Hugh Aldersey-Williams Explained

Hugh Aldersey-Williams
Education:	Highgate School University of Cambridge
Occupation:	Author, journalist, columnist

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.

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 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.

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

• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . The most beautiful molecule: the discovery of the buckyball . Wiley . 1995 . 978-0-471-10938-9 . New York . 32349204 . none.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . Zoomorphic: new animal architecture . Laurence King . 2003 . 978-1-85669-340-0 . London . 53068933 . none . registration.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . Periodic tales: a cultural history of the elements, from arsenic to zinc . Periodic Tales . 2012 . Ecco . 978-0-06-182473-9 . New York . 754770739 . none.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . Anatomies: a cultural history of the human body . 2013 . Norton . 978-0-393-23988-1 . New York . 827852486 . none.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . In search of Sir Thomas Browne: the life and afterlife of the seventeenth century's most inquiring mind . W.W. Norton & Company . 2015 . 978-0-393-24164-8 . New York . 891611145 . none.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . Tide: the science and lore of the greatest force on earth . Viking . 2016 . 978-0-241-00336-7 . London . 951212534 . none.
• Book: Aldersey-Williams, Hugh . Dutch light: Christiaan Huygens and the making of science in Europe . 2020 . Picador . 978-1-5098-9333-1 . London . 1144105192 . none.

See also

• List of University of Cambridge members
• List of English writers

Notes and References

1. Web site: Popular Science UK . Four Way Interview - Hugh Aldersey-Williams. 29 March 2011. February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170512122552/http://www.popularscience.co.uk:80/features/feat60.htm . 2017-05-12.
2. News: Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersey-Williams: review. 29 March 2011. Graham. Farmelo. The Daily Telegraph. 30 January 2011.
3. Web site: Periodic Tales. HarperCollins .
4. News: Campbell-Johnston. Rachel. It's elemental: art with good chemistry. 8 October 2015. Times online. 2 October 2015. subscription. 17 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151017004904/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/visualarts/article4573384.ece. dead.