No.3 / September 2000

Editorial team:Editor: Yannis KarasAlternate editor: Efth. NicolaïdisEditorial secretary: G. N. VlahakisMembers:Miladin Apostolov (Bulgaria)Radu Iftimovici (Romania)Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (Turkey)Miloje Saric and Aleksandar Petrovic (Yugoslavia)

Address: Institute for NeohellenicResearch / The National HellenicResearch Foundation48, Vas. Constantinou Av.,Athens 116 35Tel. (01) 7273.557- 9Fax. (01) 7246.212e-mail: gvlahakis@eie.grD.T.P.: Vaso Antoniouwww site:http://www.eie.gr/institutes/kne/ife/

ISSN 1108-5630

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE HISTORY

OF SCIENCE

The Unification of Scientific Europe 17th - 19th centuries

Athens, October 11-14, 2000National Hellenic Research Foundation

The Conference is organised by the History of ScienceProgramme, Institute for Neohellenic Research, NationalHellenic Research Foundation. The Proceedings will be published.

Organising Committee.President: Ion Siotis, President of the NHRFVice President: Yannis Karas, Research Professor,INR/NHRFGeneral Secretary: Efthymios Nicolaïdis, AssociateResearch Professor, INR/NHRFTreasurer: George Vlahakis, Researcher, INR/NHRFMembers: Michael Assimacopoulos, Ass. Professor,National Technical University of AthensAristides Baltas, Ass. Professor, N.T.U.A.Vassilis Kalfas, Professor, University of CreteRepresenting the Ministry of Culture: Maria Michaelidou,Director of Cultural Events

PROGRAMME

Wesdesday, October 11, 18.00.Afternoon session 19.00 - 20.30, President, Ion SiotisAristides Baltas, «Internal and external components ofscientific thought: some questions of methodology».Michel Blay: «La diffusion de la mathématisation de laphysique».Andreas Kleinert, «Diffusion and knowledge bymigration. German speaking scientists in EuropeanAcademies and Universities».

Newsletterfor the History of Science in Southeastern Europe

Published by the History of Science Programme, Institute for Neohellenic Research,

National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece

CONTENTS:

News from Turkey..................................3Periodical Publications in Serbia...........5Petar Beron ...........................................8Activities of the INR/NHRF ...............10New publications of the INR/NHR......12Beginnings of economic literature inRomania................................................13Astronomical phenomena....................15From the Ottoman Empire to theNational States......................................16

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Thursday, Octobrer 12morning session 10.00 - 14.00, PresidentVassilis PanagiotopoulosPaolo Brenni: «The difusion of sientificinstruments in Europe».Yorgos Kontoyorgis, «Anthropocentrismand the evolution of science».Costas Gavroglou, «The myth of theuniversality of scientific discourse in Europe'Dimitris Dialetis, The multivariousness ofscientific discourse in Europe (seventeenth -nineteenth centuries)».Paraskevas Konortas, «The Greek East andthe Latin West: Questions of identity»Alexander Petrovich, «European sciencebetween Cartesian and alternativeparadigms».Christine Phili, «Defenders and opponents ofnon-Euclidean Geometry in nineteenth-century Europe. The case of AthanasiosKarayannidi».

Afternoon session 17.00 - 20.30, PresidentMichael Ntomis-AntonopoulosKarl Siilivansk, «The unification of scientificlife in Baltic Sea region 17th-19th c».Anastasios Tsiantoulas, «The experiment as afactor in scientific unification: the cryogeniclaboratory of Leyden»Roman Duda, «On the origins of the PolishMathematical School».Sergei Demidov, «The birth of mathematicalresearch in Russia 17th-19th centuries».Michael Assimacopoulos, «The sciences inRussia in the seventeenth century. GreekOrthodox and Western influences»Miladin Apostolov-Penka Ivanova,«National traditions and external influenceson Bulgarian science, 18th -19th century».Theodoros Christidis, «Conjectural causality.A revolution with prior notice»

Friday, October 13morning session 10.00 - 14.00, PresidentPaschalis Kitromilides

Yannis Karas, «The unification of theEuropean and Greek scientific worlds in theeighteenth - nineteenth century. From onevessel into another, or keeping pace?»Dimitrios Karamberopoulos, «Can we speakof a single world of medicine?»M·Ú›· Maria Terdimou: «Against thecurrent: the contribution of the periphery tothe development of European science».George N. Vlahakis, «Homogeneity anddifference in scientific thought. The case ofsouth-eastern Europe in the eighteenth -nineteenth century».Costas Krimbas - Theodoros Kritikos, «TheIonian Academy - Athens University:Communicating vessels or parallel paths?».Nikos Kastanis, «The development ofanalytical thought and its reverberations inmodern Greek mathematical education».Nikos Matsopoulos, «The reception ofmodern Astronomy in Greece in theeighteenth - nineteenth century».

Afternoon session 17.00 - 20.30, PresidentPantelis NikolakopoulosSavvas Agouridis, «The position of theChristian Churches when the Enlightenmentput science before everything».Vittorio Marchis «L'Italie, charnièrescientifique entre Orient et Occident».George Papagounos, «The philosophicalphysiology of the eighteenth century».Vincent Jullien, «La diffusion des idées deDescartes dans le sud de l'Italie».Noel Golvers, «The role of the Jesuits in thespread of European science».Michalis Lambrou, «The HodosMathematikes of Methodios Anthrakitis -Balanos Vasilopoulos, an early mathematicaltext from a Western viewpoint».Radu Iftimovici-Marina Ion, «La difusion desidées: un fils du compositeur Franz Liszt, lefondateur de l’enseignement médical enRoumanie».

