Abstracts
Abstract
This article identifies voices missing from the scientific maritime on two floating laboratories early in the history of oceanography: HMS Challenger in the 1870s and the oceanographic yachts of Prince Albert I of Monaco from the 1880s to 1920s. Using ships’ logs, field journals, personal letters, and newspapers, it elucidates the vital contribution of enlisted sailors, lab technicians, photographers, and illustrators – including women and people of color – to the development of scientific understanding of the oceans. Restoring these actors to their proper place in the record also contributes to an ongoing conversation about the construction of scientific knowledge and authority.
Keywords:
- oceanography,
- research vessels,
- health sciences and technology,
- Royal Navy,
- Hanna Marie Resvoll-Holmsen,
- Frederick Gordon Pearcey,
- Joseph Matkin
Résumé
Cet article met en lumière les voix oubliées des sciences maritimes à bord de deux laboratoires flottants des débuts de l’océanographie : le HMS Challenger dans les années 1870 et les yachts océanographiques du prince Albert Ier de Monaco des années 1880 à 1920. À l’aide de journaux de bord, de carnets d’observation, de correspondances personnelles et de journaux, il révèle la contribution essentielle des marins, des techniciens de laboratoire, des photographes et des illustrateurs – notamment des femmes et des personnes de couleur – au développement de la compréhension scientifique des océans. Redonner à ces acteurs la place qui leur revient dans l’histoire contribue également au débat continu sur la production du savoir et de l’autorité scientifiques.
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Appendices
Biographical note
Penelope K. Hardy is an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a historian of science, technology, and medicine, focusing on technologies of science, ocean sciences, and scientific exploration of the global ocean. Her research focuses on the role of ocean-going research vessels in the development of modern scientific understanding of the oceans and the establishment of oceanography as a field. Hardy is also co-founder of an international working group examining the history of oceanic science, technology, and medicine. This article won the Clark G. Reynolds Student Paper Award in 2016.
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