Anita McConnell explained

Anita McConnell (1936–2016) was a British writer on the history of science and a curator of oceanography and geophysics at the Science Museum, London. She is most widely known for her Shire book on barometers but also wrote many books on the history of oceanography and British scientific instrument makers of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Early life

She was born in 1936 in Britain of Italian parents. During the Second World War she was sent as a child evacuee to the West Country and finished her secondary education with four O Levels. In 1957 she took a job location catering for such films as The Inn of the Sixth Happiness and The Bridge on the River Kwai, the latter resulting in a six-month stay in Sri Lanka.[1]

Career

In 1963 she took a job at the Science Museum, London, as an assistant with the Navigation and Meteorology collections. She later assisted with preparation work for setting up the National Railway Museum. In 1973 she rejoined the Science Museum to become curator of Oceanography and Geophysics. From 1961 to 1979 she successively attained a diploma in archaeology, a degree in geography, a master's degree in history of technology and a doctorate from the University of Leicester, which appeared in print as No Sea Too Deep, The History of Oceanographic Instruments.[2]

She began writing in 1980 and published works particularly on the history of oceanography and British scientific instrument makers of the 18th and 19th centuries.[3] Her popular book on barometers was written in 1988. In her work on oceanographic instruments she was noted for the level of detail achieved[4] and in her biographies of scientific instrument makers she was noted for her ability to work from archived material such as clients letters.[5]

In 1993 she became a research editor for the Dictionary of National Biography for Oxford University Press, initially working on entries for instrument makers[6] and clock makers, and later, also on science and medicine.

Awards and honours

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-06/obituary-anita-mcconnell/obituary-dr-anita-mcconnell/ Science Museum Group Journal
  2. https://www2.le.ac.uk/staff/community/people/bereavements/2016/dr-anita-mcconnell University of Leicester - Dr Anita McConnell
  3. https://www.rgs.org/geography/news/dr-anita-mcconnell-(1936-2016)/ Royal Geographical Society Dr Anita McConnell (1936-2016)
  4. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/history-of-technology-anita-mcconnell-historical-instruments-in-oceanography-london-her-majestys-stationery-office-1981-pp-iv-51-isbn-011290324x-395-anita-mcconnell-no-sea-too-deep-the-history-of-oceanographic-instruments-bristol-adam-hilger-ltd-1982-pp-xiii-162-isbn-0852744161-1950/43BB9F3562E970FD45C87CBC8D45F18D Review of Historical Instruments in Oceanography
  5. https://eh.net/book_reviews/jesse-ramsden-1735-1800-londons-leading-scientific-instrument-maker/ Review of Jesse Ramsden - 1735 - 1800 London's leading Instrument Maker
  6. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-27767 DNB article on Edward Troughton
  7. Web site: Royal Geographical Society - Latest news .
  8. http://journal.sciencemuseum.org.uk/browse/issue-06/obituary-anita-mcconnell/obituary-dr-anita-mcconnell/ Science Museum Group Journal
  9. Candidates for Election to Council . Supplement to the Newsletter of the Society for Nautical Research . May 1992 . 8.

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