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Saturday, October 14morning session 10.00 - 14.00, PresidentEftychis BitsakisEkmelledin Ihsanoglu, «European scienceand the Ottoman Empire».Efthymios Nikolaïdis, «From the OttomanEmpire to the Nation-State. The sciences as aEuropean ideology».Robert Halleux: «Science en Belgique:l'intégration scientifique d'un nouvel Etat».Mustafa Kaçar, «The Hellenic PhilosophicalSchool in Istanbul at the beginning of the 19thcentury»Vasilis Pappas, «Trends and influences in theestablishment of Chemistry as an autonomousscience in the Greek intellectual world».Feza Günergun, «Mavrogéni Pasha and thedifusion of science in the Ottoman Empire».Konstantinos Chatzis, «L’ influence d’ uneexception: la formation des ingénieurs enFrance, 18e-19e siècle».

Sponsors:The Conference is sponsored by the GeneralSecretariat for Research and Technology andby the Ministry of Culture.

NEWS FROM THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE

IN TURKEY

IRCICA Director General Prof. Ihsanogluelected member of the InternationalAcademy of the History of Science, Paris

Prof. Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has beenelected a member of the Paris-basedInternational Academy of the History ofScience. The Academy, a scholarly institutionof world renown, brings together scholars whohave produced important works in the field ofthe history of science. It was established in1927-28 and has boasted such leading figures inthis field as Aldo Mieli, its founder, and GeorgeSarton. Among its distinguished members are

Joseph Needham, Alexandre Koyne and RenéTaton. The Academy, which is currentlypresided over by Prof. William Shea, a world-renowned authority on the history of science,has Prof. Emmanuel Poulle as its PermanentSecretary. Prof. Ihsanoglu is the 290th memberof the Academy and the second to have beenelected from Turkey after Ord. Prof. Dr AydinSayili, who was elected in 1961.

The 16th General Assembly of the TurkishSociety for the History of Science (TBTK)

The 16th General Assembly of the TurkishSociety for the History of Science was heldon 13 May 2000. After the election of thenew Council members (Head: Prof. Ali RizaBerkem; Assistant Head: Dr Mustafa Kacar;Secretary: Dr Sevtap Kadioglu), the Board ofDirectors was elected, and is as follows:President:Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (IstanbulUniversity)Vice-President: Atila Bir (Istanbul TechnicalUniversity)Secretary: Gaye Sahinbas (Istanbul University)Treasurer: Emre Dolen (Marmara University,Istanbul)Member: Mustafa Kaçar (Istanbul University)

History of the Ottoman State and Civilisation,prepared by a group of historians, edited andpreface by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, translatedinto Arabic by Salih Sadawi Salih, Istanbul1999, two volumes, photographs, maps,diagrams and tables.

An English edition of the IRCICA’sHistory of the Ottoman State andCivilisation will soon be available. Theoriginal Turkish edition of the first volumeappeared in 1994, and that of the secondvolume in 1998. This book, a jointpublication by eminent scholars in this field,is a comprehensive study of various aspectsof the six hundred-year history of the

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Ottoman state and civilisation from theformation of the Ottoman principality untilthe proclamation of the Republic of Turkeyin 1923. It came out under a large-scaleresearch project of the IRCICA entitled ‘TheHistory of the Muslim Nations’. It aims togive an objective account of the history of theOttoman state and civilisation on the basis ofthe Ottoman archival sources, chronicles, andworks published by contemporary scholarsworld-wide. The authors have tried to depictthe analytical connections between historicalfacts and developments instead of presentingthem with a purely descriptive approach.

The first volume, on State and Society,consists of the following parts and chapters:Part I: Ottoman Political History: I. ‘FromEstablishment until the Treaty of KucukKaynarca’ by Feridun Emecen; II. ‘From theTreaty of Kucuk Kaynarca until theDisintegration of the State’ by KemalBeydilli; Part II: ‘Ottoman StateAdministration’ by Mehmet Ipsirli; I. PalaceAdministration, II. Central Administration,III. Provincial Administration; IV. TheIlmiye Career iyildiz; Part VII: ‘OttomanEconomic Structure’ by Mubahat S.Kutukoglu: I. The Ottoman FinancialSystem, II. Precious Metals, Monetary andPrice Policy, II. Trade and Commerce, IV.Transport, Communication and the PostalServices, V. Industry.

The second volume, on Civilisation andCulture, is in four parts. Part I.: ‘Language andLiterature’: I. ‘Ottoman Turkish’ by NuriYuce, II. ‘Turkish Literature in Anatolia’ byGunay Kut, III. ‘Turkish Literature during thePeriod of Westernisation’ by Orhan Okay, IV.‘Literature of the Muslim Peoples in Europeduring the Ottoman Period’ by NimetullahHaf›z, V. ‘Intellectual Life in the ArabProvinces during the Ottoman Period’ by LeilaSabbagh; Part II: ‘Religion and Thought’: I.‘Religion’ by Ahmet Yasar Ocak, II.‘Intellectual Life’ by Ahmet Yasar Ocak, III.

‘A Study of Intellectual Life during the Periodof Westernisation’ by Orhan Okay; Part III.‘Education and Science’ by EkmeleddinIhsanoglu: I. ‘Ottoman Educational andScientific Institutions’, II. ‘Ottoman ScientificLiterature’; Part IV: ‘Art and Architecture’: I.‘Ottoman Art and Architecture’ by Esin Atil,II. ‘The Art of Calligraphy among theOttomans’ by M. Ugur Derman, III. ‘The Artof Illumination among the Ottomans’ by CicekDerman, IV. ‘Ottoman Music’ by CinucenTanrikorur.

The work includes photographs, a glossary,a chronology, a bibliography, and a detailedindex. It is expected to serve as a source ofreference both for historians and for generalreaders.

Science in Islamic Civilisation. Proceedingsof the international symposia ‘ScienceInstitutions in Islamic Civilisation’ and‘Science and Technology in the Turkish andIslamic World’, edited by EkmeleddinIhsanoglu and Feza Günergun, No. 9 in theStudies and Sources on the History of Scienceseries, Istanbul 2000.

