Albert E. Lownes Collection of Significant Books in the History of Science

In January of 1979, the Collection of Significant Books in the History of Science arrived as a bequest from Albert E. Lownes. His final gift of over 5,000 volumes plus hundreds of prints and manuscripts spanned the centuries of scientific thought from Ptolemy to Einstein. This was one of the three most important private collections of books of science in America and ranks as one of the most significant single collections ever received by the Brown University Library. Its greatest strength and depth is in natural history although its scope embraces significant works in all scientific fields. Lownes defined significance as being "books that have changed the world or man's way of seeing it. Significance also meant books that I found interesting." The collection contains over three-quarters of those texts recognized by scholars as the "great books" of science published since the middle of the 15th century.

Earlier, on the occasion of his 50th reunion, in 1970, Albert E. Lownes presented Brown University with the double elephant folio edition of John J. Audubon's Birds of America (London, 1827-1838),the most significant work of 19th century ornithology. Lownes also donated the library's one millionth item, a copy of Rene Descartes's early work on physiology, De Homine Figuris et Latinitate Donatus a Florentio Schuyl (Leyden, 1662), in 1954.

Format(s): Books, Manuscripts, Graphics
Library: John Hay

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Access to the collection:

Online Catalog (BruKnow):
Individual records for most printed materials available on BruKnow
Lownes Science Collection (Brown University)

Other Online Access:
Exhibit: Exhibit: From Euclid to Newton

Related Collections:
History of Science Collection