Istvan Hargittai and Magdolna Hargittai, Life Members of Clare Hall, have published a book titled Science in London: A Guide to Memorials (Springer Nature, 2021).

The book focuses on the memorials of scientists, explorers, medicine men and women, and inventors found in London, UK. It is the concluding volume of a set of four (with the previous publications covering Budapest, New York, and Moscow).

As the blurb attests, London is a hub of science as the seat of the Royal Society, Royal Institution, Science Museum, British Museum, Natural History Museum, and of great institutions of higher education. The historical figures depicted in many of the city’s memorials are responsible for creating great institutions, milestone discoveries, contributions to scientific and technological revolutions, fighting against epidemics, advancing medicine, and contributing to the progress seen during the past four hundred years. Reflecting on these figures, Science in London presents memorials that everybody is familiar with, along with lesser-known others that the authors discovered during their years of research.

Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate and Director of the Francis Crick Institute, writes in his foreword:
‘…despite my familiarity with London and the science of London, I have been astonished by what I have learned from this book … It is a book that will guide you to new places, to new memorials, to new people of science, and to see all of this through fresh eyes.’

You can find the book online at https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030623326

About the authors:

Istvan Hargittai is a physical chemist and Professor Emeritus (active) at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea, London, and a foreign member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo. He is a PhD and DSc, and has honorary doctorates from Lomonosov Moscow State University, the University of North Carolina, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Istvan is Editor-in-Chief of the international periodical Structural Chemistry (Springer).

Magdolna Hargittai is a physical chemist and a Research Professor of structural chemistry at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Academia Europaea, London. A PhD and DSc, Magdolna has an honorary doctorate from the University of North Carolina, and has lectured and published a monograph titled Women Scientists.