D. S. L. Cardwell

D. S. L. Cardwell
Born	(1919-08-04)4 August 1919 Gibraltar
Died	8 May 1998(1998-05-08) (aged 78) Macclesfield, Cheshire
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Plymouth College, King’s College, London
Spouse	Olive Pumphrey ​ (m. 1953)​
Children	3

Donald Stephen Lowell Cardwell (4 August 1919 – 8 May 1998) was a historian of science and technology, Professor of the History of Science at UMIST from 1974 to 1984 and President of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Cardwell was born in Gibraltar in 1919, the son of a civil servant from Croydon, Surrey. He was educated at Plymouth College and gained a First-Class degree in Physics at King's College London in 1939. During the Second World War, he joined the Admiralty Signals Establishment, serving in Scotland, West Africa and the Middle East. Post-war he returned to King's College London to study for a PhD in Physics working with Bill Seeds, John Randall and Maurice Wilkins.^[3]

Academic career

Cardwell worked at Keele University for two years c.1955 with the economist Bruce Williams, then at the University of Leeds before joining UMIST as Reader in the History of Science and Technology in 1963. He was promoted to Professor in 1974 and retired in 1984.^[3]

He was involved in laying the groundwork for the creation of Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry (opened in 1969), and was also President of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society (1991–93). The Society held a Memorial Lecture in his honour in 1999.^[3]

Cardwell's papers are held at the University of Manchester Library.

Personal life

Cardwell married Olive Pumphrey in 1953. They had two sons, one of whom predeceased him, and one daughter.^[3]

Select bibliography

• The Organisation of Science in England (1957).
• John Dalton and the Progress of Science (1968).
• Turning Points in Western Technology: A Study of Technology, Science, and History (1972)
• Artisan to Graduate (1974).
• James Joule: a biography (1989).
• The Fontana History of Technology (1994).

References

1. Pickstone, John (December 1999). "Obituary: Professor Donald Cardwell (4 August 1919–8 May 1998)". The British Journal for the History of Science. 32 (4): 485–488. doi:10.1017/S0007087499003799.
2. Marsh, Joseph O. (2000). "Donald Cardwell (1919-1998)". Technology and Culture. 41 (1): 184–186. doi:10.1353/tech.2000.0024. JSTOR 25147492. S2CID 109837385. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
3. Pickstone, J. (2011). "Obituary: Professor Donald Cardwell". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.

Professional and academic associations
Preceded by P. G. Livesey	President of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society 1991–93	Succeeded by Edward Fletcher Cass