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The Ilo And The Regulation Of White Lead In Britain During The Interwar Years: An Examination Of International And National Campaigns In Occupational Health, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Despite the International Labour Organization's (ILO) significance for much of the twentieth century, little has been written on its early history. This case study examines the thin tightrope that the ILO had to walk in balancing the needs and demands of government, employers and labor related to the ILO's Convention No. 13 (1921), "White Lead in Painting.' Great Britain was a leading producer of the pigment white lead prior to the First World War. A government investigation was published in 1915, but measures were shelved during the War. With the peace, the focus of activity shifted to the ILO.

Preparations …

Review: 'The Science Of Describing: Natural History In Renaissance Europe', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

The author of this book has written a beautifully crafted monograph on Renais- sance natural history. This is a learned, scholarly, and analytical work that goes well beyond surveys in the history of science or Renaissance history, yet at the same time is eminently readable and at times rather entertaining, no mean feat when considering the subject matter. Where else can one learn of the early natural history of the walrus and the bird of paradise? For this reviewer, who gained an extensive background in the history of Renaissance science while in graduate school long ago, but then moved on …

Doing 'True Science': The Early History Of The 'Institutum Divi Thomae,' 1935-1951, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

This essay focuses on the origins and early history of the Institutum Divi Thomae (hereafter referred to as the IDT or Institutum), thus describing one particularly rich episode illustrating the relationship between American Catholicism and science during the middle of the twentieth century. The IDT was established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1935; its faculty and students, while working in the area of cancer research, published hundreds of scientific and technical papers, developed a number of commercial products, and received considerable publicity in both the religious and secular press during the first two decades of its existence. However, with …

Review: 'Sloss Furnaces And The Rise Of The Birmingham District: An Industrial Epic', John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Ask a displaced Alabamian (as I did) about their memories of Birmingham, and chances are the first words uttered go something like "dirty, sooty, and poor." During the second half of the twentieth century life rarely got better, as Birmingham was left behind while neighboring Atlanta's reputation, and population, waxed greatly. In short, Birmingham in our time emerged with a rust-belt image, despite its being geographically situated well within the sunbelt, and with its sense of place being negatively attenuated further by the accumulation. of generations of racial injustice. How did Birmingham get that way?