Neville Prize in Bibliography or Biography - Chemical Heritage Foundation

The 2006 Roy G. Neville Prize in Bibliography or Biography
Robert E. Schofield
For his 2004 biography of Joseph Priestley

The Chemical Heritage Foundation is pleased to honor The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Works from 1773 to 1804, the second volume of Robert E. Schofield's definitive biography of one of chemistry's greatest practitioners. The prize was awarded on Tuesday, 17 October 2006, as part of CHF's fall governance meetings.

Schofield, professor of history emeritus at Iowa State University, is uniquely qualified to bring to life the monumental figure of Joseph Priestley. Born in Nebraska and raised in Colorado, he earned an A.B. in physics from Princeton University, an M.S. in physics from the University of Minnesota, and a Ph.D. in history of science from Harvard University. Schofield has taught at the University of Kansas in Lawrence; Case Institute of Technology, later Case Western Reserve University; and Iowa State University. He became professor emeritus in 1993. He is the editor of A Scientific Autobiography of Joseph Priestley (1773–1804) and the author or editor of numerous other books, including The Lunar Society of Birmingham. His masterworks, The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Works from 1733 to 1773 and The Enlightened Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Works from 1773 to 1804, are a culmination of thirty years' work, research, and study. It is entirely appropriate that the second volume of this set would receive a prize named after a man whose lifetime efforts produced the astonishing Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library.

About the Neville Prize
The Roy G. Neville Prize in Bibliography or Biography, established in 2006, is presented annually by the Chemical Heritage Foundation to recognize an outstanding monograph in the areas of the chemical and molecular sciences. The objective of this prize is to encourage emulation, inspire achievement, and promote public understanding of modern sciences, industries, and economies.

The Neville Prize recognizes either:

a monograph that contributes to our bibliographical knowledge of the chemical and molecular sciences, in the tradition inaugurated by Henry Carrington Bolton and exemplified in the lifetime achievement of Roy G. Neville; or
a major work of biography in the chemical and molecular sciences.

In order to be considered for nomination, the work must have been published during a period of five calendar years immediately preceding the year of competition. The Neville Prize may not be received in absentia, except under extraordinary conditions as approved by the president of CHF. The recipient is expected to deliver an address at the award ceremony. The author of the winning monograph receives a cash prize, a certificate, and travel expenses to accept the award.

About Roy G. Neville
Acquiring and cataloging the books in the Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library at CHF has been the life’s work for Roy Neville. A consulting chemist by profession, in 1973 he founded the corporation Engineering and Technical Consultants in Redwood City, California, of which he was president. He is also a passionate bibliophile by avocation. Neville began collecting books almost 60 years ago and amassed one of the largest private collections of rare books in the fields of science and technology, and chemistry in particular.
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About Henry Carrington Bolton
Henry Carrington Bolton (1843–1903) was a chemist, historian, academic, bibliophile, and renowned bibliographer of chemistry. Bolton documented the period 1492–1902 in his Select Bibliography of Chemistry, creating the definitive list of chemical books published during these 500 years. This massive reference work, listing more than 15,000 titles in chemistry, was published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., in 1893, with supplements in 1899, 1901, and 1904.
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The Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library

The Bolton Society: An Organization
of Chemical Bibliophiles