IRCICA is pleased to present theproceedings of two symposia on the historyof science, collected in a single volume. Thefirst symposium, on Science Institutions inIslamic Civilisation, was organised with thecollaboration of the Turkish Society for theHistory of Science (TBTK), UNESCO, andthe Third World Academy of Science(TWAS), at IRICICA’s headquarters in 1991.The second was the international symposiumon ‘Science and Technology in the Turkishand Islamic World’, held in 1994 with thecollaboration of the Turkish Society for theHistory of Science (TBTK), Bosporus andMarmara Universities (Istanbul), and theUzbekistan Academy of Sciences, on theoccasion of the 600th anniversary of the birthof Ulugh Bey and the 125th of the foundation

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of the Kandilli Observatory (Istanbul). Thebook contains 23 papers reflecting valuableresearch findings and innovative assessmentsby leading scholars and researchers in thefield. As explained by Prof. Ihsanoglu in thepreface, the two symposia addressed inter-related topics, but examined them fromdifferent viewpoints; thus, the inclusion of thepapers read at them in a single volume willhelp to meet a variety of research interests.The papers are grouped according to thesubjects on which they focus: first, a group ofsix papers dealing with science institutions,then four on astronomy, followed by sixpapers on mathematics, three papers onengineering technology and cartography, andfour papers on medical sciences. It is hopedthat this book will contribute to theadvancement of research into science inIslamic civilisation.

HISTORY OF SCIENCE PERIODICAL

PUBLICATIONS IN SERBIA

Lives and works of Serbian scientists,publication of the Serbian Academy of

Science and Arts

The Committee for the Study of the Livesand Works of Serbian Scientists andScientists of Serbian Origin of the SerbianAcademy of Sciences and Arts wasestablished in 1992. The Committeeestablished its Lives and Works of SerbianScientists publications in 1994. The first bookin this series came out in 1996, and six morehave been published since then.

This publication covers the lives andworks of Serbian scientists in the fields ofnatural sciences and mathematics. Up to now,it has included 72 scientists engaged indifferent basic sciences: 11 scientists inMathematics, 9 scientists in Geology, 9scientists in Biology, 9 scientists in

Chemistry, 5 scientists in Mechanics, 4scientists in Geography, 1 scientist in Physics,1 scientist in Astronomy; from appliedsciences: 10 scientists in BiotechnicalSciences, 9 scientists in Medical Sciences, and4 scientists in Technical Sciences.

These sciences and scientific fields havebeen covered by 91 authors - members of theSerbian Academy of Sciences and Arts,university professors, and researchers fromacademic institutions. It is planned to cover217 scientists of the XIX and XX centuries inthis publication. The Committee has plannedthis publication to be of a lasting characterand for it to appear as long as there areSerbian scientists.

In terms of social origin, the scientistsdescribed originated from a variety of socialstrata: 14 of them were from farmers’families, 12 from traders’, 7 from teachers’families, 7 from families engaged in politicsand government administration, 6 frommilitary officers’ families, 4 from those ofcraftsmen, 4 from the families of clergy, 3from families with members with universitydegrees, and 1 from a family involved indifferent forms of art.

The importance of this publication lies inits complexity and its systematic approach toevery single scientist included. Theoutstanding and distinguished scientistsdescribed in this publication have beenconsidered not only from the scientific, butalso from the philosophical, social andexistential point of view. Each paper dealingwith a single scientist is supplemented by acomplete bibliography of his/her works, aswell as by a bibliography of papers publishedon him/her. Each text is followed by anabstract in English.

Miloje R. Sari, Member of the SerbianAcademy of Science and Arts

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Phlogiston, journal for the History of Science

Phlogiston is the first journal in south-eastern Europe to specialise in the generalhistory of the natural sciences. The periodicalwas first published in Belgrade in early 1995.The nine issues published contain about 3,000pages dedicated to an examination of varioustopics from the history of science in Serbiaand Europe. All the studies in the journal arepublished in Serbian and English, with asummary in one of those languages. In thisway, almost all the relevant information ismade available to the widest circle ofreadership.

The international editorial staff consistingof historians of science from Serbia and theUnited Kingdom edits the periodical, and it ispublished by the Museum of Science andTechnology, the Serbian Society for theHistory of Science and Agency for Textbooks.Each issue has a primary topic which isexplored extensively and in detail. In past

issues some of the topics have been: SerbianEngineers in the Nineteenth Century; SerbianAstrophysics in the Nineteenth Century;Leonardo da Vinci and the History of Geology;Chemistry in Byzantium; Serbian Geographyin the Nineteenth Century; Serbian Astronomyin the Nineteenth Century; Harmony and theHistory of Science; Nikola Tesla’sExperiments in Colorado Springs. In addition,the journal has published special issuescontaining extensive studies by Ljerka Opra:‘History of Serbian Meteorology (1848 -1998)’, and Nenad Jankovic: ‘History ofAstronomy down to the Nineteenth Century’.A study by Dusan Jovanovic which investigatesthe history of prospecting for gold and copperin Eastern Serbia, and a study of IsaacNewton’s alchemy are to be published by theend of the year.

In the last issue (No. 9) of Phlogiston,which appeared in June 2000, inter alia, therewas a study by Veselka Trajkovic: ‘SerbianAstronomy in the Nineteenth Century’, astudy by Bernar Carlson: ‘Tesla, Motors andMyths’, a paper by Vladimir Jankovic: ‘TheMeaning of Concepts - Operationalism orNot’, a study by Aleksandar Petrovic:‘History of Science - Stupendous Possibilityof Achievement or Picture of Dorian Grey’,and a contribution by Ivan Gutman: ‘TheObscure Chemist Mita Petrovic’. Apart fromthe above, special attention is given in thelast issue to: exploring the history of the firstSerbian ‘Physics’ by Atanasije Stojkovic(1773 - 1832), which was first published in1801 in Budapest; works of the Russianarchitect Nikola Petrovich Krasnov (1864 -1939) in Belgrade; the translation of MilutinMilankovic’s Canon of Isolation intoEnglish, and other topics. Last but not least,readers could find a review of the first issue ofthis Newsletter.

