Edward Rosen

Edward Rosen (12 December 1906 – 28 March 1985) was an American historian of science known for his work on early modern science and, in particular, Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler, especially his translation of the complete works of Copernicus. He was a distinguished professor emeritus at the City University of New York and was the winner of two Guggenheim Fellowships (1941, 1945), a Pfizer Award from the History of Science Society, and the Gold Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (1978).

Early life and education Rosen was born 12 December 1906 in Manhattan, New York. He was raised and educated in New York City. He attended Townsend Harris High School, then attended the City College of New York 1922–1926, graduating with a BA in classical languages. He then began teaching at City College while attending Columbia University for graduate study, where he received his MA in 1929 and his PhD in 1939. The three volumes were first published in 1972, 1978, and 1985; the third volume was published posthumously. For his work on Copernicus, Rosen was awarded both a medal of the Copernicus Society of America in 1973 and the Gold Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland in 1978. His translation of Copernicus's De Revolutionibus was its first translation into English and was the first translation sponsored by Bern Dibner through the Burndy Library.

Rosen's translation and commentary on Johannes Kepler's novel Somnium, Kepler's Somnium: The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy (1967), was awarded the 1968 Pfizer Award by the History of Science Society. The length of his commentary matched or exceeded the length of the translation itself.

In addition to his translation work, Rosen was known for articles describing definitive studies of narrow questions of basic fact such as "The Authentic Title of Copernicus's Major Work" (1943), "The Date of Maurolico's Death" (1956), "Galileo's Misstatements about Copernicus" (1958), and "When did Copernicus write the 'Revolutions'?" (1977).

Rosen was also an active editor, in particular the managing editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas after several years on its editorial board for history of science.

Death Rosen died on 28 March 1985 in New York City.

Selected works For a complete bibliography, see (1) Rosen's festschrift Science and History: Studies in Honor of Edward Rosen (1978), edited by Erna Hilfstein, Paweł Czartoryski, and Frank D. Grande for Rosen's work 1939–1977 and (2) the last pages of Philip P. Wiener's in memoriam for Rosen in the Journal of the History of Ideas for Rosen's work 1977–1985.

Books

Three Copernican Treatises (1939), translation and commentary on Copernicus's Commentariolus, his Letter against Werner, and Georg Joachim Rheticus's Narratio Prima; the first of Copernicus's work translated into English. Published by Columbia University Press. Kepler's Somnium: The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy (1967), translation and commentary on Kepler's novel Somnium; winner of the 1968 Pfizer Award. Published by University of Wisconsin Press. Complete works of Copernicus First edition: Nicholas Copernicus: Complete Works, in three volumes (1972, 1978, 1985). Published by Polish Scientific Publishers.

Articles