Robert Jacobus Forbes
Born	21 April 1900  Breda (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Died	13 January 1973  (aged 72) Haarlem (Netherlands)
Resting place	Westerveld
Occupation	University teacher
Academic career
Institutions	University of Amsterdam (1960–1967) University of Amsterdam (1947–1960)

Robert Jacobus Forbes orRobert James Forbes (21 April 1900,Breda – 13 January 1973,Haarlem) was a Dutchchemist andhistorian of science and professor in the history of applied science and technology at theUniversity of Amsterdam.

In his days Forbes was internationally one of the best known and respected historian of technology,^[1] and recipient of the firstLeonardo da Vinci Medal, the highest award by theSociety for the History of Technology (SHOT).^[2]

Forbes was born in Breda as son of William Forbes, a military engineer and later administrator at theBataafse Petroleum Maatschappij,^[1] and Maria Sara Johanna (van Houten) Forbes. The Forbes family was of Scottish origin and a descendant of the Scottish theologianJohn Forbes of Corse. He spent much of his childhood in China,^[3] where he attended the Public School of the International Settlement inShanghai.^[2]

Back in the Netherlands from 1912 to 1917 he attended theHogere Burgerschool (HBS) in Leiden. From 1917 to 1923 he studied chemical technology at theDelft University of Technology, where he obtained his engineering degree.^[2]

From 1923 to 1958 Forbes worked forRoyal Dutch Shell. The first two years he worked as chemist at theShell Technology Centre Amsterdam. From 1925 to 1931 he worked in theDutch East Indies as engineer at oil-refinery at Balikpapan,Borneo.^[3] After his return to the Netherlands in 1931 he did research about the application ofasphalt in the construction of roads. In the later years he moved into the development of analytic methods, and participated in the Standardization Committee of theInstitute of Petroleum in London.^[3] In his last three years from 1952 to 1955 he managed the scientific publication department, and wrote about the history of the Royal Dutch Shell.^[2]

In 1947 Forbes had also been appointed professor in the history of applied science and technology at theUniversity of Amsterdam. After his retirement from Shell in 1958 he was secretary of theKoninklijke Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen in Haarlem as successor of the lateJohannes Abraham Bierens de Haan. In 1960 he was appointed professor in the history of physics and chemistry at the University of Amsterdam.^[2]

Forbes retired from the University of Amsterdam on 1 September 1967.^[4] He died at his home atHaarlem 13 January 1971 at the age of 72.^[3]

In 1953 Forbes was awarded anHonorary degree by theTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology. He was appointed member of theRoyal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1959. TheNewcomen Society awarded him the Dickinson Memorial Medal in 1960, and elected him Honorary President. In 1962 Forbes was awarded the firstLeonardo da Vinci Medal by theSociety for the History of Technology (SHOT).^[3]

As science historian Forbes wrote about the history of technology, particularly oil technology in theancient world. In the 1930s he had studied the use ofbitumen,asphalt,petroleum and building of roads in the Ancient world. Subsequently he had studied metals and mining from 1935 to 1950, and in between also ancientirrigation andwater resource management in the years 1938 to 1941.^[2]

Forbes also wrote a book aboutSimon Stevin, describing Stevin'smill building andhydraulic engineering work. His workA history of science and technology, written withEduard Dijksterhuis, proposed a synthesis of thehistory of science. In total Forbes published over thirty books and about two hundred articles.^[3]

In his youth Forbes had developed an interest inarchaeology, which became of interest when he started to study the application of asphalt in the construction of roads at Shell in 1931. Under guidance of the Dutch archaeologist and orientalistHenri Frankfort, Forbes went to Iraq to collect samples of ancientmastic, which he analyzed in the Shell laboratory. This research first let to the 1934 publication ofNotes on the history of ancient roads and their construction.^[5] This work was reviewed in multiple publications.^[6][7][8]

In 1936 Forbes also publishedBitumen and petroleum in antiquity.^[1][9] In this work Forbes summarize the use ofbitumen andpetroleum in antiquity, as Hassan (2013) described, that:

...five thousand years agoSumerians,Mesopotamians andEgyptians made use of petroleum for several purposes. During this period, the inhabitants of Sumeria made use of asphalt to fix pictures and designs on walls and floors, while in Mesopotamia people used bitumen to help construct water canals. They also used it as sealant in the joints of wooden boats to enable hitch free water transportation...^[10]

According to Hassan (2013) Forbes had also pointed out, that "by 347 AD the Chinese local oil and gas industry had developed considerably, because oil wells up to 800 feet were being drilled using bits connected to bamboo poles."^[10]

At the University of Amsterdam he became befriended with David Cohen (1882–1967), professor of Ancient History, who became his mentor. He became supporter of the Allard Pierson Stichting with itsAllard Pierson Museum, the archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam, and joined the Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Gezelschap Ex Oriente Lux. Their annual publication gave Forbes a forum to publish his work.^[1]

In Shell his historical work became known to its chairmanHenri Deterding, who supported the publication of his work. With Deterding Shell supported the Allard Pierson Stichting, which initiated the chair for the history of applied science and technology at the University of Amsterdam in 1946 for Forbes.^[1]

