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Dava Sobel

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Dava Sobel

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May
27
5:45 PM17:45

Lyne Starling Trimble Lecture, American Institute of Physics

  • Wednesday, May 27, 2026
  • 5:45 PM 8:00 PM 17:45 20:00
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“At Mme. Curie’s Lab: Radioactivity and a Place for Women in Science,” at the American Center for Physics in Washington, D.C.

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Feb
11
5:00 PM17:00

UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science

  • Wednesday, February 11, 2026
  • 5:00 PM 8:00 PM 17:00 20:00
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Presentation honoring Marie Curie at the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Washington, D.C.

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Jan
29
7:00 PM19:00

The Elements of Marie Curie

  • Thursday, January 29, 2026
  • 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 19:00 20:00
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Lecture and book signing at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Technology and Engineering in Kansas City, Missouri, in cooperation with the National World War I Museum and Memorial and Rainy Day Books.

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Nov
16
2:30 PM14:30

Friends of the Library University

  • Sunday, November 16, 2025
  • 2:30 PM 4:30 PM 14:30 16:30
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Discussion and book signing, The Elements of Marie Curie, at the Port Washington Public Library, Port Washington, New York

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Nov
4
6:30 PM18:30

Exploration

  • Tuesday, November 4, 2025
  • 6:30 PM 9:00 PM 18:30 21:00
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Presentation and conversation about Longitude in connection with the Honors College theme of exploration, Bennett Auditorium, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

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Oct
22
6:00 PM18:00

Madame Curie

  • Wednesday, October 22, 2025
  • 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 18:00 20:00
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Lecture and book signing, The Elements of Marie Curie, at the Science History Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Aug
4
to Aug 5

Trailblazers Summer Lecture Series

  • Mon, Aug 4, 2025 5:00 PM 17:00 Tue, Aug 5, 2025 1:00 PM 13:00
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Presentations and book signings, The Elements of Marie Curie, at The Mount, Lenox, Massachusetts

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Jun
16
3:00 PM15:00

Fireside Chat

  • Monday, June 16, 2025
  • 3:00 PM 5:15 PM 15:00 17:15
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Conversation and book signing, The Elements of Marie Curie, at the BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization) International Convention, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Massachusetts

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May
15
9:30 AM09:30

Navigating the Globe and the Stars

  • Thursday, May 15, 2025
  • 9:30 AM 10:30 AM 09:30 10:30
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Keynote address at annual meeting of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, Kyoto, Japan

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Apr
26
12:30 PM12:30

Breaking Barriers

  • Saturday, April 26, 2025
  • 12:30 PM 2:30 PM 12:30 14:30
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Luncheon and lecture, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.

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Mar
20
6:00 PM18:00

The Elements of Marie Curie

  • Thursday, March 20, 2025
  • 6:00 PM 8:30 PM 18:00 20:30
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Reception and lecture at the Union League Club, New York, New York

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Mar
9
4:00 PM16:00

"In Conversation" with Sarah MacDonald

  • Sunday, March 9, 2025
  • 4:00 PM 5:00 PM 16:00 17:00
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Interview and book signing at University of Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, Newcastle, Australia

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Mar
7
6:00 PM18:00

"A Woman's Word"

  • Friday, March 7, 2025
  • 6:00 PM 9:30 PM 18:00 21:30
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Reception and lecture at State Library Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

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Mar
1
to Mar 6

Adelaide Writers' Week

  • Sat, Mar 1, 2025 10:00 AM 10:00 Thu, Mar 6, 2025 5:00 PM 17:00
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Various events at Literary Festival in Adelaide, Australia

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Feb
11
3:00 PM15:00

Insight Lecture Series

  • Tuesday, February 11, 2025
  • 3:00 PM 9:00 PM 15:00 21:00
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Presentation re Marie Curie for faculty, staff, and students at Rockefeller University, New York City

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Feb
7
to Feb 9

Savannah Book Festival

  • Fri, Feb 7, 2025 9:30 AM 09:30 Sun, Feb 9, 2025 5:30 PM 17:30
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Various events, including school visits, presentation, and signings of The Elements of Marie Curie, Savannah, Georgia

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Jan
29
9:00 PM21:00

The Chemistry of the Universe

  • Wednesday, January 29, 2025
  • 9:00 PM 10:00 PM 21:00 22:00
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Inaugural lecture in a year-long centenary celebration of astronomical discoveries by Cecilia Payne in 1925, Academy of Sciences, Turin, Italy. More information is available here.

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Jan
13
6:00 PM18:00

Hamptons Observatory

  • Monday, January 13, 2025
  • 6:00 PM 8:00 PM 18:00 20:00
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Presentation about The Elements of Marie Curie at Southampton Arts Center, Southampton, New York. Register on-line for in-person or virtual attendance.

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Dec
12
7:00 PM19:00

Books & Books

  • Thursday, December 12, 2024
  • 7:00 PM 8:00 PM 19:00 20:00
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Conversation and signing at the Books & Books shop in Coral Gables, Florida

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Dec
12
11:30 AM11:30

The Prologue Society

  • Thursday, December 12, 2024
  • 11:30 AM 2:30 PM 11:30 14:30
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Luncheon, book talk and signing at Temple Israel of Greater Miami, Miami, Florida

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Dec
10
7:00 PM19:00

New York Public Library

  • Tuesday, December 10, 2024
  • 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 19:00 21:00
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Book talk at the Library’s main branch, Fifth Avenue and 42nd St.

