In chemistry, Frederic L. Holmes (1932-2003) was an American science historian noted for his work on the 1800 to 1803 elective affinity theories of Claude Berthollet and also for his historical writings on Scottish chemist Joseph Black’s 1760 discovery the concepts of both latent heat and specific heat. [1]
Education
Holmes completed his BS in quantitative biology at MIT in 1954, his MA at the Harvard History Department in 1958, and PhD in at the Harvard History of Science Department 1962 with a dissertation on Claude Bernard, specifically “Claude Bernard and the Concept of the Internal Environment”. He then spent two years at MIT, then became assistant professor of history of science and medicine at Yale. In 1972, he went to University of Western Ontario, becoming department chair, remaining there until 1972, after which he returned to Yale as full professor and chair, remaining in that position until 2002.
References
1. (a) Holmes, Frederic L. (1962). “From Elective Affinities to Chemical Equilibria: Berthollet’s Law of Mass Action” (JSTOR) (GB), Chymica, 8: 105:45.
(b) Holmes, Frederic L. (1987). Lavoisier and the Chemistry of Life: an Exploration of Scientific Creativity (Black, latent heat and specific heat, pg. 158). University of Wisconsin Press.
External links
● Holmes, Frederic Lawrence – WorldCat Identities.