From 1940 to 1963 Forbes published his first book series, entitledBibliographia Antiqua: Philosophia Naturalis, in 10 parts with 6 volumes and 2 supplementary volumes in Dutch. The subjects of these works were:

1. Mining and geology^[11]

2. Metallurgy^[12]

3/4. Building materials; Pottery, faience, glass, glaze, beads^[13]

5/8. Paints, pigments, varnishes, inks and their application; Leather, manufacture and application; Fibrous materials; Paper, papyrus, and other writing materials.^[14]

9. Man and nature^[15]

10. Science and technology^[16]

Supplement I: 1940-1950^[17]

Supplement II: 1950-1960^[18]

The latest work,Supplement II was reviewed by Eugene S. Ferguson 1964.^[19]

From 1955 to 1964 Forbes published his second book series, entitledStudies in Ancient Technology, in nine volumes. This work was reprinted and new editions occurred from 1964 to 1993. The titles and subjects of the nine volumes are:

1. Bitumen and petroleum in antiquity; the origin of alchemy; water supply^[20]
2. Irrigation and drainage; Power; Land transport and road-building; The coming of the camel.^[21]
3. Cosmetics and perfumes in antiquity; Food, alcoholic beverages, vinegar; Food in classical antiquity; Fermented beverages 500 B.C. - 1500 A.D.; Crushing; Salts, preservation processes, mummification; Paints, pigments, inks and varnishes.^[22]
4. The fibres and fabrics of antiquity; Washing, bleaching, fulling and felting; Dyes and dyeing; Spinning; Sewing, basketry and weaving; Weaving and looms; Fabrics and weavers.^[23]
5. Leather in antiquity; Sugar and its substitutes in antiquity; Glass.^[24]
6. Heat and heating; Refrigeration, the art of cooling and producing cold; Light.^[25]
7. Ancient geology; Ancient mining and quarrying; Ancient mining techniques.^[26]
8. Metallurgy in antiquity, part 1; Early metallurgy, the smith and his tools, gold, silver and lead, zinc and brass.^[27]
9. Metallurgy in antiquity, part 2; Copper and bronze, tin, arsenic, antimony and iron.^[28]

Over the years these works were subject of multiple reviews.^{[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37]}

After the Second World War Forbes published multiple specialized and more general books on the history of technology and engineering, which received several reviews, such as:

• Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1948)^[38]
• Man the Maker. A History of Technology and Engineering (New York: Henry Schuman, 1950)^{[39][40][41][42][43]}
• Studies in Early Petroleum History (Leiden: Brill, 1958.),^[44][45] and:
• More Studies in Early Petroleum History, 1860-1880 (Leiden: Brill, 1959.)^{[46][47][48][49]}

WithE. J. Dijksterhuis in 1963 Forbes published aHistory of Science and Technology withPenguin Books in two volumes. The first volume covered Ancient Times to the Seventeenth Century, and the second the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.^[50] Two of his latests works wereThe principal works of Simon Stevin published in 1966, andThe Conquest of Nature: Technology and Its Consequences published in 1968.^[51]

• Forbes, Robert James.Bitumen and petroleum in antiquity. 1936.
• Forbes, Robert James.Bibliographia Antiqua: Philosophia Naturalis. 10 volumes and 2 supplements, 1940–1963.
• Forbes, Robert James.Metallurgy in antiquity: a notebook for archaeologists and technologists. Brill Archive, 1950.
• Forbes, Robert James.Studies in Ancient Technology. Vol. 1-9. Brill Archive, 1955-64.
• Forbes, Robert James, andEduard Jan Dijksterhuis.A history of science and technology. Vol. 1. Penguin books, 1963.
• — (1 December 1970).A Short History of the Art of Distillation: From the Beginnings up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal (2nd ed.). Leiden:Brill Publishers.ISBN 978-90-04-00617-1.LCCN 71879886.OCLC 1060799375.OL 13686623M.Wikidata Q107312970.

Articles, a selection

• Forbes, Robert James. "Short history of the art of distillation."British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 3 (11):273-275 (1952).
• Forbes, Robert James. "Metallurgy in antiquity."Studies in Ancient Technology VIII. Leiden. 1971.

• H. Gabriëls, "Ter herdenking – prof. dr. ir. R.J. Forbes,"De Ingenieur 85 (20) (17 mei 1973) 407–409. (with bibliography).
• Rupert Hall, A. (1976); Robert James Forbes (1900-1973).Archives internationales d'histore des sciences,26 (1976), pp. 160-162.
• White, Lynn Townsend Jr. (1974); "Robert James Forbes (1900-1973)."Technology and Culture,15, #3 (July 1974), pp. 438-439.
• Wittop Koning, D.A. (1975); "Robert James Forbes, *Breda 21-4-1900, † Haarlem, 13-1-1973,"Janus,62 (1975), pp. 217-221. Complete Bibliography on pages 221-233.

• (in Dutch)Biography in theBiografisch Woordenboek van Nederland

• 1900 births
• 1973 deaths
• 20th-century Dutch historians
• Historians of science
• 20th-century Dutch chemists
• Delft University of Technology alumni
• Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam
• People from Breda
• Leonardo da Vinci Medal recipients

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