Robert Jacobus Forbes

Robert Forbes (1959)

Robert Jacobus Forbes or Robert James Forbes (21 April 1900, Breda – 13 January 1973, Haarlem) was a Dutch chemist and historian of science.

Forbes was of Scottish origin and a descendant of the Scottish theologian John Forbes of Corse. He spent much of his childhood in China.^[1][2] He studied chemistry from 1917 to 1923 at TU Delft. From 1923 to 1958 he worked as a chemist for Royal Dutch Shell. In 1947 he was appointed a professor in the history of applied science and technology at the University of Amsterdam. From 1959 on he was a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]}

As science historian Forbes wrote about the history of technology,^[5] particularly oil technology in the ancient world. He also wrote a book about Simon Stevin, describing Stevin's mill building and hydraulic engineering work. His work A history of science and technology, written with Eduard Dijksterhuis, proposed a synthesis of the history of science.

Selected works

• Notes on the history of ancient roads and their construction (Amsterdam: Nord-Hollandsche Uitgevers-mij, 1934);^[8] 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert, 1964.^[9]

Reviewed by Jotham Johnson in American Journal of Archaeology 39, #3 (July–September 1935), pp. 427-428, JSTOR 498643.

Reviewed by C. E. Stevens in The Classical Review 49, #2 (May 1935), p. 87, JSTOR 699882.

Reviewed by I. A. Richmond in The Journal of Roman Studies 25 (1935), pp. 113-114, JSTOR 296571.

• Bitumen and Petroleum in Antiquity (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1936.)

Reviewed by K. C. Bailey, The Classical Review, 50, #6 (December 1936), p. 243, JSTOR 705523.

• Bibliographia Antiqua: Philosophia Naturalis (10 parts in 6 volumes and 2 supplementary volumes, 1940–1963):

1: Mining and geology (#1-612), Leiden: Nederlandsch Inst. van het Nabije Oosten, 1940.^[10]

2: Metallurgy (#613-4130), Leiden: Nederlandsch Institut van het Nabije Oosten, 1942.^[11]

3/4: Building materials (#4131-4423), Pottery, faience, glass, glaze, beads (#4424-4895), Leiden: Nederlandsch Inst. van het Nabije Oosten, 1944.^[12]

5/8: Paints, pigments, varnishes, inks and their application (#4938-5198), Leather, manufacture and application (#5199-5236), Fibrous materials (#5237-5544), Paper, papyrus, and other writing materials (#5545-5641), Leiden: Nederlandsch Inst. van het Nabije Oosten, 1949.^[13]

9: Man and nature (#5642-7972), Leiden: Nederlandsch Institut van het Nabije Oosten, 1949.^[14]

10: Science and technology (#7973-10751), Leiden: Nederlandsch Instituut voor het nabije oosten, 1950.^[15]

Supplement I: 1940-1950 (#10752-13240), Leiden: Nederlandsch Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 1952.^[16]

Supplement II: 1950-1960 (#13241-15234), Leiden: Nederlandsch Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 1963.^[17]

Supplement II is reviewed by Eugene S. Ferguson in Technology and Culture, 5, #4 (Autumn 1964), pp. 639-640, JSTOR 3101244.

• Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1948)

Reviewed by Frederick O. Koenig in Isis 41, #1 (March 1950), pp. 131-133, JSTOR 226410.

• Man the Maker. A History of Technology and Engineering (New York: Henry Schuman, 1950)

Reviewed by Cyril Stanley Smith in Isis, 42, #1 (April 1951), pp. 79-80, JSTOR 226692.

Reviewed by Warren C. Scoville in The Journal of Economic History, 11, #2 (Spring 1951), pp. 196-197, JSTOR 2113154.

Reviewed by H. T. Pledge in The British Journal of Sociology 2, #4 (December 1951), pp. 369-370, JSTOR 588096.

Reviewed by John W. Oliver in Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 273 (January 1951), pp. 265-266, JSTOR 1026492.

Reviewed by William F. Ogburn in American Sociological Review 15, #6 (December 1950), pp. 829-830, JSTOR 2086637.

• Studies in Ancient Technology (9 vols., 1955–1964; reprints and new editions, 1964–1993)

1: Bitumen and petroleum in antiquity; the origin of alchemy; water supply, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1955.^[18] Second ed., 1964.^[19] Third ed., 1993, ISBN 90-04-00621-4.

