Robert J. Forbes

Robert Forbes (1959)

Robert Jacobus Forbes , also Robert James Forbes , (born April 21, 1900 in Breda , † January 13, 1973 in Haarlem ) was a Dutch historian of science .

Forbes had Scottish ancestry and grew up in China . From 1917 to 1923 he studied chemistry at the TU Delft and then worked as a chemist at the Royal Dutch Shell until 1958 . From 1947 he was also professor of the history of applied science and technology at the University of Amsterdam . In 1959 he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences .

He was mainly concerned with the history of technology, for example the history of oil processing and the roads in antiquity, Simon Stevin . With Eduard Jan Dijksterhuis he published an overview of the history of natural sciences and technology. In 1962 he received the first Leonardo da Vinci Medal for the history of technology.

Fonts

• Notes on the history of ancient roads and their construction. Amsterdam 1934; 2nd edition 1964.
• Bitumen and Petroleum in Antiquity. Brill, Leiden 1934.
• Bibliographia Antiqua: Philosophia Naturalis. 10 parts in 6 volumes and 2 supplement volumes. Leiden 1940–1963.
• A Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal. Brill, Leiden 1948; Reprinted there in 1970.
• Man the Maker. A History of Technology and Engineering. Schuman, New York 1950.
• Studies in Ancient Technology. 9 volumes. Brill, Leiden 1955–1964 (new editions until 1993).
  • Volume 1, Bitumen and petroleum in antiquity; the origin of alchemy; water supply, 1955, 2nd edition 1964, 3rd edition 1993,
  • Volume 2: Irrigation and Drainage; Power; Land transport and road-building; The coming of the camel, 1955, 2nd edition 1965,
  • Volume 3: Cosmetics and perfumes in antiquity; Food, alcoholic beverages, vinegar; Food in classical antiquity; Fermented beverages 500 BC - 1500 AD; Crushing; Salts, preservation processes, mummification; Paints, pigments, inks and varnishes, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1955, 2nd edition 1965, 3rd edition 1993,
  • Volume 4: The fibers and fabrics of antiquity; Washing, bleaching, filling and felting; Dyes and dyeing; Spinning; Sewing, basketry and weaving; Weaving and looms; Fabrics and weavers, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1956, 2nd edition 1964, reprint 1987,
  • Volume 5: Leather in antiquity; Sugar and its substitutes in antiquity; Glass, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1957, 2nd edition 1966,
  • Volume 6: Heat and heating; Refrigeration, the art of cooling and producing cold; Light, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1958, 2nd edition 1966,
  • Volume 7: Ancient geology; Ancient mining and quarrying; Ancient mining techniques, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1963, 2nd edition 1966
  • Volume 8: Metallurgy in antiquity, part 1; Early metallurgy, the smith and his tools, gold, silver and lead, zinc and brass, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1964, 2nd edition 1971
  • Volume 9: Metallurgy in antiquity, part 2; Copper and bronze, tin, arsenic, antimony and iron, Leiden: EJ Brill, 1964, 2nd edition 1972
• with EJ Dijksterhuis: History of Science and Technology, 2 volumes, Penguin 1963
• Studies in Early Petroleum History, Leiden, Brill 1958
• More Studies in Early Petroleum History, 1860–1880, Leiden: Brill 1959
• Publisher: The principal works of Simon Stevin 1966
• The Conquest of Nature: Technology and Its Consequences, New York: Praeger 1968

Web links

• Biographical Dictionary of the Netherlands, Dutch