Abstract
TO the student of the history of science and technology London offers a field of inquiry of wide and unfailing interest. From Westminster Abbey to the docks, from Highgate to Clapham, all routes lead to some spot with scientific associations. Ever since the Romans came, bringing with them their measuring, surveying, and surgical instruments, London has owed something to scientific inquiry, and the construction of her gates and fortifications, her historic Bridge, and her great Tower were only rendered possible through the discoveries of the ancient world. But great as is our debt to Greece and Rome, it is within modern times that science has invaded every side of human activity, and many of the most important discoveries, many of the most notable inventions, and many of the most striking applications of science have been made in London. Thus it is that from one boundary of London to the other her streets and lanes, her institutions, hospitals, and workshops, her cathedrals and churches, the river and its bridges, her parks and gardens, all have some tale to tell relating to the increase of natural knowledge.
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SMITH, E. Science in the City of London. Nature 128, 515–517 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/128515a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/128515a0