In the next issue, besides other columns,Phlogiston plans to publish texts dedicated tothe question of the scientific chronology of

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the ancient Egyptian kingdoms, the history ofthe reception of the Theory of Relativity inYugoslavia, questions of the scientificcontribution of Mileva Maric-Einstein, andsome critical remarks on Newton’sgravitonal constant. Phlogiston’s editorialstaff will be very glad to achieve bettercollaboration with historians of science insouth-eastern Europe.

Aleksandar PetrovicSenior Editor - Phlogiston

petral@eunet.yu

Pinus, a journal for research into XIXthcentury Serbian engineering

The book Engineers in the Principality /Kingdom of Serbia since 1934 was publishedin 1994. It contains basic data on more than athousand engineers who built Serbia during a75-year period, thus making it possible for abackward country to catch up with technicaltrends in Europe at the beginning of theXXth century.

V. Solaja, doyen and legendary figure inYugoslav mechanical engineering, washimself surprised at discovering such a largenumber of engineers after carrying out, for10 years, thorough and scientific researchinto XIXth century engineering. The bookmarks the beginning of a major project basedon systematic research into the technicalheritance of Serbia. The project is also beingcarried out through Pinus journal activities(Pinus - Tracing engineering in Serbia). Theresults of this pioneering research have beenpublished in eight issues of Pinus magazine, aperiodical unique of its kind in south-easternEurope. The initiator and editor, Prof. Solaja,was the first to form a team of experts indifferent fields and to give a publication theform of a collection of scientific issues andmonographs.

This publication includes different aspects

of Serbian engineering in the period from theMiddle Ages down to the present. About 40original scientific research papers have beenpublished for the first time, thus filling a gapin Serbian historiography, and familiarisingthe specialist and general readership with theresults of research and numerous data (Pinusmagazine Nos 1, 2, 4, and 7).

The authors of the articles, in studying thevarious fields of technological development inSerbia, have used the data acquired as the basisfor their critical opinions in making acomparison of world and Europeandevelopment in this field, on the one hand, withthe difficult technological development of thecountry, on the other. That these results weresignificant and how broad and important theresearch was is shown in Pinus Nos 3, 5, 6, and8. Nos 6 and 8 present the economicdevelopment of the country, as well as themilitary industry and black metallurgy (theexample is Koncerna Sartid). Pinus No. 3began an analysis of achievements inengineering in those parts of Serbia whereengineers were sent by the Ministry of Buildingduring the XXth century. The example is thetown of Krusevac and its environs. Pinus No. 5is devoted to Serbian women architects - the 24of them who graduated from BelgradeUniversity between 1894 and 1940. Thematerial was published posthumously afterbeing collected by a persistent investigator andhistorian of Serbian architecture, Ms DivnaDjuric-Zamolc, PhD.

In order to continue the mission of Prof.V. Solaja and to repay their debt to theirprofessor, his students and colleagues wish tocontinue his efforts, in spite of difficulties, inexploring the history of Serbian engineeringand supplying material for new issues ofPinus magazine.

Adela MagdicMember of the PINUS Editorial Board

flogisto@eunet.yu

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200 YEARS FROM THE BIRTH OF DR

PETAR BERON

The Encyclopaedic Creative Work andthe Medical Heritage of Dr Petar Beron

(1799 - 1871)

In the year 2000, the scientists and thepublic of Bulgaria are celebrating the 200thanniversary of the birth of one of the mostoutstanding representatives of the BulgarianNational Revival who attempted to create forhimself his own Cosmogonia andAnthropogonia, to embrace the entire visibleand invisible world, and to rise to the level ofthe most prominent European scientists andbecome, as we have called him recently, theBulgarian Lomonosov.

Today, the fact that the History of Sciencein Bulgaria probably is aware of the life andthe entire encyclopaedic work of Dr PetarBeron is due chiefly to the fact that ourcontemporaries Neli and Michail (now dead)Batchvarov have established themselves in thehistory of Bulgarian science as Beronresearchers who have studied the wholescientific heritage of Dr Petar Beron. It is theywho have presented him in his entiredevelopment as a pedagogue, physician,public figure, patron and scientist, as the“bearer of a consistent love of enlightenment,science and homeland, of a mind we admireand of a working capacity which amazes us”.1

In the first half of the nineteenth centuryin Bulgaria, a whole pleiad of scientists, menof letters Riben Bukvar (‘Fish Textbook’). In1825, he began his studies at HeidelbergUniversity, where he stayed for two years. Hethen went on to Munich, where he studiedand graduated in Medicine. At the end of hisstudies, he submitted his doctoral thesis onObstetrics (in 1831), and became a “Doctorof Medicine, Surgery and Obstetric Skills”.After practising for nine years as a physicianin Krajova (Romania), Dr Beron devotedhimself to scientific work and for this purpose

he moved to Paris. It was here that, aRibenBukvar (‘Fish Textbook’). In 1825, he beganhis studies at Heidelberg University, where hestayed for two years. He then went on toMunich, where he studied and graduated inMedicine. At the end of his studies, hesubmitted his doctoral thesis on Obstetrics (in1831), and became a “Doctor of Medicine,Surgery and Obstetric Skills”. Afterpractising for nine years as a physician inKrajova (Romania), Dr Beron devotedhimself to scientific work and for this purposehe moved to Paris. It was here that, after1841, he wrote and published works in manyvolumes in French, German, English, andGreek. After his System of Atmospherologyand System of Geology, his outstandingSlavonic Philosophy appeared. He alsopublished other books, culminating in hisseven-volume Panepisteme (5,000 pages withmany original illustrations, drawings andtables!). In 1870, he published Vol. I of hisPhysicochemistry.

