James A. Secord


James Andrew Secord is an American-born historian. He is a professor of history and philosophy of science within the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Christ's College. He is also the director of the project to publish the complete Correspondence of Charles Darwin.
Secord is especially well-known for his award-winning work on the reception of the anonymous Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, a pioneering evolutionary book first published in 1844.

Education and Career

Secord was born in Madison, Wisconsin. After attending Pomona College, he received a Fulbright–Hays grant to study in the United Kingdom. He completed his Ph.D. in the history of science at Princeton University. His dissertation was entitled "Cambria/Siluria: The Anatomy of a Victorian Geological Debate" and his adviser was Charles Coulston Gillispie. After postdoctoral fellowships at University College London and at Churchill College in Cambridge, he taught history of science at Imperial College from 1985 to 1992. In 1992 he began teaching in Cambridge.

Publications

Books

Secord's first book, based upon his Ph.D. research, was '. He followed it with ', which was awarded the Pfizer Prize by the History of Science Society for best book in history of science, 2002.. His most recent book was . He has also edited numerous volumes and been a contributor to many more.