Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Hugh Aldersey-Williams (born 1959) is a British author and journalist. Aldersey-Williams was educated at Highgate School and studied the natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. His several books discuss issues surrounding natural and man-made designs. He has curated exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum as well as the Wellcome Collection.[1]
Hugh Aldersey-Williams | |
|---|---|
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Author, journalist, columnist |
| Website | www |
Aldersey-Williams is perhaps best known for his 2011 book Periodic Tales, which The Daily Telegraph described as "a paean to the building blocks of matter".[1][2] The book (ISBN 9780061824722) takes a comprehensive look through world history to detail where, how, and why humanity discovered the elements. It also received praise from Kirkus Reviews, which labelled it "lucid" and "enjoyable".[3] In October 2015 he co-curated an exhibition based on the book at Compton Verney Art Gallery, Periodic Tales: The Art of the Elements, exhibiting predominantly contemporary art works and focusing on the relationship between artistic objects and the elemental materials that go into their making.[4]
Aldersey-Williams contributed an essay on Sir Thomas Browne to The Society for Curious Thought.[5]
Background
Aldersey-Williams has a lifetime hobby, since his teenage days, of collecting samples of the elements and setting them up in his home.[2]
Books
- The Most Beautiful Molecule: The Discovery of the Buckyball, John Wiley & Sons, 1995
- Zoomorphic: New Animal Architecture, Collins Design, 2003
- Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc, Ecco Press, 2011
- Anatomies: A Cultural History of the Human Body, W. W. Norton & Company, 2013
- In Search of Sir Thomas Browne: The Life and Afterlife of the Seventeenth Century's Most Inquiring Mind, W. W. Norton & Company, 2015
- Tide: The Science and Lore of the Greatest Force on Earth, Viking, 2016
- Dutch Light: Christiaan Huygens and the Making of Science in Europe, Pan Macmillan, 2020
References
- "Four Way Interview - Hugh Aldersey-Williams". popularscience.co.uk. February 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - Farmelo, Graham (30 January 2011). "Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams: review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
- http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Periodic-Tales-Hugh-Aldersey-Williams/?isbn=9780061824722
- Campbell-Johnston, Rachel (2 October 2015). "It's elemental: art with good chemistry". Times online. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- "'The Curious Mind of Sir Thomas Browne'".