It’s The Final Countdown.

In case you’ve missed it Giants’ Shoulders the history of science, technology and medicine blog carnival is closing down at the end of six glorious years of aggregating the best of STEM history every month. Giants’ Shoulders #72 the Doomsday Edition will be hosted by the blog carnival’s founder Dr SkySkull (@drskyskull) on his Skulls in the Stars blog on 16^th June 2014. This means you have just ten days left to submit those great history of science, technology or medicine blog posts that you’ve read or written either straight to the host or to me at RM or to either of us on Twitter.

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Some first class history of science reading for the holiday weekend: Giants’ Shoulders #70: The Sir Hans Sloane Birthday Collection

At a lose end on Good Friday or Easter Monday? Read up on the best history of science bloggage from the last thirty days gathered from the far reaches of cyberspace for your pleasure.

Lisa Smith (@historybeagle) has put together a wonderful edition of the histories of science, medicine and technology blog carnival Giants’ Shoulders to celebrate the birthday of Augustan physician, scientific official, and collector, Sir Hans Sloane, just in time for the holiday weekend.

The next edition of Giants Shoulders #71 will be presented here at the Renaissance Mathematicus on 16 May 2014. Submission as ever to me here at RM or on Twitter by 15 May at the latest.

Giants’ Shoulders #70 celebrates a birthday.

Hans Sloane is one of those figures in the history of science, who deserves to be much better known than he is. Although Sloane Square in London is named after him, giving name to one of the horrors of modern English culture, the Sloane Ranger, most people would be hard put to it to say who he was.

An Irish physician who lived through the second half of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth, he was a central figure in the English scientific community that included Hooke, Wren, Halley, Flamsteed and Newton as well as many other less well known personages. He was secretary of the Royal Society when Newton became its president in 1704 and very much shared the power with the great Sir Isaac in that august body until he resigned in 1713, after a series of power struggles with other council members over the preceding years. He got his revenge however when he was elected president following Newton’s death in 1727, a post he retained until 1741.

He served three English monarchs, Anne, George I and George II, as royal physician and was appointed baronet for his services in 1716. He was also elected president of the Royal College of Physicians in 1719 a post he would hold for sixteen years. In 1722 he also became physician-general to the army.

From the modern point of view Sloan’s most important activity was that of collector. Scientific curiosity cabinets were very much en vogue in the Early Modern Period and Sloane collected scientific curiosities on an almost unbelievable scale. When he died, in 1753, he donated his monster collection to the nation on the condition that the government build a museum to house it. The government agreed and so the venerable British Museum was born. Later Sloane’s natural history collection was given a home of its own leading to the establishment of the Natural History Museum.

Like many of his contemporaries, and in particular the collectors, Sloane was a prolific letter writer and, as is befitting in this digital age, his correspondence has its own blog. To celebrate Sir Hans’ 354^th birthday, on 16 April, Giants’ Shoulders #70, the history of science, medicine and technology blog carnival  will take place at The Sloane Letters Blog hosted by our favourite blogging beagle, Lisa Smith (@historybeagle). Submission for this special birthday edition of Giants’ Shoulders should be made either direct to the host or to me at RM or to either of us on Twitter at the latest by 15 April.

Giants’ Shoulders #69: The Tunnel Edition

It’s that day again, 16^th of the month and time for a new edition of the world’s best history of science, medicine and technology bog carnival, Giants’ Shoulders. Number 69 in our series has now been posted at her Something by Virtue of Nothing blog by ane pixestos. The Tunnel Edition is a true giant; in fact it might well be the largest edition ever. If you work your way through everything listed there you should be finished just in time for Giants’ Shoulders #70!

Giants’ Shoulders #70 will be celebrating Sir Hans Sloane’s 354^th birthday at The Sloane Letters Blog on 16^th April 2014, hosted by mega blogger Lisa Smith (@historybeagle). Submission as ever direct to the host or to me here at RM or to either of us on Twitter by 15^th of the month at the latest.

Giants’ Shoulders #68: A leaf in the Wind

Giants’ Shoulders took a trip to the Indian sub-continent and the journey turned into a history of science trip around the world. Giants’ Shoulders #68: A Leaf in the Wind is up at the Compasswallah Blog hosted by Fade Singh and a very spicy #histsci masala it is too. Fade Singh takes us on a history of science, technology and medicine journey through Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas stopping off at many a fascinating destination. Fade Singh reminds us that science, technology and medicine and their histories are truly global. So strap on your travelling shoes and go on a journey of discovery.

