Lisa Anne Jardine (née Bronowski; 12 April 1944 – 25 October 2015) was a British

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

of the early modern period. From 1990 to 2011, she was Centenary Professor of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Studies and Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at

Queen Mary University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. From 2008 to January 2014 she was

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom. It is a statutory body that regulates and inspects all clinics in the United ...

(HFEA). Jardine was a Member of Council of the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

, until 2009. On 1 September 2012, she relocated with her research centre and staff to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(UCL) to become founding director of its Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities.

Education and personal life

Jardine was born on 12 April 1944 in Oxford, the eldest of four daughters of mathematician and polymath,

Jacob Bronowski Jacob Bronowski (18 January 1908 – 22 August 1974) was a Polish-British mathematician and philosopher. He was known to friends and professional colleagues alike by the nickname Bruno. He is best known for developing a humanistic approach to sc ...

, and the sculptor, Rita Coblentz.Lisa Jardin
Obituary:_Rita_Bronowski_[Coblentz
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="oblentz">Obituary: Rita Bronowski [Coblentz
/nowiki>">oblentz">Obituary: Rita Bronowski [Coblentz
/nowiki> ''The Guardian'', 22 September 2010. Bronowski, who died in 1974 and is best remembered for his 13-part television series, ''The Ascent of Man'' (1973), was the subject of Jardine's Conway Memorial Lecture, "Things I Never Knew About My Father", delivered at the

Conway Hall Ethical Society The Conway Hall Ethical Society, formerly the South Place Ethical Society, based in London at Conway Hall, is thought to be the oldest surviving freethought organisation in the world and is the only remaining ethical society in the United Kin ...

on 26 June 2014. An avid reader with an interest in history from a very young age, Jardine won a mathematics scholarship to

Cheltenham Ladies' College Cheltenham Ladies' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Consistently ranked as one of the top all-girls' schools nationally, the school was established in 1853 to pr ...

and later attended

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sid ...

, and the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

. For two years, she took the

Cambridge Mathematical Tripos The Mathematical Tripos is the mathematics course that is taught in the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. It is the oldest Tripos examined at the University. Origin In its classical nineteenth-century form, the tripos was a ...

before, in her final year and under the influence of

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

, she read English. She graduated with upper second-class honours. Fluent in eight languages (including Greek and Latin), she studied for an MA in the Literary Theory of Translation with Professor

Donald Davie Donald Alfred Davie, FBA (17 July 1922 – 18 September 1995) was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes. Biography Davie was born in Barnsley, ...

at the

. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Cambridge with a dissertation on ''Francis Bacon: Discovery and the Art of Discourse'' (subsequently published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

). In striking out on her own career path, Jardine recalled that she initially found her father's celebrity something of a burden, noting that she was "very, very conscious" of being his daughter. When in 1969 she married Cambridge historian and philosopher of science, Nicholas Jardine, she was relieved to assume her husband's surname, which she continued to use after the couple's divorce in 1979. The couple had a son and a daughter. "Until 1999, the name Bronowski never occurred in cuttings about me, and it was broadly unknown that I was his daughter", she later stated. In 1982, she married architect John Hare, with whom she had one son. She was reported to have said that her greatest achievement was her three "well-balanced children". Jardine had been raised in a secular Jewish household, but when appointed new chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Britain’s fertility regulator, she expressed her loyalty to her observant grandparents' Orthodox faith, which she described as going back "all the way back to whenever – Abraham", and her reluctance to clash with the Catholic Church on embryology.

Career and research

Jardine was Professor of Renaissance Studies at

, where she was Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters. She was a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

, and a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of King's College and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. She was a Trustee of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

for eight years, and was for five years a member of the Council of the

in London. She was Patron of the

Archives and Records Association The Archives and Records Association (ARA) is the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the UK and Ireland. The Archives and Records Association (ARA, UK & Ireland) came into existence on 1 J ...

and the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

. For the academic year 2007–2008 she was seconded to the Royal Society in London as Expert Advisor to its Collections. She was a Trustee of the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the sc ...

. From 2008–2014, she served as Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority – the UK government regulator for assisted reproduction. In December 2011 she was appointed a Director of

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

. Jardine published more than 50 scholarly articles in peer reviewed journals and books, and 17 full-length books, both for an academic and for a general readership, a number of them in co-authorship with others (including Professor

Anthony Grafton Anthony Thomas Grafton (born May 21, 1950) is an American historian of early modern Europe and the Henry Putnam University Professor of History at Princeton University, where he is also the Director the Program in European Cultural Studies. He i ...

, Professor Alan Stewart and Professor Julia Swindells). She was the author of many books, both scholarly and general, including ''The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London'', ''Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution'' and biographies of

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke FRS (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath active as a scientist, natural philosopher and architect, who is credited to be one of two scientists to discover microorganisms in 1665 using a compound microscope that ...

, and Sir

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

(''On a Grander Scale: the Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren''). Her 2008 book ''Going Dutch'', on Anglo-Dutch reciprocal influence in the 17th century, won the 2009 Cundill Prize in History at McGill University, the world's premier history book prize worth $75,000. Jardine wrote and reviewed widely for the media, and presented and appeared regularly on arts, history and current affairs programmes for TV and radio. She was a regular writer and presenter of ''A Point of View'' on BBC Radio 4; a book of the first two series of her talks was published by Preface Publishing in March 2008 and a second in 2009. She judged the Novel category of the 1996

Whitbread Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

, the 1999

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspap ...

