Category Archives: History

High altitude boots

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Frank Norman

I received an email today with the subject line “High altitude boots”. For a moment I thought it was going to be an advert for extreme high-heeled shoes, but it turned out to be a request for a copy of … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Ludwig Guttmann

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Frank Norman

This is mainly a plug for my first foray onto Occam’s Corner, plus a place to list some of the sources of information that I used, and to tell the story of the chase for a missing document. I feel quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogology, History | 2 Comments

The joys of a Wikipedia edit-a-thon

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Frank Norman

Last week the Royal Society held a Wikipedia edit-a-thon to try and help redress the gender imbalance in Wikipedia’s coverage of biographies of scientists. Twenty volunteers gathered in the library of the Royal Society for a few hours to learn … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Writing | Tagged | 4 Comments

A look back at the future

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Frank Norman

I am indebted to Dr R.A.C. for bringing to my attention a spoof exam paper drawn up by J.B.S. Haldane. Originally published in the journal Brighter Biochemistry (“the illustrated journal of the Biochemical Laboratory, Cambridge”), the paper was republished in Trends in … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

A snapshot of our collection – history

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Frank Norman

Earlier this month I hosted a meeting of CHILL. It is a group of independent health libraries which meets three times a year in the premises of one or other of the members. The meetings are an opportunity to share … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries and librarians | 2 Comments

Hawking history

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Frank Norman

It was good to hear the reports of Stephen Hawking’s speech at his 70th birthday celebrations at the weekend. The Independent ran the story under the headline “I owe it all to my father” and noted that Hawking spoke movingly … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

The Royal Society Library

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Frank Norman

Librarians love to snoop round other libraries, looking for new ideas and taking inspiration from different institutions and their collections. I must confess that sometimes I find such visits a bit tedious but I really enjoyed my latest visit. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Libraries and librarians | 4 Comments

Dusty old data

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Frank Norman

Every now and then I am reminded that, once upon a time, I did a chemistry degree. I still feel some warmth towards the subject, though I have forgotten most of what I learnt. I still remember some of my … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Research data | 5 Comments

Sir Charles Harington (1897-1972)

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Frank Norman

I have been working for a few weeks to put together some posters for a small internal exhibition about Charles Harington, one of our past directors.  I hope it might be of interest to a wider audience, so I have … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Research Councils, Research management | Comments Off on Sir Charles Harington (1897-1972)

Serendipity luckydippery

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Frank Norman

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, with tropical beaches, lush hill country, tea plantations, spice gardens and a fiery cuisine.  The Arabic name for the island was Serendib, “from the Sanskrit Simhaladvipa which literally translates to “Dwelling-Place-of-Lions Island”  (thankyou, Wikipedia). … Continue reading →

Posted in History | 8 Comments