Hugh Aldersey-Williams (born 1959) is a British author and journalist. Aldersey-Williams was educated atHighgate School and studied thenatural sciences at theUniversity of Cambridge. His several books discuss issues surrounding natural and man-made designs. He hascurated exhibitions at theVictoria and Albert Museum as well as theWellcome Collection.^[1]

Aldersey-Williams is perhaps best known for his 2011 bookPeriodic Tales, whichThe Daily Telegraph described as "a paean to the building blocks of matter".^[1][2] The book takes a comprehensive look through world history to detail where, how, and why humanity discoveredthe elements. It also received praise fromKirkus Reviews, which labelled it "lucid" and "enjoyable".^[3] In October 2015 he co-curated an exhibition based on the book atCompton Verney Art Gallery,Periodic Tales: The Art of the Elements, exhibiting predominantly contemporary art works and focusing on the relationship between artistic objects and the elemental materials that go into their making.^[4]

Aldersey-Williams contributed an essay onSir Thomas Browne toThe Society for Curious Thought.^{[citation needed]}

Aldersey-Williams has a lifetimehobby, since his teenage days, of collecting samples of the elements and setting them up in his home.^[2]

• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (1995).The most beautiful molecule: the discovery of the buckyball. New York: Wiley.ISBN 978-0-471-10938-9.OCLC 32349204.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2003).Zoomorphic: new animal architecture. London: Laurence King.ISBN 978-1-85669-340-0.OCLC 53068933.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2012).Periodic tales: a cultural history of the elements, from arsenic to zinc. New York: Ecco.ISBN 978-0-06-182473-9.OCLC 754770739.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2013).Anatomies: a cultural history of the human body. New York: Norton.ISBN 978-0-393-23988-1.OCLC 827852486.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2015).In search of Sir Thomas Browne: the life and afterlife of the seventeenth century's most inquiring mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.ISBN 978-0-393-24164-8.OCLC 891611145.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2016).Tide: the science and lore of the greatest force on earth. London: Viking.ISBN 978-0-241-00336-7.OCLC 951212534.
• Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (2020).Dutch light: Christiaan Huygens and the making of science in Europe. London: Picador.ISBN 978-1-5098-9333-1.OCLC 1144105192.

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