After their restoration of 1814, the Jesuits made significant contributions to the natural sciences, especially in the fields of astronomy, meteorology, seismology, terrestrial magnetism, mathematics, and biology. This narrative provides a history of the Jesuit institutions in which these discoveries were made, many of which were established in countries that previously had no scientific institutions whatsoever, thus generating a scientific and educational legacy that endures to this day. The article also focuses on the teaching and research that took place at Jesuit universities and secondary schools, as well as the order's creation of a worldwide network of seventy-four astronomical and geophysical observatories where particularly important contributions were made to the fields of terrestrial magnetism, microseisms, tropical hurricanes, and botany.

About the Author
Agustin Udias holds a PhD in geophysics from Saint Louis University (1964) and a doctorate in physics from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1971), where he is a professor emeritus. As well as writing extensively on the history of the Jesuits' involvement in science, Udias has also published articles on earthquake source mechanism, seismicity, and seismotectonics.

Reviews
"By establishing the who's who and what's what of modern Jesuit science, Udias is effectively clearing the ground for other scholars, much in the spirit of the series in which it appeared [...]. For those who are venturing for the first time on the territory of modern Jesuit science, I recommend this work as a mine of research topics." - Jean-Olivier Richard, University of Toronto, in: Journal of Jesuit Studies, Vol. 7, No. 4 (2020), pp. 694-697



Book Information
ISBN 9789004394896
Author Agustin Udias
Format Paperback
Page Count 106
Imprint Brill
Publisher Brill
Weight(grams) 191g