Vale Professor Emeritus Stephen Gaukroger FRSN FAHA

The Society was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Fellow, Professor Emeritus Stephen Gaukroger FRSN FAHA FRHistS FRSA, on 3 September 2023 after a short illness.

Stephen Gaukroger was one of the world’s leading historians of science, mathematics, and philosophy, and in each of these fields, he was recognised as one of the most significant figures in Australasia. Educated at the University of London and the University of Cambridge, he held positions at Cambridge, Melbourne, and Sydney, as well as visiting professorships at Oxford, London, Aberdeen, and the École normale supérieure – Paris Sciences et Lettres.

At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus of History of Philosophy and History of Science at the University of Sydney. During his career, he authored sixteen books, including an internationally renowned intellectual biography of Descartes (1995). His work has been translated in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Russian. His major work is the 4-volume study of science and the shaping of modernity: The Emergence of a Scientific Culture, 1210-1685 (2006); The Collapse of Mechanism and the Rise of Sensibility: 1680-1760 (2010); The Natural and the Human, 1739-1841 (2016); and Civilization and the Culture of Science, 1795-1935 (2020).  Most recently, Stephen Gaukroger was the winner of the Royal Society of NSW History and Philosophy of Science Medal in 2022.

The Society extends its sincere condolences to his wife, Professor Emerita Helen Irving FRSN FASSA FAAL, family, and friends at this sad time.