The history of science blog carnival Giants’ Shoulders #69 will be hosted by Ane Pixestos on her Something by Virtue of Nothing Blog on 16^th March 2014. Submissions as always either to the host or to me here at RM by the 15^th of the month at the latest.

An Asiatic Giants’ Shoulders

As already announced for the next edition of Giants’ Shoulders, your favourite history of science, technology and medicine blog carnival, we are leaving our usual haunts of Europe and North America and following such figures of history as Alexander the Great, al Biruni and Vasco da Gama to the shrouded in legend half continent of Hindustan, where are host Fade Singh (@fadesingh) waits to greet us at his Compass Wallah Blog.

Unlike those historical figures named above we come in peace and it would be nice if the Giants’ Shoulders history of science community could write and submit posts related to the histories of science, technology and medicine in Asia for this the 68^th edition of our carnival. You have just eleven days to make those submissions, as always, either direct to the host or to me here at RM or to either of us on Twitter (@rmathematicus).

Giants’ Shoulders #67 under early modern medical care.

The #histsci, #histmed and #histtech blog carnival, Giants’ Shoulder #67, is residing at Early Modern Medicine and is very obviously thriving under the medical attention of Dr Jen (@historianjen). Despite the production of suitable blog post being in the doldrums during the holiday period a large crop of history of science reading matter has come together for your delectation. So wander on over and discover why Newton published so little, why people are fascinated by images of women with scientific instruments, how to cure the ‘Kink’, or all about Einstein’s interest in folklore, to name just a few of the fascinating topics to be found there.

Next months history of all things scientific blog carnival, Giants’ Shoulders #68, is going on a long journey following in the wake of Vasco da Gama all the way to the sub continent of India where it will be hosted by Fade Singh (@fadesingh) on his Compass Wallah blog on 16^th February 2014. As always submission can be made either directly to the host or to me here at The Renaissance Mathematicus or on both of us on Twitter (@rmathematicus) by 15^th February 2014 at the latest.

Giants’ Shoulders #67 is approaching the runway.

OK all you history of STEM freaks the Twelve Days of Christmas are finally over, the goose has been well and truly cooked and devoured, the fireworks have been shot and the bubbly slurped, and the Christmas tree had been undecorated and dumped on the compost heap. It is now time to get off those overfed arses and write those first killer history of science, technology or medicine blog posts for 2014 and submit them to Giants’ Shoulders #67 the history of science blog carnival, the all year round festival.

You can make those submissions directly to your January host, Jen Evens (@HistorianJen), at Early Modern Medicine using the Guest Bloggers form or on Twitter or to me here at The Renaissance Mathematicus or on Twitter (@rmathematicus) up to the 15^th of January.  So get those flabby writing muscles in gear and let’s make it a good start to the history of science year.

The case of the missing GS host: – Too stupid to operate a computer.

Some of you might have noticed that I’ve been rather silent this month concerning the next edition of Giants’ Shoulders the history of science blog carnival. The explanation is quite simple I’ve managed to mislay my host.  It would appear that I inadvertently erased the file on my computer containing the information on the future hosts for GS. Naturally, although I’m usually fairly good at backing up things on my computer, I don’t have a back up for this file. Now all of this wouldn’t be so tragic if it wasn’t for the fact that the next host is a new one who I don’t know from Adam and so I have no idea how to contact him. I had been hoping that he would contact me saying something like, “Oi, wot m’ I sposed t’ do with this ‘ere carnival?” However this has unfortunately not been the case. I did try to convince Sascha to host it, he’s done one before; but he just gave me a look that said, you screwed up, you can carry the can! So I shall be hosting the next edition of GS, the 65^th if you’re counting, here at RM on Saturday 16^th November. This means that you have just three more days to nominate those killer history of science, medicine or technology blog posts, if you wish them to be included. Just send them to me here or on Twitter, @rmathematicus.

It’s Giants’ Shoulders Deadline Time Again.

You have just two days to submit those #histsci, #histtech and #histmed post to the world’s numero uno history of science blog carnival Giants’ Shoulders #64, which will be hosted by Romeo Vitelli (@rvitelli) at his Providentia blog on 16^th October 2013. Submission to Romeo or myself either on Twitter or here at RM.