 | Asger Hartvig Aaboe |
A specialist in the mathematics and
Asger Hartvig Aaboe, professor emeritus of the history of science, of mathematics and of Near Eastern languages and literatures, died of cancer on Jan. 19 at his home in North Haven, Connecticut. He was 84 years old.
The author of some two dozen technical papers published in the United States and Europe, Aaboe was a specialist in the mathematics and astronomy of ancient Mesopotamia, where astronomy first became an exact science. He deciphered cuneiform texts from the period from approximately 700 to 150 B.C., illuminating Babylonian lunar and planetary theories. He was also a noted teacher, and wrote two textbooks to introduce students to ancient mathematics and astronomy: "Episodes from the Early History of Mathematics" (1964) and "Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy" (2001).
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1922, and educated at the University of Copenhagen in mathematics, astronomy, physics and chemistry, Aaboe later came to the United States and earned a Ph.D. in the history of mathematics at Brown University in 1957. He taught at Tufts University from 1952 to 1962, and joined the faculty of Yale in 1962 as an associate professor of the history of science and of mathematics. In 1967 he was named to a full professorship in those departments and, in 1977, was named professor of Near Eastern languages and literatures. He chaired Yale's Department of the History of Science and Medicine from 1968 to 1971. He retired in 1992.
Aaboe was a member of the International Academy of the History of Science, the Danish Royal Society, the Institute for Research in Classical Philosophy and Science, the History of Science Society, and the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (of which he was president from 1970 to 1980).
He is survived by his widow, Izabela Zbikowska Aaboe. His first marriage, to Joan Armstrong Aaboe of St. Louis, ended with her death in 1990. He is also survived by their four children: Kirsten Aaboe of San Diego, California; Anne Aaboe of Berkeley, California; Erik Aaboe of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Niels Aaboe of New York, New York; and by two grandchildren, Samuel Aaboe Alexander and Tyler Aaboe Alexander.
T H I S
In Memoriam: Asger Hartvig Aaboe
astronomy of ancient Mesopotamia
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In Memoriam: Asger Hartvig Aaboe
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