Thomas Garnett by Robert Fox

Thomas Garnett by Robert Fox

Thomas Garnett was a man of science and physician whose career took him from rural obscurity in 18th-century Westmorland to metropolitan prominence as the first professor of natural philosophy and chemistry at the newly founded Royal Institution in London in 1799. His rise to the summit of British science was far from straightforward, but is brought to life in vivid detail by Robert Fox.

Fox gives an engrossing and moving account of the trials, triumphs, and tragedies of Garnett’s life, exploring his disputes with established doctors concerning the medicinal virtues of mineral waters, his involvement in the contested politics surrounding the creation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain and his premature death. In doing so, Fox deftly shows how Garnett’s life can illuminate a wide canvas of the social history of British science and medicine in the crucial period of early industrialisation

This is firmly an intellectual and professional biography, and the reader learns a great deal about Garnett’s thinking in addition to his haphazard vocational course.. Fox’s account conveys the flexibility and improvisatory skill it took to thrive, let alone survive, in an era in which the role of professional scientist was still inchoate and new forms of professionalized medical careers were just emerging. * H-Net Reviews *

A deeply researched, welcome study: the long-forgotten first professor at London's Royal Institution, Thomas Garnett, finally emerges from the shadows. Important themes from the
Industrial Revolution - London versus the provinces, aristocratic pretensions versus humble
talent, life versus death - are deftly illuminated. Robert Fox has fashioned a gem.

-- Arnold Thackray, Joseph Priestley Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania and Founding President, Science History Institute, USA
Robert Fox’s long-awaited valuable biography of Thomas Garnett provides a very human and moving story of a life in late eighteenth-century Britain. Using it, Fox tracks the fundamental changes that occurred in British science during that period, especially Garnett’s crucial role in the creation of permanent scientific institutions. * Frank James, Professor of History of Science, University College London, UK *
A brilliantly researched, clearly articulated, panoramic view of late 18th-century rural and cosmopolitan British medical education, contemporary practices, urban and rural professional hierarchies, and contentious pedagogues. * Choice *

Robert Fox is Emeritus Professor of the History of Science, University of Oxford, UK.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781350239296
ISBN 10	1350239291
Title	Thomas Garnett
Author	Robert Fox
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2024-02-08
Number of pages	208
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.