The Magazine of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu October 2017 - 33

HISTORY SPOTLIGHT

Bern Dibner
by: Steve E. Watkins
Two major library collections on the history
of science and technology are attributed to
an electrical engineer. The Dibner Library
of the History of Science and Technology
at the Smithsonian Institution is named for
Bern Dibner, who made the initial donation
of rare books, manuscripts, and portraits in
1976. This special collection is located in
the National Museum of American History
and includes works spanning mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry, physics, technology,
and engineering. The Huntington Library
in San Marino, CA is the current holder
of additional items related to the history
of science and technology that were
collected by Dibner. This later collection
includes both written source material
and many examples of antique scientific
instruments.
Bern Dibner (1897-1988) was a
successful electrical engineer and
businessman before he became a
noted historian and collector. He
immigrated to the United States from
the Ukraine as a child and graduated
with an electrical engineering
degree from Polytechnic Institute
of Brooklyn in 1921. He invented and patented
a solderless electrical connector, founded a related
company, and continued innovating with a series of

Dibner's Ten Founding Fathers of
Electrical Science:
William Gilbert
Benjamin Franklin
Andre Marie Ampere
Karl Friedrich Gauss
Joseph Henry
Otto Von Guericke
Alessandro Volta
Georg Simon Ohm
Michael Faraday
James Clerk Maxwell

THE BRIDGE // Issue 3 2017

 Bern Dibner, Electrical Engineer, Businessman, and Historian

patents involving connection technology. He was a
fellow of the AIEE.
He authored the well-known book, Heralds of
Science (original edition 1955) in which he highlights
two hundred of the most important works from his
collection. As an electrical engineer, he had a special
interest in electricity and magnetism. He also authored
Ten Founding Fathers of the Electrical Science (1954),
which was also published as a series by AIEE in Electrical
Engineering (the predecessor to IEEE Spectrum
magazine). IEEE Xplore archives this series (as shown
in the table) as well as his series on Early Electrical
Machines and other historical papers.

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http://library.si.edu/libraries/dibner-library-history-science-and-technology http://library.si.edu/libraries/dibner-library-history-science-and-technology

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http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/113-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/brid/112-1
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