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{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name               = Dava Sobel
| name       = Dava Sobel
| image             = Dava Sobel 2015.jpg
| image       = Dava Sobel 2015.jpg
| caption           = Sobel in 2015
| caption     = Sobel in 2015
| birth_name         =  
| birth_name =  
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1947|6|15}}<ref>{{cite web|title = Self-Portrait|last = Sobel|first = Dava|url=http://davasobel.com/?page_id=547|access-date=December 26, 2013}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|6|15}}<ref>{{cite web|title = Self-Portrait|last = Sobel|first = Dava|url=http://davasobel.com/?page_id=547|access-date=December 26, 2013}}</ref>
| birth_place       = [[The Bronx]], New York City
| birth_place = [[The Bronx]], New York City, U.S.
| death_date         =  
| death_date =  
| death_place       =  
| death_place =  
| death_cause       =  
| death_cause =  
| other_names       =  
| other_names =  
| known_for         =  
| known_for   =  
| education         = [[Bronx High School of Science]]
| education   = [[Bronx High School of Science]]
| alma mater        = [[Binghamton University]]
| alma_mater  = [[Binghamton University]]
| occupation         =  
| occupation =  
| spouse             =  
| spouse     =  
| partner           =  
| partner     =  
| children           =  
| children   =  
| parents           =  
| parents     =  
| relatives         =  
| relatives   = [[Ruth Gruber]] (aunt); [[David Michaels (epidemiologist)|David Michaels]] (cousin)
| signature         = Dava Sobel signature.svg
| signature   = Dava Sobel signature.svg
| awards             = Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, US & Canada, Klumpke-Roberts Award
| awards     = Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, US & Canada, Klumpke-Roberts Award
| website           = {{Official URL}}
| website     = {{Official URL}}
}}
}}
'''Dava Sobel''' (born June 15, 1947) is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include ''[[Longitude (book)|Longitude]]'', about English clockmaker [[John Harrison]]; ''[[Galileo's Daughter]]'', about [[Galileo]]'s daughter [[Maria Celeste]]; and ''The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars'' about the [[Harvard Computers]].
'''Dava Sobel''' (born June 15, 1947) is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include ''[[Longitude (book)|Longitude]]'', about English clockmaker [[John Harrison]]; ''[[Galileo's Daughter]]'', about [[Galileo]]'s daughter [[Maria Celeste]]; and ''The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars'' about the [[Harvard Computers]].


==Biography==
==Biography==
Sobel was born in [[The Bronx]], New York City. She graduated from the [[Bronx High School of Science]] and [[Binghamton University]]. She wrote ''[[Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time]]'' in 1995. The story was made into a television movie, [[Longitude (TV series)|of the same name]] by [[Charles Sturridge]] and [[Granada Productions|Granada Film]] in 1999, and was shown in the United States by [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]].
Sobel was born in [[The Bronx]], New York City. She graduated from the [[Bronx High School of Science]] and [[Binghamton University]]. She wrote ''[[Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time]]'' in 1995. The story was made into a television movie [[Longitude (TV series)|of the same name]] by [[Charles Sturridge]] and [[Granada Productions|Granada Film]] in 1999, and was shown in the United States by [[A&E (TV network)|A&E]].


Her book ''[[Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love]]'' was a finalist for the 2000 [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/222 | title = The Pulitzer Prizes: Biography or Autobiography | access-date = 2017-04-20}}</ref>
Her book ''[[Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love]]'' was a finalist for the 2000 [[Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-category/222 | title = The Pulitzer Prizes: Biography or Autobiography | access-date = 2017-04-20}}</ref> In 2005, Sobel published ''[[Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love|The Planets]]'', her most ambitious topic to date.&nbsp; In this ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' extended best seller, Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lenses of both science and popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history.
[[File:Dava Sobel, November 8, 2007.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Dava Sobel in November 2007]]
[[File:Dava Sobel, November 8, 2007.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Dava Sobel in November 2007]]
She holds [[Doctor of Humane Letters|honorary doctor of letters]] degrees from the [[University of Bath]] and [[Middlebury College]], Vermont, both awarded in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dava Sobel Biography |url=http://www.davasobel.com/about_bio.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206022609/http://www.davasobel.com/about_bio.php |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>
She holds [[Doctor of Humane Letters|honorary doctor of letters]] degrees from the [[University of Bath]] and [[Middlebury College]], Vermont, both awarded in 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=Dava Sobel Biography |url=http://www.davasobel.com/about_bio.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206022609/http://www.davasobel.com/about_bio.php |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>


