Primary Sources: Math, Medicine, Science & the Environment: Science

"The APS Digital Library provides access to a wide variety of digitized items from the holdings of the American Philosophical Society." It includes items such as: audio interviews with scientists, oral histories, and linguistic studies; Anthropology Images; Biological Sciences Images; Eugenics Images; Genetics Images; Native American Images; Social Science and Humanities Images; digitized manuscripts, books and born-digital files; etc.

"The CSHL Archives strives to develop novel ways of presenting and preserving the records of the discoveries in biomedical sciences as a topic of historical interest. We try to bring together important figures in the history of the molecular biology and genetics fields by presenting biographical information, collecting the original materials that these individuals generated over their careers and collecting oral history interviews with them. As a result, we will be able to merge discussions of the past and the future, thereby framing cutting-edge research in terms of detailed knowledge of the past. We are focusing on creating a “living history” of important aspects of molecular biology and genetics research that blend the traditional discussions of current scientific research with lectures on the history of science; scholarly works; using our collections in public exhibitions; and scientific meetings in which the pioneers of the field interact with the current scientific community."

"Ten major natural history museum libraries, botanical libraries, and research institutions joined together to form the Biodiversity Heritage Library Project."
also accessible through the
Internet Archive

"Twenty two archive collections relating to genetics research and biochemistry have been digitised. The content ranges in date from 1863 to 2008, and includes collections from Wellcome Library and our partner institutions."

"This unique collection of oral histories provides an unprecedented perspective on the development of molecular biology, the present state of the science, and visions of the future by the leading scientists in the field."

" The site presents all 13 volumes published to date by the editors of the Einstein Papers Project, covering the writings and correspondence of Albert Einstein (1879-1955) from his youth to 1923.

The volumes are presented in the original language version with in-depth English language annotation and other scholarly apparatus. In addition, the reader can toggle to an English language translation of most documents." Access provided by Princeton University Press

"The Expeditions and Discoveries Collection includes maps, photos, and published materials, as well as field notes, letters, and a unique range of manuscript materials on selected expeditions between 1626 and 1953."

"Field books, also called field notes or field documentation, are original records of scientific discovery. They are primary source documents that describe the events leading up to and including the collection of specimens or observations during field research. Field books can take many forms depending on the information needs of the collector."

"OU Libraries’ History of Science digital collection began with several hundred 15th- through 18th-century rare books, maps, and other items digitized for the 2015-2016 Galileo’s World exhibition. The works range from art, music, astronomy, and meteorology through natural history, the human body, microscopy, physics, and engineering, and on to religion and travels to China and the Americas. All images in the digital collection have been released to the public domain."

"In the Archive you will see numerous reports, articles, charts, and pedigrees that were considered scientific "facts" in their day. It is important to remind yourself that the vast majority of eugenics work has been completely discredited. In the final analysis, the eugenic description of human life reflected political and social prejudices, rather than scientific facts."

"Through our Online Collections, we are providing worldwide access to our priceless collections of specimens, manuscripts, letters, books and artwork." Includes: Carl Linnaeus, James Edward Smith and Alfred Russel Wallace.

"Agassiz was a zoologist and geologist who served as a professor at Harvard University' Lawrence Scientific School (1847-73) and founded Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology."

"The Niels Bohr Archive (NBA) is an independent institution overseen by the University of Copenhagen with its own board of directors. Located at the Niels Bohr Institute, it holds extensive archival material documenting the life and work of Niels Bohr, the institute that he established and the tradition that they created." Selected material is available online.

"The Niels Bohr Library & Archives is a repository and clearinghouse for information in the history of physics, astronomy, geophysics and allied fields." Selected items are accessible online including oral histories, Emilio Segrè Visual Archives, etc.

"This site highlights the Oesper Collections in the History of Chemistry, which are a joint venture of the Ralph E. Oesper Chemistry-Biology Library of the University of Cincinnati and of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Cincinnati. The collections consist of three components: The Apparatus Museum, the rare Books and Journals collection, and the historical Portraits and Prints collection. Each of these may be separately accessed either by selecting the appropriate tab or by clicking on the various highlighted links. The origins of the collections may be accessed by selecting the link for History and the origins of this website by selecting the link for Credits."

"... focusing on advancements and inventions from the 19th and 20th century. It includes over 600 images, videos and historical documents, ranging from an early history of electricity to a film showing the birth of the world’s first test tube baby." Provided by the European Library

"The Science History Institute's Digital Collections offer highlights from our library, archives, and museum collections. Our chronology ranges from the Roman Empire to the 21st century, and the materials include everything from fine art to rare books and from scientific objects to photographs.

The purpose of our Digital Collections is to manage, preserve, and provide access to our digital assets all in one location. Although the Digital Collections include only a small portion of our entire collection, new material is added every day."

The Science Museum Group, which includes five museums in the United Kingdom, provides "... over 250,000 objects and 29,000 archival documents published online"

"The Library's digital collections cover a wide variety of topics, including asylums, food, sex and sexual health, genetics, public health and war. "