author
Robert P. Multhauf
1919–2004
A chemist by training who became one of the leading historians of science and technology, he helped shape how museums and scholars tell the story of invention. His work ranged from the history of chemistry to the study of early American technology, with a gift for making technical subjects feel human and alive.
3 Audiobooks
Development of Gravity Pendulums in the 19th Century Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Papers 34-44 On Science and Technology, Smithsonian Institution, 1966
by Victor F. (Victor Fritz) Lenzen, Robert P. Multhauf
Mine Pumping in Agricola's Time and Later
by Robert P. Multhauf
The Introduction of Self-Registering Meteorological Instruments
by Robert P. Multhauf
About the author
Born on June 8, 1919, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and raised in Newton, Iowa, he studied chemistry at Iowa State College and later earned graduate degrees at the University of California, Berkeley. After working as a chemist and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he moved into the history of science, bringing a scientist’s eye for detail to the past.
He spent much of his career at the Smithsonian Institution, joining in 1954 and later serving as head curator of the Museum of History and Technology and then as its director. He also became an important figure in the field more broadly, editing Isis for many years and serving as president of both the Society for the History of Technology and the History of Science Society.
As an author, he is especially known for books such as The Origins of Chemistry and Neptune's Gift: A History of Common Salt. His writing is remembered for showing how scientific ideas, materials, and tools connect with everyday life, industry, and culture.