Clarisse Doris Hellman

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Clarisse Doris Hellman (born August 28, 1910 in New York ; † March 28, 1973 there ) was an American astronomy historian and professor of the history of science. Her research focus, on which she wrote a number of essays, was the history of astronomy in the 16th and 17th centuries. She was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a full member of the International Academy for the History of Science .

Life

Clarisse Doris Hellman was the daughter of obstetrician Alfred M. Hellman and his wife Clarisse, nee. Bloom.

She attended the Horace Mann School in New York and then Vassar College , where she began studying astronomy and mathematics. Her interest in the history of science had been aroused by her acquaintance with George Sarton . In 1930 she completed her studies there with a BA with distinction. During her studies she was accepted into the Phi Beta Kappa because of her achievements . In the same year she moved to Radcliffe College , where she graduated with a Master of Arts in 1931 . A study scholarship enabled her to attend Columbia University , which was followed by a research grant in 1932. From 1956 she was a member of the local seminar for Renaissance studies ( Seminar on the Renaissance ).

In 1933 she married the lawyer Moton Pepper; this marriage had two daughters: Alice (* 1937) and Carol (* 1940). Family responsibilities delayed her formal graduation from Columbia University, which Hellman only achieved in 1943 with a doctorate in philosophy . The subject of her dissertation was the comet of 1577 . The importance of this work lies not only in the detailed biography, which collects all contemporary writings on the comet, but also in showing how less important contemporary literature or pamphlets can be used for research on the history of astronomy.

In 1951 Hellman accepted a position at the Pratt Institute , where she taught until 1966. In 1964 a chair at New York University was added. Two years later she was called to the City University of New York , where she taught at Queens College and the Graduate Center until her death .

In 1959 she took part in the 9th International Congress of the History of Science in Madrid and Barcelona and helped prepare the 10th Congress, which took place in Ithaca and Philadelphia in 1962 .

In 1960 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society , and in 1969 she was accepted as a full member of the International Academy for the History of Science , of which she had been a corresponding member since 1963.

Works (selection)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ronan (1974)
  2. ↑ Rosen (1973), p. 562
  3. ↑ Rosen (1973), p. 562
  4. ↑ Ronan (1974)
  5. ^ Entry in the membership directory of the Académie.
personal data
SURNAME Hellman, Clarisse Doris
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American historian of astronomy and professor of the history of science
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH new York
DATE OF DEATH March 28, 1973
Place of death new York