Oxford's Sedleian Professors of Natural Philosophy: The First 400 Years

The Sedleian Professorship of Natural Philosophy at Oxford University is one of the oldest professorships, established in the early seventeenth century. It provides centrally organized lectures on a specific subject and has been held by physicians, astronomers, and others with less clear credentials in natural philosophy. This edited volume traces the chair's history through the first four centuries, combining specialized contributions from historians and personal reminiscences of recent holders.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Established in the early seventeenth century following a bequest to the university by Sir William Sedley, Oxford's Sedleian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the university's oldest professorships. In common with other such positions established around this time, such as the Savilian Professorships of Geometry and Astronomy, for example, its purpose was to provide centrally organized lectures on a specific subject. While the Professorship is now a high-profile research post in applied mathematics, it has previously been held by physicians, an astronomer, and several people in the eighteenth century whose credentials in natural philosophy are much less clear. This edited volume traces the varied history of the chair through the first four centuries of its existence, combining specialized contributions from historians of medicine, of science, of mathematics, and of universities, together with personal reminiscences of some of the more recent holders of the post.

Established in the early seventeenth century following a bequest to the university by Sir William Sedley, Oxford's Sedleian Professorship of Natural Philosophy is one of the university's oldest professorships. In common with other such positions established around this time, such as the Savilian Professorships of Geometry and Astronomy, for example, its purpose was to provide centrally organized lectures on a specific subject. While the Professorship is now a high-profile research post in applied mathematics, it has previously been held by physicians, an astronomer, and several people in the eighteenth century whose credentials in natural philosophy are much less clear. This edited volume traces the varied history of the chair through the first four centuries of its existence, combining specialized contributions from historians of medicine, of science, of mathematics, and of universities, together with personal reminiscences of some of the more recent holders of the post.

Weight: 928g
Dimension: 253 x 195 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192843210