Adam Hart-Davis

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Adam Hart-Davis bigraphy, stories - British scientist, author, photographer, historian, and broadcaster

Adam Hart-Davis : biography

4 July 1943 –

Personal life

He was born and brought up in Henley-on-Thames, the youngest child of the publisher Sir Rupert Hart-DavisHis father had previously been married to the actress Peggy Ashcroft. (1907–1999) and his second wife Catherine Comfort Borden-Turner.

He attended Eton College and studied chemistry at Merton College, Oxford. He then took a DPhil degree in organometallic chemistry at the University of York and spent three years as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Alberta in Canada. Subsequently, he worked at the Oxford University Press, editing science texts and chess manuals.

In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Letters) from the University of Bath.

He was married (1965–1995) to Adrienne Alpin, with whom he had two sons Damon Hart-Davis and Jason Hart-Davis, and now lives with psychologist Dr. Susan Blackmore, whom he married on 19 June 2010. His siblings are the journalist Duff Hart-Davis and Bridget, the dowager Lady Silsoe. He is an uncle of the journalist Alice Hart-Davis and IT author Guy Hart-Davis, and also Christopher Farren son of Adrienne’s sister Penny.

He is a direct descendant of King William IV and his mistress Dorothea Jordan and is therefore fifth cousin once removed of Elizabeth II, second cousin once removed of the British Prime Minister David Cameron and first cousin once removed of the historian John Julius Norwich.

In June 2009 he reported that he and his family contracted Swine flu earlier in the year.

Published works

He has written many books, including a history of the toilet, entitled Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper, and Taking The Piss (A Potted History of Pee). Published works include:

Author

  • Scientific Eye , HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (Nov 1985), (ISBN 0-7135-2584-3)
  • Mathematical Eye, Collins Educational (Sep 1989), (ISBN 0-04-448043-1)
  • Scientific Eye: Exploring the Marvels of Science, Sterling Pub Co Inc (Mar 1990), (ISBN 0-8069-5758-1)
  • Amazing Math Puzzles, Sterling Publishing; Reprint edition (May 1997), (ISBN 0-8069-9669-2)
  • Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: An Encycloopedia, Michael O’Mara Books; New Ed edition (10 Oct 1997), (ISBN 1-85479-250-4)
  • Chain Reactions: Pioneers of British Science and Technology, National Portrait Gallery Publications (24 Nov 2000), (ISBN 1-85514-291-0)
  • What the Victorians Did for Us, Headline Book Publishing (5 Aug 2002), (ISBN 0-7553-1137-X)
  • The World’s Stupidest Inventions, Michael O’Mara Books (18 Aug 2003), (ISBN 1-84317-036-1)
  • What the Tudors and Stuarts Did for Us, Boxtree Ltd (5 Sep 2003), (ISBN 0-7522-1556-6)
  • What the Past Did for Us, Publisher: BBC Books (14 Oct 2004), (ISBN 0-563-52207-0)
  • Why Does A Ball Bounce?: And 100 Other Questions From the Worlds of Science, Ebury Press (1 Sep 2005), (ISBN 0-09-190268-1)
  • Just Another Day, Orion (21 Sep 2006), (ISBN 0-7528-7334-2)
  • History: The Definitive Visual Guide – from the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day, Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd (4 Oct 2007), (ISBN 1-4053-1809-0)
  • Eurekaaargh!! A spectacular collection of inventions that nearly worked. Past Times edition published 1999.
  • The Book of Time, 2010.

Collaborations

  • Where There’s Life, (with Hilary Lawson), Michael Joseph Ltd (10 May 1982), (ISBN 0-7181-2137-6)
  • Test Your Psychic Powers, (with Susan Blackmore), Sterling Publishing; Reprint edition (May 1997), (ISBN 0-8069-9669-2)
  • "Local Heroes" Book of British Ingenuity, (with Paul Bader), Sutton Publishing Ltd; (25 Sep 1997), (ISBN 0-7509-1473-4 )
  • More "Local Heroes", (with Paul Bader), Sutton Publishing Ltd (20 Aug 1998), (ISBN 0-7509-1797-0)
  • 100 Local Heroes, (with Paul Bader), Sutton Publishing Ltd; Rev Ed edition (22 Jul 1999), (ISBN 0-7509-2373-3)
  • What the Romans Did for Us, (with Philip Wilkinson), Boxtree Ltd; New Ed edition (20 Jul 2001), (ISBN 0-7522-6172-X )
  • The Book of Victorian Heroes, (with Paul Bader), Sutton Publishing Ltd (23 Aug 2001), (ISBN 0-7509-2820-4)
  • Classic Mathemagic, (with Rraymond Blum and Bob Longe), MetroBooks (NY) (Aug 2002), (ISBN 1-58663-683-9)
  • Catchphrase, Slogan and Cliché, (with Judy Parkinson), Michael O’Mara Books (1 Oct 2003), (ISBN 1-84317-063-9)
  • Henry Winstanley and the Eddystone Lighthouse, (with Emily Troscianko), Sutton Publishing Ltd; New Ed edition (23 Oct 2003), (ISBN 0-7509-3379-8)
  • Taking the Piss: A Potted History of Pee, (with Emily Troscianko), The Chalford Press (10 Oct 2006), (ISBN 1-84588-351-9)
  • The Cosmos: A Beginner’s Guide, (with Paul Bader), BBC Books (21 Jun 2007), (ISBN 1-84607-212-3)