René Taton , born 4 April 1915 to Scale ( Ardennes ), who died on 9 August 2004 in Ajaccio ( Corse-du-Sud ) 1 , was a historian of science , long co-editor, with Suzanne Delorme , the Journal of history of science .

Career

• Student of the Ecole Normale Superieure de Saint-Cloud (promotion 1935)
• Associate in Mathematics 1941
• Student of Gaston Bachelard , 1946 and began his thesis on Gaspard Monge ;
• Meeting with Pierre Sergescu (Romanian refugee, former director of the Ecole Polytechnique in Romania, Maria Karsterska Circle)
• Meet Maurice Daumas (history of scientific instruments, history of science), Suzanne Delorme, of Pierre Costabel
• 1948: Meeting with George Sarton (editor of the magazine Isis );
• Via WI Ivins, discovered unpublished Girard Desargues ;
• 1951: thesis on Monge , additional thesis of Desargues .
• 1952: joined the CNRS in philosophy section, only aggregated mathematics.
• 1954-1971: Sergescu succeeded at the head of the ICSU (International Council of Scientific Unions), promoted by UNESCO after the war.
• By 1948, the conference promoted the Palace of Discovery , the history of mathematics seminar of the IHP ( Institut Henri Poincare )
• By 1950, two dominant personalities: Alexandre Koyré and student of Bachelard , Georges Canguilhem (rue du Four).
• In 1957, creation of the history of science section of the EHESS, in collaboration with Fernand Braudel and of Alexandre Koyré (12, rue Colbert), and Taton succeeded Koyré 1964 to 1983.

Works

• To continue the integral calculus (collection of the Abbot Moreux), 1945?
• History of computing , coll. "What do I know? "1946
• René Taton and Jean-Paul Flad , The mechanical calculation , Presses Universitaires de France , et al. "What do I know? " n o 367 , Paris, p. 128 . First edition: 1949, (notice BNF n o FRBNF31436467n ) . Last Edit: 1963, (notice BNF n o FRBNF33188980h ) .
• Mental arithmetic , Presses Universitaires de France , et al. "What do I know? " n o 605 , Paris. First edition: 1953, p. 128 , (notice BNF n o FRBNF326561651 ) . Last Edit: 1979, p. 126 , ( ISBN 2-13-035802-0 ) , (notice BNF n o FRBNF34655169f ) .
• Causalities and accidents of scientific discovery: illustration of some characteristic stages of the evolution of science , published by Masson et al. "Evolution Science" n o 6 , Paris, 1955, p. 172 , (notice BNF n o FRBNF32656167q ) .
• René Taton and Albert Flake , The Perspective , Presses Universitaires de France, et al. "What do I know? " n o 1050 , Paris. First edition: 1963, p. 128 , (notice BNF n o FRBNF33188986k ) . Last Edit: 2005, p. 126 , ( ISBN 2-13-054852-0 ) , (notice BNF n o FRBNF41007930q ) .
• General History of Science (from 1957 to 1964), reprint (1966-1983).
• Historical Studies of Science (collected for his 85 th birthday by Danielle Fauque, Ilic Samson and Robert Halleux), published by Brepols, coll. "Various artibus" n o 47 , Turnhout, 2000, p. 544 , ( ISBN 2-503-51007-8 ) , (notice BNF n o FRBNF37734558t ) .
• Later writings , 2000, compiled by R. Halleux

It is considered, through its meticulous work of Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) and Girard Desargues (1591-1661), as the master in the history of perspective: in particular, it emerges from the shadows of many players with less is Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728-1777).

The General History of Science

This book in three volumes and 4 volumes is a sum of 3272 pages, coordinated by René Taton, over a decade, it can be directed work? Yes, in the sense that the prime contractor chooses its employees and impose a style: history not jingoistic, referenced on specific facts, requirement of completeness of the bibliography, etc..

• the first volume: medieval science involves 21 authors.
• the second, the Renaissance and 24 H. Cohen
• the third: 25 including 11 first 2 + and Zubov Youchkevitch
• the fourth exploded with 56 Ronchi. Inevitably, the dispersion is greater, and the methodology less stringent.

The Who's Who of Gillespie in 1970 in the second edition allows to complete the work.
The edition of the "chariot" in 1996 will widely publicize the book, which remains a reference methodology for historians of science

External link

• CAPH - Archive Centre of Philosophy, History and Science Edition (USR 3308 CIRPHLES, CNRS / ENS) Place of conservation of archives work of René Taton. They will soon be available for researchers.