Thomas Kuhn 1922-1996

Birth

Jul 18, 1922

Thomas Kuhn was born on July 18th 1922. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Samuel and Minette Kuhn.

Education

1943

In 1943 Thomas Kuhns graduated from Harvard with a bachelors in Physics. He would go on to obtain his PhD in physics in 1949. Kuhn later switched his field of study from physics to History and Philosophy of Science.

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

1962

In 1962 Thomas Kuhn published his revolutionary book The Structure of Scientific Revaluations. Arguably on of the most influential and cited works of all time, He addresses the idea of paradigm shifts. Prior to his works it was believed that science was linear in growth and revaluation. He suggests that is is more of a circular pattern with four phases.
Bird, Alexander, "Thomas Kuhn", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Continued

1962

Phase one: Normal science. operating under the accepted theory. Business as usual
Phase two: A model crisis. is when anomalies or findings that contradict the current way of thinking start to become more prevalent.
Phase three: A model revolution. Scientists try to answer, the questions discovered in phase two.
Phase four: Paradigm Shift has occurred. Peter Godfrey-Smith. (2003). Theory and Reality : An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. University of Chicago Press.

George Sarton Medal

1982

In 1982 Thomas Kuhns was recognized by the History of Science Society. He was awarded this high honor for his life time scholarly achievement in History of Science field.

Death

Jun 17, 1996

After roughly two years of fighting with cancer Thomas Kuhn died in his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He will forever be remembered for his work and the impact he left on the scientific community. For more information please watch this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L70T4pQv7P8