, the 2000

Orwell Prize The Orwell Prize, based at University College London, is a British prize for political writing. The Prize is awarded by The Orwell Foundation, an independent charity (Registered Charity No 1161563, formerly "The Orwell Prize") governed by a boa ...

and was Chair of Judges for the 1997

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

and the 2002

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

. During the first semester of the 2008–2009 academic year, Jardine was Distinguished Visiting Professor at the

Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is an independent research institute in the field of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences founded in 1970. The instit ...

, jointly sponsored by NIAS and the Royal Library in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. In 2009–2010, she was a Scaliger Visiting Fellow at the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

in the Netherlands, and held the Sarton Chair and received the Sarton Medal at

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

in Belgium. She sat for several years on the Apeldoorn British Dutch Conference Steering Board, and was a member of the Recommendation Committee Stichting Huygens Tentoonstelling Foundation, set up to oversee the Constantijn and Christian Huygens Exhibition in the Grote Kerk in The Hague in 2013. In June 2015 she was the guest on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...

''. Her musical choices included ''

Why Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in v ...

'' by

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

, ''

A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" is a song written by American musician and Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan in the summer of 1962 and recorded later that year for his second album, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' (1963). Its lyrical structure is modeled after ...

'' by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, and '' Once in a Lifetime'' by

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

. Her book choice was the full 12 volumes of P.S. Allen’s ''Latin Letters of

Erasmus of Rotterdam Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

''. On 26 January 2011, Jardine appeared in a BBC documentary investigating her father's life and the history of science in the 20th century."My Father, the Bomb and Me"
bbc.co.uk; accessed 26 October 2015. She was known for her cross-disciplinary approach to intellectual history and has been called "the pre-eminent historian of the scientific method."

Awards and honours

Jardine was President of the

Antiquarian Horological Society The Antiquarian Horological Society, abbreviated to AHS, is the UK-based learned society for scholars and enthusiasts of horology. Its administrative office is at 4 Lovat Lane, a listed building close to the Monument, in the City of London. In earl ...

, a learned society focused on matters relating to the art and history of time measurement. Jardine was a former chairman of the governing body at Westminster City School for Boys in London (which her younger son attended), and a former Chair of the Curriculum Committee on the governing body of

St Marylebone Church of England School St Marylebone C of E School is a secondary school for girls in Marylebone, London. It specialises in Performing Arts, Maths & Computing. In the sixth form, boys can also attend. On 1 September 2011 the school became a converter academy hav ...

for Girls also in London. In 2012, she was awarded the President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

. She was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2015. Her certificate of election reads: Jardine held honorary doctorates of Letters from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

, and an honorary doctorate of Science from the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

. In November 2011, she was made an Honorary Bencher of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. She was awarded the Francis Bacon Award in the History of Science by the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 2012, and collected the Bacon Medal for this award at the annual History of Science Society meeting in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in September 2012. In November 2012 she received the British Academy President's Medal. In 2013–2014 she served as President of the British Science Association, which in 2012 made her an Honorary Fellow.

Death

Grave of Lisa Jardine in Highgate Cemetery

Jardine died of cancer on 25 October 2015, aged 71, and her ashes were buried next to those of her parents, in the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. In the tributes which followed, she was remembered for her commitment to her students, and "her deep empathy for outsiders of all kinds—rebels, misfits and migrants." In 2017, she featured in a conference, ''London's Women Historians'', held at the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...

Publications

*''

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

: Discovery and the Art of Discourse'' (1974) *''Still Harping on Daughters: Women and Drama in the Age of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

'' (1983) *''From Humanism to the Humanities: Education and the Liberal Arts in Fifteenth- and Sixteenth-century Europe'', with

(1986) *''What's Left?: Women in Culture and the Labour Movement'', with Julia Swindells (1990) *''

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

, Man of Letters: The Construction of Charisma in Print'' (1993) *''Reading Shakespeare Historically'' (1996) *''Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance'' (1996) *''

: The Education of a Christian Prince with the Panegyric for Archduke Philip of Austria'', editor (1997) *''Hostage to Fortune: The Troubled Life of Francis Bacon'', with Alan Stewart (1998) *''Ingenious Pursuits: Building the Scientific Revolution'' (1999) *''

: The New Organon'', edited with Michael Silverthorne (2000) *''Global Interests: Renaissance Art Between East and West'', with

Jerry Brotton Jerry Brotton is a British historian. He is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London, a television and radio presenter and a curator. Brotton writes about literature, history, material culture, trade, and east-west rel ...

(2000) *''On a Grander Scale: The Outstanding Career of Sir Christopher Wren'' (2002) *''For the Sake of Argument'' (2003) *''The Curious Life of Robert Hooke: The Man Who Measured London'' (2003) *''London's Leonardo: The Life and Work of Robert Hooke'', with Jim Bennett, Michael Cooper and Michael Hunter (2003) *''Grayson Perry'' (2004) *''The Awful End of Prince

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

: The First Assassination of a Head of State with a Handgun'', edited with Amanda Foreman (2005) *''Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory'' (2008) *''Temptation in the Archives: Essays in Golden Age Dutch Culture'' (2015)

Broadcasting and lectures

*''A Point of View''. BBC Radio 4 series (2008, 2010, 2011, 2014) *''My Father, the Bomb and Me''. BBC Four (26 January 2011)
''Seven Ages Of Science''
BBC Radio 4 series (2013) *
Things I Never Knew About My Father
''Conway Memorial Lecture,

(26 June 2014)

References

External links

Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 31 October 2008 (video)

Profile
at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters] {{DEFAULTSORT:Jardine, Lisa 1944 births 2015 deaths Deaths from cancer in England Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of University College London People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Essex Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of King's College, Cambridge British people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish historians Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Female Fellows of the Royal Society People associated with the Victoria and Albert Museum British women historians 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century British women writers Historians of the early modern period Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society 21st-century British women writers Shakespearean scholars Burials at Highgate Cemetery