Sobel made her first foray into teaching at the [[University of Chicago]] as the Vare Writer-in-Residence in the winter of 2006. She taught a one-quarter seminar on writing about science.
Sobel made her first foray into teaching at the [[University of Chicago]] as the Vare Writer-in-Residence in the winter of 2006. She taught a one-quarter seminar on science writing.


She served as a judge for the [[PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pen.org/blog/announcing-2012-pen-literary-awards-recipients |title=Announcing the 2012 PEN Literary Award Recipients |date=October 15, 2012 |access-date=February 6, 2013 |work=[[PEN American Center]]}}</ref>
She served as a judge for the [[PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pen.org/blog/announcing-2012-pen-literary-awards-recipients |title=Announcing the 2012 PEN Literary Award Recipients |date=October 15, 2012 |access-date=February 6, 2013 |work=[[PEN American Center]] |archive-date=April 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408174941/http://www.pen.org/blog/announcing-2012-pen-literary-awards-recipients |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Sobel is the niece of journalist [[Ruth Gruber]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brawarsky|first1=Sandee|title=100 Years of Asking Questions|url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/100-years-of-asking-questions-2/|access-date=March 14, 2019|work=[[The Jewish Week]]|location=New York City|date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> and the cousin of epidemiologist [[David Michaels (epidemiologist)|David Michaels]].
Sobel is the niece of journalist [[Ruth Gruber]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Brawarsky|first1=Sandee|title=100 Years of Asking Questions|url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/100-years-of-asking-questions-2/|access-date=March 14, 2019|work=[[The Jewish Week]]|location=New York City|date=November 22, 2016}}</ref> and the cousin of epidemiologist [[David Michaels (epidemiologist)|David Michaels]].


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Asteroid [[30935 Davasobel]], discovered by [[Carolyn S. Shoemaker]] and [[David H. Levy]] was named after her for her literary work in physics.<ref name=":0" />
Asteroid [[30935 Davasobel]], discovered by [[Carolyn S. Shoemaker]] and [[David H. Levy]], was named after her for her literary work in physics.<ref name=":0" />


Sobel states she is a chaser of [[solar eclipse]]s and that "it's the closest thing to witnessing a miracle". As of August 2012 she had seen eight, and planned to see the [[Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012|November 2012 total solar eclipse]] in Australia.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Transcript|work=[[Jennifer Byrne Presents]]: Dava Sobel|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s3576835.htm#transcript|access-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref>
Sobel states that she is a chaser of [[solar eclipse]]s and that "it's the closest thing to witnessing a miracle". As of August 2012 she had seen eight, and planned to see the [[Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012|November 2012 total solar eclipse]] in Australia.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Transcript|work=[[Jennifer Byrne Presents]]: Dava Sobel|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/firsttuesday/s3576835.htm#transcript|access-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref>