2: Irrigation and drainage; Power; Land transport and road-building; The coming of the camel, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1955.^[20] Second rev. ed., 1965.^[21] Third ed. (reprint of second ed.), 1993, ISBN 90-04-00622-2.

3: Cosmetics and perfumes in antiquity; Food, alcoholic beverages, vinegar; Food in classical antiquity; Fermented beverages 500 B.C. - 1500 A.D.; Crushing; Salts, preservation processes, mummification; Paints, pigments, inks and varnishes, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1955.^[22] Second ed., 1965.^[23] Third ed., 1993, ISBN 90-04-00623-0.

4: The fibres and fabrics of antiquity; Washing, bleaching, fulling and felting; Dyes and dyeing; Spinning; Sewing, basketry and weaving; Weaving and looms; Fabrics and weavers, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1956.^[24] Second rev. ed., 1964, reprinted 1987, ISBN 90-04-08307-3.^[25]

5: Leather in antiquity; Sugar and its substitutes in antiquity; Glass, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1957.^[26] Second rev. ed., 1966, ISBN 90-04-00625-7.

6: Heat and heating; Refrigeration, the art of cooling and producing cold; Light, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958.^[27] Second rev. ed., 1966, ISBN 90-04-00626-5.

7: Ancient geology; Ancient mining and quarrying; Ancient mining techniques, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1963.^[28] Second rev. ed., 1966, ISBN 90-04-00627-3.

8: Metallurgy in antiquity, part 1; Early metallurgy, the smith and his tools, gold, silver and lead, zinc and brass, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1964. Second rev. ed., 1971, ISBN 90-04-02652-5.

9: Metallurgy in antiquity, part 2; Copper and bronze, tin, arsenic, antimony and iron, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1964. Second rev. ed., 1972, ISBN 90-04-03487-0.

Review of vol. 1 by W. C. Brice in Man 56 (April 1956), p. 62, JSTOR 2793666.

Review of vols. 2 and 3 by H. H. Coghlan in Man 56 (September 1956), pp. 125-126, JSTOR 2794973.

Review of vols. 1-3 by Lynn White, Jr. in Isis 48, #1 (March 1957), p. 77, JSTOR 226906.

Review of vol. 5 by R. J. Gettens in American Journal of Archaeology 63, #3 (July 1959), p. 285, JSTOR 501852.

Review of vol. 6 by Lynn White, Jr. in Isis 51, #2 (June 1960), pp. 227-228, JSTOR 226869.

Review of vols. 1-6 by W. F. Leemans in "Some Marginal Remarks on Ancient Technology", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 3, #2 (August 1960), pp. 217-237, JSTOR 3596297.

Review of vol. 7 by J. R. Harris in Isis 56, #1 (Spring 1965), pp. 90-92, JSTOR 228469.

Review of vol. 7 by W. F. Leemans in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 7, #2 (July 1964), pp. 206-208, JSTOR 3596242.

Review of vols. 8 and 9 by H. Limet in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 9, #3 (December 1966), pp. 309-313, JSTOR 3595950.

• Studies in Early Petroleum History (Leiden: Brill, 1958.)^[29]

Reviewed by A. G. Drachmann in Isis 50, #4 (December 1959), pp. 498-499, JSTOR 226446.

• More Studies in Early Petroleum History, 1860-1880 (Leiden: Brill, 1959.)^[30]

Reviewed by F. Klemm in Isis 52, #3 (September 1961), pp. 437-438, JSTOR 228097.

Reviewed, with Studies in Early Petroleum History, by Martin Levey in Technology and Culture 2, #1 (Winter 1961), pp. 55-57, JSTOR 3101308.

Reviewed, with Studies in Early Petroleum History, by Kendall Beaton in The Business History Review 34, #1 (Spring 1960), pp. 130-131, JSTOR 3111792.

• (with E. J. Dijksterhuis) History of Science and Technology (Penguin Books, 1963; 2 vols.)

Volume I: Ancient Times to the Seventeenth Century

Volume II: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Reviewed by J. Morton Briggs, Jr., Isis 55, #1 (March 1964), pp. 101-102, JSTOR 227767.

• The principal works of Simon Stevin (1966)
• The Conquest of Nature: Technology and Its Consequences (New York: Praeger, 1968.)^[31]

References

External links

• (in Dutch) Koninklijke Bibliotheek on Robert Forbes
• (in Dutch) Biography in the Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland