Abbott Payson Usher (1883 – June 18, 1965) was an American

economic historian Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

. The

Society for the History of Technology The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is the primary professional society for historians of technology. SHOT was founded in 1958 in the United States, and it has since become an international society with members "from some thirty-five ...

(SHOT) has awarded the

Abbot Payson Usher Prize The Abbot Payson Usher Memorial Prize, established in 1961 and named for Dr Abbott Payson Usher, is an award given annually by Society for the History of Technology for the best scholarly work on the history of technology published during the pre ...

, named in his honor, annually since 1961. In the late 1920s Usher, the American historian

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a w ...

and the Swiss art historian

Sigfried Giedion Sigfried Giedion (sometimes misspelled Siegfried Giedion; 14 April 1888, Prague – 10 April 1968, Zürich) was a Bohemian-born Swiss historian and critic of architecture. His ideas and books, '' Space, Time and Architecture'', and ''Mech ...

began to systematically investigate the social consequences of technology. In ''A History of Mechanical Inventions'' Usher argued that

technological innovation Technological innovation is an extended concept of innovation. While innovation is a rather well-defined concept, it has a broad meaning to many people, and especially numerous understanding in the academic and business world. Innovation refers t ...

was a slow, collective process with many contributors, not relying on the genius of great inventors. In 1963 Usher was awarded the

Leonardo da Vinci Medal The Leonardo da Vinci Medal is the highest award of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and was first given in 1962. In general this award is granted annually to scholars who have contributed outstandingly to the history of technology ...

by the

(SHOT). His daughter

Miriam Usher Chrisman Miriam Usher Chrisman (May 20, 1920 – November 17, 2008) was an American historian of sixteenth-century Germany and the Reformation. Active as an individual scholar, teacher, and collaborator, she was one of the founders of the Sixteenth Centur ...

was a noted historian of the German Reformation. He earned his BA and PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Publications

* * * (Harvard University Press, 1954; Dover Publications, 1988 ) *

References

1883 births 1965 deaths American economic historians Leonardo da Vinci Medal recipients Harvard College alumni {{US-sci-historian-stub