==Publications==
==Publications==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?86908-1/longitude Presentation by Sobel on ''Longitude'', June 17, 1997], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?116077-1/longitude ''Booknotes'' interview with Sobel on ''Longitude'', January 17, 1999], [[C-SPAN]]| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?154176-1/galileos-daughter Presentation by Sobel on ''Galileo's Daughter'', December 14, 1999], [[C-SPAN]]| video4 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?160597-4/galileos-daughter-historical-memoir Presentation by Sobel on ''Galileo's Daughter'', November 19, 2000], [[C-SPAN]]| video5 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?167891-1/letters-father Presentation by Sobel on ''Letters to Father'', December 7, 2001], [[C-SPAN]]| video6 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?190405-1/the-planets Presentation by Sobel on ''The Planets'', November 15, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]| video7 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?421869-2/dava-sobel-discusses-the-glass-universe Presentation by Sobel on ''The Glass Universe'', January 19, 2017], [[C-SPAN]]}}  
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?86908-1/longitude Presentation by Sobel on ''Longitude'', June 17, 1997], [[C-SPAN]]| video2 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?116077-1/longitude ''Booknotes'' interview with Sobel on ''Longitude'', January 17, 1999], [[C-SPAN]]| video3 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?154176-1/galileos-daughter Presentation by Sobel on ''Galileo's Daughter'', December 14, 1999], [[C-SPAN]]| video4 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?160597-4/galileos-daughter-historical-memoir Presentation by Sobel on ''Galileo's Daughter'', November 19, 2000], [[C-SPAN]]| video5 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?167891-1/letters-father Presentation by Sobel on ''Letters to Father'', December 7, 2001], [[C-SPAN]]| video6 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?190405-1/the-planets Presentation by Sobel on ''The Planets'', November 15, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]| video7 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?421869-2/dava-sobel-discusses-the-glass-universe Presentation by Sobel on ''The Glass Universe'', January 19, 2017], [[C-SPAN]]}}  
* {{cite book| title=Arthritis: What Works; Revolutionary Healing Approaches From An Unprecedented Nationwide Survey Of People With Arthritis|url=https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0312927193|date=1992|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-92719-6 }}
* {{cite book| title=Arthritis: What Works; Revolutionary Healing Approaches From An Unprecedented Nationwide Survey Of People With Arthritis|url=https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0312927193|date=1992|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-92719-6 }}
* {{cite book| title=Arthritis: What Exercises Work: Breakthrough Relief for the Rest of Your Life, Even After Drugs and Surgery Have Failed|date=2015|publisher=St. Martin's Press|id={{ASIN|1250068681|country=ca}}}}
* {{cite book| title=Arthritis: What Exercises Work: Breakthrough Relief for the Rest of Your Life, Even After Drugs and Surgery Have Failed|date=2015|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1250068682}}
* {{cite book| title=Backache: What Exercises Work|url=https://www.amazon.ca/Backache-Exercises-Sobel-Arthur-Paperback/dp/B00ZT1A1XG|date=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press}}
* {{cite book| title=Backache: What Exercises Work|url=https://www.amazon.ca/Backache-Exercises-Sobel-Arthur-Paperback/dp/B00ZT1A1XG|date=1996|publisher=St. Martin's Press}}
* ''[[Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time]]'' (1995) {{ISBN|1-85702-571-7}}. {{OCLC|909490210}} – the genius in question was [[John Harrison]], who spent decades trying to convince the [[British Admiralty]] of the accuracy of his naval timepieces and their use in determining [[longitude]] when at sea in order to win the [[longitude prize]]. The book itself won the 1997 [[British Book of the Year]] award.
* ''[[Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time]]'' (1995) {{ISBN|1-85702-571-7}}. {{OCLC|909490210}} – the genius in question was [[John Harrison]], who spent decades trying to convince the [[British Admiralty]] of the accuracy of his naval timepieces and their use in determining [[longitude]] when at sea in order to win the [[longitude prize]]. The book itself won the 1997 [[British Book of the Year]] award.
Line 59: Line 59:


==Recognition==
==Recognition==
In 2008, Sobel was awarded the [[Klumpke-Roberts Award]] by the [[Astronomical Society of the Pacific]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Klumpke-Roberts Award : Awards : WHO WE ARE : Astronomical Society of the Pacific |url=https://astrosociety.org/who-we-are/awards/klumpke-roberts-award.html/title/past-recipients-of-the-klumpke-roberts-award |access-date=2026-05-26 |website=astrosociety.org |language=en}}</ref>
She was named a [[Fellow of the American Physical Society]] in 2022 "for outstanding writings covering many centuries of key developments in physics and astronomy and the people central to those developments".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=2022|title=Fellows nominated in 2022|work=APS Fellows archive|publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=2022-10-19}}</ref>
She was named a [[Fellow of the American Physical Society]] in 2022 "for outstanding writings covering many centuries of key developments in physics and astronomy and the people central to those developments".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=2022|title=Fellows nominated in 2022|work=APS Fellows archive|publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=2022-10-19}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:American science writers]]
[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American women science writers]]
[[Category:American women science writers]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:Binghamton University alumni]]
[[Category:Binghamton University alumni]]
[[Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scientific American people]]
[[Category:Scientific American people]]
[[Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American science writers]]

