. Ashgate, London 2008
* with David Knight, eds.: ''The Making of the Chemist: The Social History of Chemistry in Europe, 1789–1914''. Cambridge University Press, 1998
* with Peter C. Kjargaard & Henry Nielsen: ''Science in Denmark – A Thousand-Year History''.
Aarhus University Press
Aarhus University Press () is a commercial foundation, founded in 1985 by Aarhus University, Denmark. The main purpose of the press is to publish the scholarly works of researchers at the university, but many authors come from other Danish insti ...
, 2009
* with Malcolm Longair, eds.
''The Oxford Handbook of the History of Modern Cosmology'' Oxford University Press, 2019
Max Weinstein: Physics, Philosophy, Pandeism History and Philosophy of Physics, 2019
* Foreword,
Max B. Weinstein,
World and Life Views, Emerging From Religion, Philosophy and Perception of Nature', trans. Deborah Moss, 2021
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kragh, Helge
1944 births
Historians of physics
Danish physicists
University of Copenhagen alumni
Living people