In Panepisteme, Petar Beron makes anattempt to create a universal scientificsystem which will logically and withoutcontradictions clarify everything connectedwith the origin, the nature, the laws ofmovement, and the development of themacro and microcosmos.

Beron was a member of several scientificsocieties, among them the Medical andPhysiological Society in Athens. In 1853, hedelivered a paper before this Society on thereasons for and the consequences of theworld-wide flood. In Athens, he publishedthree of his works in Greek.

Also of significance was his presentationof a paper at the Royal Academic Society inLondon on the topic ‘The reasons for earthmagnetism are proved’. This paper, togetherwith other works by him, is to be found in theSociety’s library in London.

One of the major achievements of thisgreat Bulgarian was the reform of the work of

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the Enlightenment in his homeland, itsmodernisation, the free dissemination of hisRiben Bukvar, financial support forBulgarian schools, the demand that childrenshould acquire a wide language culture and betreated equally regardless of their religiousand ethnic origin, and the provision offinancial support for young Bulgarians whowere to be educated in Europe.

The ideas of Dr Petar Beron on medico-biology, anatomo-physiology, and ontherapeutic, prophylactic, and traditionalnature medicine are not collected andpublished in a separate volume - they aredeveloped mainly in his doctoral thesis, in hisSlavonic Philosophy, in his Riben Bukvar,and in many parts of his encyclopaedic workPanepisteme.

Two chapters stand out in the RibenVukvar, ‘Man’ and ‘How man should protecthis health’, which reflect his achievements inscientific anatomy and physiology, as well asthe Hippocratic prophylactic ideas set out inthe two chapters (these are the first scientificand popular texts of medical content fromthe time of the Bulgarian National Revival).Beron’s contributions of major significanceinclude the following: (a) he contributed tothe dissemination of Western Europeanscientific ideas throughout the Balkans - ofthe ideas on anatomy of Andreas Vesalius(1514 - 1564) and of the views on physiologyof William Harvey (1578 - 1657); (b) heintroduced the teaching of actual scientificmedical knowledge in Bulgarian schools; heattracted the attention of large studentaudiences and rapidly enhanced their generaland medical culture; (c) he had a highestimation of prophylactic medicine andadvocated a positive attitude towards it.

Also to be found in the works of Dr Beronare unacceptable theses and interpretations(on digestion, the pulsations of the heart, themetabolism, etc.) which were unacceptableeven at the time of their publication.

However, this usually does not apply to hisactual scientific hypotheses and explanations.In his Episteme, published in Paris in themiddle of the nineteenth century, andespecially in Volumes I and IV of this majorwork, there is a presentation of the author’sconcepts in the sphere of human physiology,parturition, electrophysiology, infectiousdiseases, and dangerous infectionsparticularly, the formation of races, and aknowledge of medicine. In these directions,his most important conclusions andachievements can be summed up as:

(a) his views on fluids coincide with themajor concepts in contemporaryelectrophysiology and with today’s ideas onbiostreams and potentials within the humanorganism. Our studies have shown that PetarBeron was the forerunner of the Bulgarianscientific schools in the sphere of physiology- not so much and directly of the school of theacademician Dimitar Orahovats (1892 -1963) as of its branches, set up andestablished in the research institutes at theBulgarian Academy of Science;2

(b) that the emergence of diseases isconnected with an irregular nutritional regimeand with the influence of the so-called riskfactors;

(c) the great idea of timely therapy isexpressed very successfully: “The morepunctually the doctor has started the therapy”,writes Dr Beron, “the more favourable will bethe outcome for the patient”;

(d) with the rejection of unscientific racialclaims for the existence of inferior and superiorraces, in our view, Dr Beron was also theforerunner of the scientific biological school ofacademician Metodii Popov (1881 - 1954), andto be more exact, of his anti-racist andanthropological paradigm.3

Petar Beron’s doctoral thesis wentbeyond the confines of the Munich MedicalFaculty and attracted the attention of greatscientists and specialists because of the fact

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that it deals with one of the unsolvedproblems of that time: the correlationbetween the dimensions of the pelvis and thedimensions of the foetus during the process ofparturition. Here he made at least two majorcontributions to science: (a) he devised a newpelvis measuring unit; (b) he drafted tablesshowing the results of measurements of thehead of the new-born child by the help ofwhich the head of the still unborn foetus ismeasured.

Dr Petar Beron made valuablecontributions to science, ensuring a goodstart for Bulgarian medical science andhelping it to get ahead of time by means of hisstudies, and directed the attention ofresearchers to the psychoprophylactics ofparturition.4

The dissertation work of Dr Petar Beron,an important ingredient of his scientificmedical heritage, makes him the equal ofmost important theoreticians of obstetricsand gynaecology of that time: Rjonak, Friid,Rjoderer, Stein, Bodelock, etc.

The unique characteristics of thecontributions to science of Dr PetarHadjiberov-Beron in the sphere of medicinemake them comparable with the achievementsof European scientists - doctors of medicine ofthe nineteenth century. These, together with hisideas in the sphere of physico-chemistry and hishypotheses on the origin and development ofthe cosmos and man, on race and earthmagnetism, contributed to the development ofscience as a whole, to the enrichment of thepan-human fund of scientific knowledge.

References

1. Apostolov, M., Centres of Bulgarian Medicine, ArsoPubl. House, Sofia 1995.2. Apostolov, M. and Ivanova, P., History of Medicineand Nursing, Goreks Press, Sofia 1998.3. Batchvarova, N. and Batchvarov, M, Dr Petar Beron(Life, Work, and Nature Philosophy), Science and Art,Sofia 1975. 4. Batcharova, N., Dr Petar Beron - Life and Deed,Sofia 1989.

Prof. Dr Miladin Apostolov and Dr PenkaIvanova,

Bulgarian Inter-disciplinary Group on theHistory of Science, Sofia

FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF THE

HISTORY OF SCIENCE PROGRAMME OF

THE INSTITUTE OF NEOHELLENIC

RESEARCH / N.H.R.F.