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Nov
25
6:00 PM18:00

NYU / CUNY Biography Group

  • Monday, November 25, 2024
  • 6:00 PM 7:00 PM 18:00 19:00
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Discussion of Marie Curie’s life, CUNY Graduate Center, New York City

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Nov
24
2:00 PM14:00

Peabody Essex Museum

  • Sunday, November 24, 2024
  • 2:00 PM 3:00 PM 14:00 15:00
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Lecture re The Elements of Marie Curie, Morse Auditorium, Salem, Massachusetts

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Nov
16
9:30 AM09:30

American Philosophical Society

  • Saturday, November 16, 2024
  • 9:30 AM 3:30 PM 09:30 15:30
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Presentation at annual meeting of “the oldest learned society in the United States,” at Philosophical Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Nov
14
4:00 PM16:00

Politics and Prose

  • Thursday, November 14, 2024
  • 4:00 PM 7:00 PM 16:00 19:00
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Discussion and signing of The Elements of Marie Curie, in conversation with Linda Voss, Politics and Prose bookstore, Washington, D.C. Full details here.

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Nov
13
9:00 AM09:00

Wellesley College Authors on Stage

  • Wednesday, November 13, 2024
  • 9:00 AM 1:00 PM 09:00 13:00
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Three writers present their behind-the-book stories at Wellesley College near Boston, Massachusetts. Full details here.

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Oct
29
7:00 PM19:00

Libreria Cultural Programme

  • Tuesday, October 29, 2024
  • 7:00 PM 8:30 PM 19:00 20:30
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Conversation about The Elements of Marie Curie at Libreria Bookshop, London.

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Oct
28
7:00 PM19:00

5 x 15

  • Monday, October 28, 2024
  • 7:00 PM 9:00 PM 19:00 21:00
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5 short takes on a range of subjects in a cabaret setting at The Tabernacle in Powis Square, London.

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Oct
25
6:30 PM18:30

Hatchard's

  • Friday, October 25, 2024
  • 6:30 PM 7:30 PM 18:30 19:30
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Conversation with science editor Marina Benjamin at Hatchard’s Piccadilly, London.

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Oct
24
9:00 AM09:00

Family Firm Institute Global Conference

  • Thursday, October 24, 2024
  • 9:00 AM 11:00 AM 09:00 11:00
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Keynote Speaker for “Mean Time: Time, Timing and Timelessness in Family Enterprise,” London Business School, London, England

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Featured
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Books by Dava Sobel
The Elements of Marie Curie
The Elements of Marie Curie
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Longitude
Longitude

Longitude tells the life-and-death story behind the grid work of lines appearing on every world map and globe. In the early days of sail, mariners had no accurate means of determining their position at sea. Indeed, the entire Age of Exploration was carried out without any of those explorers ever knowing where they were.

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Galileo’s Daughter
Galileo’s Daughter

The realization that Galileo had fathered two nuns made me question everything I’d been taught about him in school. What if he did everything he did as a believing Catholic? I wondered. Isn’t that a much more nuanced, interesting story? And how would his daughter nuns have reacted to his unorthodox notions about the heavens? To his trial for heresy by the Roman Inquisition?

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Letters to Father
Letters to Father

Galileo’s Daughter quoted liberally from the 124 surviving letters that Suor Maria Celeste wrote to her famous father from the Convent of San Matteo in Arcetri, where she lived from age thirteen until her death. Unable to include all my translations in the text, I gave the full set to The Galileo Project. It soon became apparent, however, that the people who most wanted to read all the letters did not want to read them on-line. The compromise was Letters to Father, which presented the original Italian with English translation on facing pages.

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The Planets
The Planets

Writing this book allowed me to link today’s scientific exploration of the Solar System with popular culture—everything from astrology and mythology to science fiction, music, and poetry. The book celebrates Earth and her nearest neighbors at this unique moment in history, when the old familiar solar family yields to a new definition of the word planet, and thousands of recently discovered exoplanets orbiting stars beyond the Sun hold out the tantalizing possibility of extraterrestrial life.

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A More Perfect Heaven
A More Perfect Heaven

While acting on my longstanding desire to write a play about Nicolaus Copernicus, I visited Poland three times and conducted enough research to fill a book. The play at the book’s heart, “And the Sun Stood Still,” portrays the people and events pushing Copernicus to publish his rearrangement of the cosmos. 

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And the Sun Stood Still
And the Sun Stood Still

In one sense, this project represented a complete departure for me, as I’d never written a play before. But drama seemed the ideal medium for recreating the conversations that made Copernicus buck common sense and received wisdom to defend the Earth’s motion around the Sun. And the subject matter reprises a favorite theme of mine: the transformation of humankind’s worldview through science.

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The Glass Universe
The Glass Universe

In the 1870s, before women had the right to vote or a firm standing in the workplace, a lucky few found employment at the Harvard College Observatory. The first female assistants were born to the work—as the wives, daughters, and sisters of the resident astronomers.

Over time other ladies joined the group, thanks to the director’s farsighted hiring practices and the introduction of photography to astronomy. Instead of observing through the telescope by night, the women could analyze the stars in daylight on glass photographic plates. Harvard's female workforce grew accordingly, and its individual members won national and international acclaim for their discoveries.

The most famous among them—Williamina Fleming, Antonia Maury, Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Leavitt, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin—are the heroines of this story. The work was not only performed by women, but also funded by female philanthropists such as Anna Palmer Draper and Catherine Wolfe Bruce. The half-million glass plates captured through a century’s worth of observing still occupy their own building at what is today the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. 

“Like the women of the Harvard Observatory, Dava Sobel reveals worlds to us. The Glass Universe is sensitive, exacting, and lit with the wonder of discovery.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction
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