Edwin Slosson

Edwin Slosson (1865-1929) was an American chemist and journalist.

Life

Edwin Emery Slosson was born June 7, 1865 in Albany, Kansas. He earned a BS in Chemistry at the University of Kansas in 1890 and continued as a graduate student studying chemistry, physics, geology and psychology and was awarded a MS degree in 1892.

From 1891 to 1903 Slosson lived in Laramie, Wyoming, where he taught all the chemistry courses at the University of Wyoming. He also taught popular extension courses in chemistry to community members, a course in experimental psychology, and lectured on photography to the local Camera Club.

Slosson carried out chemical research at the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, which was associated with the university and he also acted as state chemist. His work was published in numerous bulletins of the Experiment Station and he was awarded his PhD at the University of Chicago summa cum laude in 1902. He participated as a special demonstrator in chemistry at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.[3]

While living in Laramie he contributed articles to The Independent, a weekly magazine published in New York. In 1904 he moved to New York to become the literary editor of The Independent and a contributor. His journalism formed the basis for several books. From 1912 to 1920 he taught a course on physical science for journalists at the Pulitzer School of Journalism at Columbia University, New York.

Slosson was the founding director of Science Service in Washington, DC, from January 1921 until he died on October 15, 1929 in Washington, DC.

Contributions

Edwin Slosson was widely recognized as a leading science journalist and for his achievements in popularizing science.

Slosson and Watson Davis saw microfilm as more than a technology for compact storage or inexpensive publication. They saw wider possibilities for gathering and distribution of scientific and scholarly work. They wrote a memorandum entitled "Plan for film record" in 1926 which Davis later cited as the origin of Science Service's Bibliofilm and Auxiliary Publications services and, indeed, of the American Documentation Institute. (Farkas-Conn 1990).

Science Service

Science Service was organized in 1920 by biologist William Emerson Ritter and the newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps with the aim of improving the general public's understanding of science by providing scientific news to daily newspapers. Scripps sought to counter the sensationalism and superstition that passed for science reporting at the time. He believed that democracy would be safe only if the electorate understood science. Ritter organized wide support and hired Slosson as the founding director with the title "Editor."

Slosson was responsible for organizing and staffing the agency. His initial efforts were concentrated on promoting and developing science journalism by the means of a weekly syndicated news service called Science News Bulletin. Slosson described Science Service as "a sort of liaison officer between scientific circles and the outside world". Science News Bulletin was well received and in September 1922 it began to be issued to newspapers and magazines daily rather than weekly. Also in 1922, Science Service started publishing Science News Letter, a weekly magazine for sale to individuals, and later, in 1966, an online version Science News. A radio program Adventures in Science aired from 1930 to 1959. Watson Davis took over as Managing Editor when Slosson died.

The new service for newspapers was eventually discontinued. In 2008 Science Service was renamed Society for Science and the Public and, in 2021, Society for Science.

Publications

Slosson published 18 book, over 80 pamphlets or reprinted articles, more than 20 technical bulletins based on his personal research, and about 2,000 articles, editorials and essays (Slosson 1930, ix). Twelve books are listed in the Wikipedia [1].

• Great American Universities. New York: Macmillan, 1910. [2]
• Major Prophets of Today. Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1914. [3]
• Six Major Prophets. Boston, Little, Brown, and Co., 1917. [4]
• Creative Chemistry. New York : Century Co., 1919. A collection of articles about industrial applications of chemistry. His most successful publication, a bestseller. [5]
• "A new agency for the popularization of science." Science 53, no. 1371 (1921): 321-323. [6]
• A Number of Things. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1930. Posthumous. Reprinted short essays. Biography pp 3-33.

Further reading

• Biographical memoir by Preston W. Slosson. In: A Number of Things, by Edwin E. Slosson. New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1930, pp 3-33.
• Howe, H. E. "Edwin E. Slosson." [Obituary] Science 70, no. 1819 (1929): 443-444. [7]
• Farkas-Conn, Irene. From documentation to information science: The beginnings and early development of the American Documentation Institute—American Society for Information Science. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. [8]
• Gillis, Anna Mariar. "From news wire to newsweekly: 75 years of science service. Science News 151, issue 9 (March 1, 1997): S10-11. [9]
• See "Historical Note: Science Service" within the Smithsonian Science Service records finding aid. [10]

Papers

• Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7091, Science Service, Records. 1902-1965. Consists of records documenting the daily activities of Science Service and the professional activities Edwin E. Slosson and Watson Davis. Very extensive finding aid. [11]