Microfiching of Scientific Works

One of the constant, permanent objectivesof the History of Sciences programme of theInstitute for Neohellenic Research of theNational Hellenic Research Foundation is thepreservation and utilisation, for researchpurposes, of works (in manuscript or printed)on the natural sciences which are today invarious libraries of Europe.

Within the framework of these endeavours,and in collaboration with the ‘Archive of

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Sources for the History of the Sciences andTechnology’ programme of the NationalTechnical University of Athens and theCentre for History and Palaeography of theCultural Foundation of the National Bank ofGreece, missions have been carried out toBulgaria and Romania.

In the course of these missions,undertaken by the historians Yannis Karas,Head of the History of Sciences programmeof the INR/NHRF, and Agamenon Tselikas,Head of the C.H.P., 35 Greek scientificmanuscripts were photographed in Romaniaand 27 in Bulgaria.

To this number, which will constantly beincreased with new microfiches, should beadded the relatively large number ofmicrofiches - not only from Greece - ofworks of this category (approximately 500)which belong to the already rich microfichelibrary (approximately 7,000) of the CHP.

These microfiches, like the data base ofthe History of Sciences programme of theINR/NHRF, constitute an important,essential source for those wishing to study theHistory of Sciences in the more generalregion of the Balkans.

Science, Technology, and the Nineteenth-Century State: the Role of the Army

Syros, 7-8 July 2000

The Programme for the History ofScience of the National Hellenic ResearchFoundation, in collaboration with theLaboratoire Territoires, Techniques etSociétés of the École Nationale des Ponts etChaussées held a symposium on the role ofthe Army in the development of science andtechnology in the nineteenth century. Thesymposium was connected with the jointproject of these two institutions with thecollaboration of the IRCICA on ‘the role ofFrance in the modernisation of the states ofthe Eastern Mediterranean during the

nineteenth century’ (Coordinators,Efthymios Nicolaïdis - NHRF andKonstantinos Chatzis - ENPC).

The programme of the symposium was asfollows:

Robert Halleux (University of Liège): ‘Lesingénieurs de l’ École Royale: leur rôle enBelgique et Outre-mer’.

Ekmelledin Ihsanoglu (University ofIstanbul and IRCICA): ‘Army andtechnology in the Ottoman Empire’.

Efthymios Nicolaïdis (N.H.R.F.):‘Measuring the longitudes, the role of thearmy in the Greek area during the 19thcentury’.

Antoine Picon (École Nationale des Pontset Chaussées): ‘Fortification et politique enFrance au XIXe siècle’.

Konstantinos Chatzis (École Nationaledes Ponts et Chaussées): ‘Des ingénieursmilitaires au service des civils: les officiers duGénie en Grèce au XIXe siècle’.

Anousheh Karvar (BibliothèqueNationale de France): ‘Les missions militaireset navales françaises à l’ étranger (Roumanie,Japon, Perse) au XIXe siècle’.

Natalie Montel (École Nationale desPonts et Chaussées): ‘La création de l’arsenal d’ Alexandrie dans les années 1830.La construction navale française au prismede l’ Egypte’.

Patrice Bret (Centre des Recherches enHistoire des Sciences et des Techniques):‘Les militaires et la recherche scientifique ettechnique en France au XIXe siècle’.

Mustafa Kaçar (University of Istanbul):‘The contributions of the Scholars of theImperial Military Engineering Schoolstowards the development of OttomanScience during the reign of Sultan Selim III’.

Michael Assimacopoulos (NationalTechnical University of Athens): ‘Theinfluence of the Military School on theSchool of Arts (Polytechneion)’.

Andreas Kastanis (Greek Army): ‘The

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teaching of Mathematics at the GreekMilitary School during the nineteenthcentury’.

George Vlachakis (N.H.R.F.): ‘Thescientific activites of the Greek Navy officersduring the 19th century’.

Dimitris Vogiatzis (Aviation Museum):‘Military technology in Greece during thenineteenth century’.

The proceedings of the symposium will bepublished.

NEW PUBLICATIONS OF THE HISTORY

OF SCIENCE PROGRAMME

OF THE INR/NHRF

Yannis Karas,The Evolution of Modern Greek Science.

From Traditional to Modern ScientificThought, Athens 1999, 92 p. [in Greek].

The author of this book starts out from theprinciple that the evolution of science cannotbe understood as a simple cumulative processwhich is no more than an increase in thenumber of scientifically established facts,that for the dissemination of scientific andphilosophical knowledge, intellectuals,scientists, are required, as is the existence andoperation of a certain intellectualcommunity, and that channels ofcommunication (schools, books, periodicals)for the members of this community betweenthemselves and with society are essential. It isin this spirit that the evolution of scientificthought in the period of the Modern GreekRenascence (Modern Greek Enlightenment),from the mid seventeenth century(Theophilos Korydaleus) to the Revolution(1821), a period in which the beginnings ofmodern Greek scientific thought can beidentified, is examined.

The Modern Greek Renascence wasenacted through a constant progression,which, though dialectically interwoven with

the European Enlightenment - with which itsought to keep pace, to enter intopartnership - belonged within the historicalevolution of Hellenism, without suddenruptures and lapses, and without interruptingits cultural and intellectual continuity.

Science, Technology and the 19th-centuryState, Athens 2000, 150 p.

Edited by Efthymios Nicolaïdis and Konstantinos Chatzis

The articles presented in that volume donot form part of a general theory which seeksto illustrate the link between science,technologies and the construction of the Statein the 19th century, which does not, ofcourse, prevent them from drawing ontheories developed in works of a moretheoretical nature. However, their groupingtogether in this work is not, we hope, just asimple juxtaposition. Over and above theirdiverse themes, the contributions which makeup the book are characterized by the same« deglobalizing » approach: without denyingthe importance of a general framework in thestudy of the relationships between science,technology and the State during the 19thcentury, they favor an approach which isbased on groups or even individuals. It isthrough the action of actors in the fields ofscience and technology, such as engineers andinstrument makers, producers of knowledgeand popularizers of it, that the authors of thispublication have attempted to deal with thetriptych « Science, technology and the Statein the 19th century ».

