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Edward Grant papers, 1950-2001

Biographical Note

Edward Grant, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University, was born in 1926. He began his higher education at the City College in New York, graduating Cum Laude in 1951, and continued to the University of Wisconsin, where he received his Masters and Doctorate in the History of Science and Medieval History in 1957. During this time, Dr. Grant spent a year at the University of Utrecht as a Fulbright Scholar (1955-1956).

Dr. Grant began his successful teaching career while a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin. He was an assistant to a well-known scholar in the field, Dr. Marshall Clagett, whom he would continue to respect and correspond with throughout his career. Before arriving in Bloomington, Indiana as an Assistant Professor of History, Dr. Grant spent two years teaching at the University of Main (1957-1958) and Harvard University (1958-1959).

Dr. Grant's teaching career at Indiana University spans over thirty years, beginning in 1959. He was instrumental in starting the department later to be known as History and Philosophy of Science and became Distinguished Professor of both that department and History. Dr. Grant also served as Chairperson of History and Philosophy of Science between 1973-1979 and 1987-1990.

A distinguished medievalist, Dr. Edward Grant wrote prolifically throughout his professorship at Indiana University. Among his numerous books are the multi-volume A Source Book in Medieval Science and Much Ado About Nothing: Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution. Dr. Grant also published a variety of articles and reviews in such respected journals and publications as Isis, History of Science, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, and The New Catholic Encyclopedia.

In addition to his abundant writings, Dr. Grant was also a prominent member of several organizations, such as the Medieval Academy of America, the Academie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences, and the History of Science Society for which he served as Vice-President (1983-1984) and President (1985-1986). Dr. Grant was also a frequent lecturer for organizations such as the Phi Beta Kappa Associates Panel of Distinguished Speakers (1990-1998).

Some of Dr. Grant's various achievements are recorded in listings such as Who's Who in America, Directory of American Scholars, Men of Achievement, and Dictionary of International Biography.