Harold Dorn, 1928-2011

An obituary for the historian of science and technology, Harold Dorn (1928–2011), that surveys his life and career from their Bronx origins, to his training in engineering, a Princeton Ph.D. in the history of science, and ultimately roles as a professor and administrator at the Stevens Institute of Technology. The personal and historiographical influences of Marxism, materialism, and World War II on Dorn and his work are examined, notably in his chef-d'œuvre, The Geography of Science (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991). His life-long scholarly interests in the historical connections between technology and science, in invention and innovation, and in defending free speech are likewise treated.