Latest revision as of 00:06, 27 May 2026

Dava Sobel
File:Dava Sobel 2015.jpg
Sobel in 2015
Born (1947-06-15) June 15, 1947 (age 79)[1]
The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
EducationBronx High School of Science
Alma materBinghamton University
RelativesRuth Gruber (aunt); David Michaels (cousin)
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship for Natural Sciences, US & Canada, Klumpke-Roberts Award
Signature
File:Dava Sobel signature.svg

Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947) is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include Longitude, about English clockmaker John Harrison; Galileo's Daughter, about Galileo's daughter Maria Celeste; and The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars about the Harvard Computers.

Biography

Sobel was born in The Bronx, New York City. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Binghamton University. She wrote Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time in 1995. The story was made into a television movie of the same name by Charles Sturridge and Granada Film in 1999, and was shown in the United States by A&E.

Her book Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love was a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.[2] In 2005, Sobel published The Planets, her most ambitious topic to date.  In this New York Times extended best seller, Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lenses of both science and popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history.

File:Dava Sobel, November 8, 2007.jpg
Dava Sobel in November 2007

She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from the University of Bath and Middlebury College, Vermont, both awarded in 2002.[3]

Sobel made her first foray into teaching at the University of Chicago as the Vare Writer-in-Residence in the winter of 2006. She taught a one-quarter seminar on science writing.

She served as a judge for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award in 2012.[4]

Sobel is the niece of journalist Ruth Gruber[5] and the cousin of epidemiologist David Michaels.

Legacy

Asteroid 30935 Davasobel, discovered by Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy, was named after her for her literary work in physics.[6]

Sobel states that she is a chaser of solar eclipses and that "it's the closest thing to witnessing a miracle". As of August 2012 she had seen eight, and planned to see the November 2012 total solar eclipse in Australia.[6]

Publications

External video
video icon Presentation by Sobel on Longitude, June 17, 1997, C-SPAN
video icon Booknotes interview with Sobel on Longitude, January 17, 1999, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Sobel on Galileo's Daughter, December 14, 1999, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Sobel on Galileo's Daughter, November 19, 2000, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Sobel on Letters to Father, December 7, 2001, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Sobel on The Planets, November 15, 2005, C-SPAN
video icon Presentation by Sobel on The Glass Universe, January 19, 2017, C-SPAN

Recognition

In 2008, Sobel was awarded the Klumpke-Roberts Award by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.[13]

She was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022 "for outstanding writings covering many centuries of key developments in physics and astronomy and the people central to those developments".[14]

References

  1. ↑ Sobel, Dava. "Self-Portrait". Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Pulitzer Prizes: Biography or Autobiography". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Dava Sobel Biography". Archived from the original on December 6, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Announcing the 2012 PEN Literary Award Recipients". PEN American Center. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ Brawarsky, Sandee (November 22, 2016). "100 Years of Asking Questions". The Jewish Week. New York City. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Transcript". Jennifer Byrne Presents: Dava Sobel. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  7. ↑ Moore, Patrick (September 2, 2005). "Review: The Planets by Dava Sobel". The Guardian.
  8. ↑ Brown, Helen (October 11, 2011). "Review: A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionised the Cosmos by Dava Sobel". The Telegraph.
  9. ↑ "The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel". PenguinRandomhouse.com.
  10. ↑ "The Elements of Marie Curie". groveantlantic.com.
  11. ↑ Zernike, Kate (October 10, 2024). "Book Review: 'The Elements of Marie Curie,' by Dava Sobel". The New York Times. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  12. ↑ Spinney, Laura (November 11, 2024). "The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel review – the great scientist who created her own school". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Klumpke-Roberts Award : Awards : WHO WE ARE : Astronomical Society of the Pacific". astrosociety.org. Retrieved May 26, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Fellows nominated in 2022". APS Fellows archive. American Physical Society. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
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