The publication is the result ofcollaboration between the Institute forNeohellenic Research / National HellenicResearch Foundation and the LaboratoireTerritoires, Techniques et Sociétés / EcoleNationale des Ponts et Chaussées de Paris.As its purpose was a study of the scientific

and technological contribution of France tothe modernization of the new Greek State inthe 19th century, this collaboration seeks toclearly illustrate the mechanisms by whichthis new State tried to become a full memberof the family of rich and powerful Europeancountries of the time: creation of educationaland technological structures, importing oftechnologies which were supposed to enablethis underdeveloped country, at the fringes ofindustrial Europe, to modernize. In order toconduct this research program, comparativestudies on the reality of these structures inWestern European countries and those inGreece, a country on the periphery, were alsocarried out.

Most of the articles in this volume werepresented in the seminar of the same namewhich took place at Syros (Greece), withinthe framework of the Hermoupolis Seminarsorganized by the Institute for NeohellenicResearch and the Cyclades Cultural andScientific Foundation over the last fifteenyears. The seminar was funded by the GeneralSecretary for Research and Technology, the

Hellenic Archives of Scientific Instruments(under the program « Archives de laCréation » of the C.N.R.S. - France) and theNational Technical University of Athens.

The volume is divided thematically intothree units.

The century of Engineers, which presentsa study of the characteristics of the Frenchand the Greek engineer in the 19th century aswell as studies of their organization intoprofessional bodies in the two countries.

The century of Laboratories, whichpresents the policies for acquiring scientificinstruments in England and Greece.

The century of Education, which presentsa study of teaching and the dissemination ofthe sciences in 19th century Greece, but alsoPortugal, with emphasis on the influence ofWestern Europe.

THE BEGINNINGS OF ECONOMIC

LITERATURE IN ROMANIAN:

Ioan Piuariu-Molnar, Economia stupilor (‘Beehive economy’),

Vienna 1785

In the general setting of the EuropeanEnlightenment, characteristic of the eighteenthcentury, a dominant idea was that of ‘rousing’,of ‘enlightening’ the people through culture.

At the same time, this step inscribed itselfinto the efforts required by the transition frommedieval society to the renewing horizons ofmodern society, this objective being planned tobe attained by the gradual means of reforms, sothat the old establishment would not undergoviolent upheavals.

In Transylvania, which at that period wasunder the domination of the HabsburgEmpire, the policy of the court of Vienna wasalso aimed at introducing, in various fields ofeconomic life, innovations which, in leadingto an increase in productivity, could at thesame time bring about a significant increase

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in the taxable base. The Josephinist reformpolicy took into account all these factors.Moreover, the Romanian intelligentsia ofTransylvania, in adhering to such objectives,endeavoured to contribute to the elimination- in this way - of misery, of the state ofbackwardness and lack of culture of thepeasants, to impose upon the Romanians newsocial and economic conduct.

An important moment in the successionof these endeavours is represented by thepublication of the work Economia stupilor(‘Beehive economy’), printed in Vienna in1785, the author of which was Ioan Piuariu-Molnar. It exceeded the horizon and extentof simple agricultural advice, disseminated atthat time through calendars and/orordinances issued by the imperial andTransylvanian authorities; it is the firstRomanian book of concrete (branch)economy “which encompasses an area of thewide field of practical life, a specialised work”(N. Edroiu).

Its author, Ioan Piuariu-Molnar (1749 -1815), was a personality with multipleconcerns. Born in the village of Sadu (nearSibiu), he obtained in 1744 the degree ofMaster of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicineof the University of Vienna, after havingpractised medicine at Banat. In 1777, hereceived the title of “doctor of eye diseases ofthe Great Principality of Ardeal” (i.e.,ophthalmologist of Transylvania). In 1784,during Horea’s great peasant uprising, hetook part in the pacification efforts. He wasalso the author of the first treatise on literarytheory printed in Romanian and entitled‘Retorica adeca învatatura si întocmireafrumoasei cuvântari’ (‘Rhetoric, id est,teaching and drawing up of a fine speech’).Finally, during the early years of thenineteenth century, concomitantly with thepractice of his profession of physicianophthalmologist, Ioan Piuariu-Molnar alsoinvolved himself in the practice of economic

life, by succeeding in setting up a “woolfactory” (actually a manufactory) in Sadu, hisbirthplace, after a hard fight against the clothmanufacturers’ guilds in Cisnadie, Sibiu andBrasov, who wanted to keep their medieval-type privileges, which excluded competition.

The book Economis stupilor (‘Beehiveeconomy’), in spite of its character as anapplied work, establishes Ioan Piuariu-Molnar as the first Romanian economist. Inthe introductory part, the author shows, interalia, that he is addressing the public at large:“I have endeavoured with zeal to offer this tomy people”. It was aimed at the“abandonment of some practices of medievalbeekeeping ... as well as at the extension ofthis economic occupation” (N. Edroiu).

The text is divided into twocomprehensive sections: Invataturateoreticeasca (‘Theoretical teaching’) (pp.19-98) and Invatatura practiceasca(‘Practical teaching’) (pp. 99 - 188).

Each section, in turn, is divided intoseveral parts and ‘teachings’. Section I, madeup of 13 parts and 40 ‘teachings’, includes theelements of apicultural theory, from theanatomical description of the bee, thehoneycombs, the beehive, the family, and theswarm, to the daily manifestations of thebeehive. In Section II, made up of 16 partsand 44 ‘teachings’, the manner of rationalbeehive exploitation, according to the naturalcalendar of the seasons, is explained. In thispart of the work, innovations and personalappreciations of the author are presented,based on expoerience acquired, as well as onthe reading of works dealing with apicultureat that time.

