Silvio Bedini

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Silvio Bedini (born 1917) is an American historian. He is currently Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, where he served on the professional staff for twent-five years. Retired since 1987, he actively continues to research and publish history-related books and articles.

[edit] Biography

Bedini was born in the Colonial town of Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1917.

In 1958 he accepted an invitation to write a brochure about the history of his hometown for its 250th anniversary, a project that just three months later resulted in a 411-page book titled Ridgefield in Review.

In 1961 he accepted the offer of a position in Washington, D.C. as curator at the Smithsonian Institution in the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), which was under construction.

For his research and publications in 1962 Bedini received the Abbott Payson Award of the Society of the History of Technology, and in 1997 in Darmstadt, Germany he was awarded the Paul-Bunge-Preis at the General Assembly of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry "for the book of foremost quality on the history of scientific instruments."

In 2000, in Munich, Germany he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal, "the highest recognition from the Society of the History of Technology."

His memberships include the American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the Society of American Historians, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Instrument Society (London), the Astrolabe Society (Paris), the Surveyors Historical Society, and most recently, the DC Association of Land Surveyors, which extended to him an Honorary Membership in December 2003.

Bedini is presently completing his twenty-third book.

[edit] Book and works

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The Trail of Time : Time Measurement with Incense in East Asia by Silvio A. Bedini Cambridge University Press (1994) ISBN 0-521-37482-0
The Jefferson Stone: Demarcation of the First Meridian of the United States by Silvio A. Bedini, Frederick, MD: Professional Surveyors, 1999.
Book Review by Craig B. Waff (pdf, 327KB) (includes a lot of info from the book)
Book Review by Patrick Toscano
The Pope's Elephant by Silvio A. Bedini Nashville, Sanders 1998
The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia by Silvio A. Bedini (Oct 1991)
Declaration of Independence Desk, Relic of Revolution by Silvio A. Bedini ( Jan 1982)
Jefferson and Science by Silvio A. Bedini and Donald Fleming ( Oct 28, 2002)
Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers by Silvio A. Bedini (Nov 1986)
With Compass and Chain: Early American Surveyors and Their Instruments by Silvio A. Bedini (Jan 2001)
Thinkers and tinkers: Early American men of science by Silvio A Bedini (1975)
Clockwork cosmos: Bernardo Facini and the Farnese planisferologio (Studi e testi) by Silvio A Bedini (1985)
The Spotted Stones by Silvio A. Bedini (Library Binding - Oct 1978)
Thomas Jefferson and American vertebrate paleontology (Virginia Division of Mineral Resources publication) by Silvio A Bedini (1985)
Patrons, Artisans and Instruments of Science, 1600-1750 (Collected Studies, Cs635.) by Silvio A. Bedini (May 1999)
The scent of time: A study of the use of fire and incense for time measurement in Oriental countries (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new ser) by Silvio A Bedini (1963)
The pulse of time : Galileo Galilei, the determination of longitude, and the pendulum clock by Silvio A. Bedini ( Dec 1991)
The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The Definitive Biography of the First Black Man of Science by Silvio A. Bedini ( 1972)
The Borghesi Astronomical Clock by Silvio A. Bedini ( 1964)
Thomas Jefferson: Statesman of Science by Silvio A. Bedini (Feb 1990)
Thinkers and Tinkers: Early Men of Science by Silvio A. Bedini (Jun 1, 1983)
Science and Instruments in Seventeenth-Century Italy (Collected Studies Series, Cs448) by Silvio A. Bedini (Jun 1994)
Thomas Jefferson and His Copying Machines (Monticello monograph series) by Silvio Bedini (Sep 1984)
The Mace and the Gavel: Symbols of Government in America (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society) by Silvio A. Bedini ( Oct 1997)
Popeªs Elephant: An Elephantªs Journey from Deep in India to the Heart of Rome by Silvio A. Bedini ( Jul 1997)
Ridgefield in Review. by Silvio A. Bedini (1958)
Christopher Columbus and the Age of Exploration: An Encyclopedia by Silvio A. Bedini and David Buisseret ( Sep 1998)
The Life of Benjamin Banneker: The First African-American Man of Science by Silvio A. Bedini (Jan 1, 1972)
Maryland Historical Magazine - Summer 1998 (Vol. 93 No. 2) by Michael P. McCarthy, Merle T. Cole, Karen Robbins, and Silvio A. Bedini ( 1998)
Early Americans Scientific Instruments and Their Makers by Silvio A. Bedini (1964)
Mechanical Universe. The Astrarium of Giovanni de Dondi from Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Series, Volume 56, Part 5, 1966 by Silvio A. And Francis R. Maddison Bedini (1966)
MOON MAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE by Wernher von; Bedini, Silvio A.; Whipple, Fred L.; and Thomas, Davis Braun (1973)
Seventeenth century magnetic timepieces: [By] Silvio A. Bedini by Silvio A Bedini (1969)
Johann Philipp Treffler,: Clockmaker of Augsburg by Silvio A Bedini
William Churton (fl. 1749-1767): North Carolina Cartographer (Professional surveyor) (Professional surveyor) by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 2001)
Early American Scientific Instruments and Their Makers by Silvio A. Bedini ( 1964)
Mechanical universe: The astrarium of Giovanni de' Dondi (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society) by Silvio A Bedini (1966)
Th. Jefferson and science: Exhibition catalogue by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1981)
Benjamin Banneker and the survey of the District of Columbia, 1791 by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1971)
Early Americans Scientific Instruments and Their Makers by Silvio A. Bedini (Nov 1986)
The makers of Galileo's scientific instruments by Silvio A Bedini (1964)
Introduction--the Vatican's astronomical paintings and the Institute of the Sciences of Bologna by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1980)
Sundials and dialling: A bibliography of Italian and other references by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1966)
The tube of long vision : (the physical characteristics of the early 17th Century telescope) by Silvio A Bedini (1971)
Thinkers and Tinkers: Early American Men of Science. by Silvio A. Bedini (1980)
At the Sign of the Compass and Quadrant: The Life and Times of Anthony Lamb (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society) by Silvio A. Bedini ( April 1984)
Marshall's meridian instrument by Silvio A Bedini (1987)
The scientific instruments of the Lewis and Clark expedition (Great plains quarterly) by Silvio A Bedini (1984)
Galileo Galilei and time measurement: A re-examination of pertinent documents by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1963)
XIVth and XVth century public clocks of the papal marches by Silvio A Bedini (Jan 1, 1962)