author
Lynn Thorndike
1882–1965
Best known for tracing the tangled history of science, magic, and alchemy in the medieval world, this American historian brought scholarly depth to subjects many writers had treated as curiosities. His work still stands out for its scope, patience, and fascination with how people once understood nature.
3 Audiobooks
A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 1 (of 2) During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era
by Lynn Thorndike
A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 2 (of 2) During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era
by Lynn Thorndike
The place of magic in the intellectual history of Europe
by Lynn Thorndike
About the author
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, on July 24, 1882, he became one of the leading historians of medieval science and alchemy. He studied at Wesleyan University and Columbia University, then taught at Northwestern, Western Reserve, and Columbia, where he spent much of his career.
He is most closely associated with the monumental multi-volume A History of Magic and Experimental Science, published over many years from 1923 to 1958. Rather than separating "serious" science from older magical traditions too neatly, he explored how both were woven into intellectual life from antiquity through the Renaissance.
Thorndike died in New York City on December 28, 1965. He also served as president of the American Historical Association, and his scholarship helped shape how later readers understood the history of science before the modern era.