Lynn Thorndike

Born in 1882, he was an American historian best known for studying the history of science, alchemy, astrology, and magic in the ancient and medieval worlds. He taught for many years at Columbia University and became widely respected for treating subjects once dismissed as curiosities with serious scholarly attention.

His most famous achievement is the massive multi-volume A History of Magic and Experimental Science, a project that examined how scientific thought developed alongside older beliefs and practices. Rather than separating "science" neatly from "magic," he showed how closely they were intertwined for centuries.

Thorndike remained an influential scholar well into the mid-20th century and died in 1965. His books are still valued for their range, depth, and ambition, especially by readers interested in how knowledge evolved before the modern scientific age.