Among these works should be mentionedthat of Anton Jancths (1771) and afterwardsalso those of Fr Hubner (1792) and LudwigMitterpacher, used for the second edition of‘Beehive economy’, printed this time in Sibiuin 1808, under the title Povatuire cu praxiscatre sporirea stupilor (‘Advice and practical

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guide to the well-being of beehives’). In thework, at the foot of the pages, are formulatedquestions, 241 in total, intended toconsolidate more easily - by the debate-dialogue method - the knowledge set forth.

On the whole, the Economia stupilor(‘Beehive economy’) of Ioan Piuariu-Molnarsynthesises, in the opinion of specialists,Romanian experience acquired in the field ofbeekeeping and at the same time popularisesinnovations in apiculture achieved in othercountries.

Without being a school-book, it wasnevertheless also used in Romanianeducation in Transylvania (and not onlythere). Moreover, by disseminating modernmethods and providing new solutions in animportant branch of agriculture, its authorsucceeded in initiating a new trend, theeconomic trend, in the Romanian culturalmovement.

In addition, he contributed to thedevelopment and enrichment of the literarylanguage and to the formation of Romanianscientific terminology.

Prof. Dr Vasile BozgaAcademy of Economic Studies

Bucharest, Romania

THE INSPIRATION OF ASTRONOMICAL

PHENOMENA - THIRD CONFERENCE

Palermo (Sicily), Italy - 31 December 2000 -6 January 2001

Call for applications and papers

We would like to inform you of the up-coming Third International Conference onThe Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena('INSAP III'). This meeting will exploremankind's fascination with the sky by day andby night, which has been a strong and oftendominant element in human life and culture.

The conference will provide a meeting-placefor artists and scholars from a variety ofdisciplines (including Archaeology andAnthropology, Art and Art History, Classics,History and Prehistory, the Natural andSocial Sciences, Mythology and Folklore,Philosophy, and Religion) to present anddiscuss their studies of the influences whichastronomical phenomena have had onmankind.

The first two meetings were held in CastelGandolfo, 1994 and Malta, 1999.

The meeting will be held overlooking theMediterranean, a few minutes from thecentre of Palermo, and will start with a NewYear's Eve (and Millennium Eve) banquet on31 December 2000. The meeting rooms willinclude ample space for the display (and sale)of works of art by those attending.

Full information on INSAP III and on theearlier conferences, and an application formfor the up-coming meeting, can be found onour Website:(http://ethel.as.arizona.edu/~white/insap) orobtained from the undersigned. Attendancewill be by invitation from among thoseapplying. All presentations and discussionswill be in English.

The Conference is sponsored by thePalermo Observatory, the VaticanObservatory, and the Steward Observatory,and is hosted by the Palermo Observatory aspart of the bicentennial of the discovery thereof the first asteroid, Ceres, on the nights of 1-3 January 1801.

Prof. Salvatore Serio, Palermo Observatory(Chair, Local Organising Committee)(insap3@oapa.astropa.unipa.it)

Dr Rolf M. Sinclair, Chevy Chase MD(International Organising Committee)(rolf@santafe.edu)

Prof. Raymond E. White, StewardObservatory (International OrganisingCommittee) (REWhite1933@aol.com)

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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURAL

DIVERSITY: FROM THE OTTOMAN

EMPIRE TO THE NATION-STATES

organised byE. Ihsanoglu, E. Nicolaidis, A. Picon

The first symposium on "Science,Technology and Industry in the OttomanWorld" held in 1997 within the XX.International Congress of History of Scienceattracted the attention of scholars and theproceedings book (Proceedings of theInternational Congress of History of Science,Liege, 20-26 July 1997), volume VI, Science,Technology and Industry in the Ottomanworld, ed. E. Ihsanoglu, A. Djebbar and F.Günergun, Brepols Publishers, Belgium (2000)has been published recently. In the frame of thesame Congress, a Symposium on the transfer ofthe scientific knowledge from Europe to theother countries has been organised by E.Nicolaidis and C. Lertora Mendoza(Proceedings of the XXth ICHS,Vols.V,Brepols Publishers, Belgium 2000). In themeantime, a common project between France,Greece and Turkey (co-organisers E.Ihsanoglu, K.Chatzis, E. Nicolaidis) has beenestablished on the transfer of technology andscience from Western Europe to the EastMediterranean during the 19th century. Weare now considering organising a successiveindividual symposium on "Cultural Diversity;from the Ottoman Empire to the NationalStates" within the XXI. InternationalCongress of History of Science to be held inMexico City, 2001.

Scientific activities in the Ottoman worldcomprise various scientific traditions, includingmainly the Islamic tradition inherited by theOttoman Turks and carried on by Arabs whowere part of the Ottoman Empire and thenjoined by European people such as Bosniansand Albanians, newly converted to Islam; aswell as the tradition of different Christianpeoples living in Anatolia and the Balkans (for

ex. the Greek Colleges where the "new" sciencewas taught), and the contributions of nativeJewish scholars as well as those emigrated fromAndalusia. The Ottoman world had thenecessary grounds for the interaction of allthese different traditions. The Ottoman Empirehaving vast lands in Europe, and as a result ofthe Ottomans' contact with European sciencefrom the very early ages, this new scientifictradition spread in the Ottoman lands for thefirst time outside its own cultural environmentwhere it was originated. All these facts aboutthe nature of Ottoman science have drawn theattention of historians of science in recentyears.

Technology transfer from Europe to theOttoman world has a long history that has notbeen elaborately studied yet. The NewMexico symposium of 2001 will deal withthese issues, and the contributions of scholarsfrom various disciplines and backgrounds willenrich the field.

For those who wish to present a paper,please contact Dr Efthymios Nicolaïdis,efnicol@eie.gr

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