My compatriots in this Symposium are focusing on Ted Benfey --  the chemist, the educator, the father, the pioneering author of an innovative high school course, the editor, the science historian, and the congenial colleague in research. But let’s turn our attention to that period (1988-1996) in Ted’s extraordinarily productive career during which he was most directly involved with the Chemical Heritage Foundation (now the Science History Institute). That institution, created by an initiative of the ACS Div. of the History of Chemistry (HIST), was barely 6 years old when Ted joined its tiny staff. It had been launched as The Center for the History of Chemistry (CHOC) in 1981 on the University of Pennsylvania campus. From the very beginning, the HIST founders of CHOC anticipated future Ted Benfeys and built support for scholars into the budgets. As CHOC has grown and evolved (from CHOC to BCHOC, NFHC, CHF, and now SHI) it has become the largest grantor of research fellowships in the history of science. By his role as editor of the magazine, scholarly researcher in residence, and publisher of CHOC’s pamphlets, traveling exhibits, and books, Ted Benfey was a key player at a critical time in the Center’s development. This presentation will deal with the creation of what is now the Science History Institute and with Ted Benfey’s role in blessing it with a future.

Ted Benfey and the Chemical Heritage Foundation

2019 Fall National Meeting

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