Bern Dibner

Infobox Engineer


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birth_date = 18 August, 1897
birth_place = Kiev, Ukraine
death_date = 6 January, 1988
death_place = Wilton, Connecticut
education =Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn
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Bern Dibner (1897 – 1988) was an electrical engineer, industrialist, and historian of science and technology.

Dibner was born near Kiev, Ukraine in 1897. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 7. In 1921, he graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Soon after graduating, he designed and patented the first solderless electrical connectors and founded the Burndy Engineering Company in 1924. The company later became the Burndy Corporation and was eventually bought by the French corporation Framatome Connectors International (FCI) in 1988 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DC143CF935A35751C1A96E948260 COMPANY NEWS; Burndy Takes Bid From Framatome - New York Times ] ] . Dibner died at his home in Wilton, Connecticut on January 6, 1988http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-165X(198901)30%3A1%3C189%3ABD(%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G] .

In addition to electrical engineering, Dibner studied the history of technology. He was an avid collector of original scientific works and of books on the history of science. He established the Burndy Library in 1941 to house his collection, which also contains thousands of portraits of various scientists. He wrote and published "The Atlantic Cable" in 1955 [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/hst/atlantic-cable/ The Atlantic Cable by Bern Dibner ] ] . In 1976 he was awarded the Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society.

The "Burndy" appellation, used for both his company and library, was invented by Dibner himself and represents a portmanteau or blend of his first and last names.

References

External links

* [http://burndy.mit.edu/BernDibner/ Biography of Bern Dibner] at [http://www.mit.edu MIT]
* [http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/27743?&print=yes Biography of Bern Dibner] at [http://www.americanscientist.org American Scientist]
* [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/hst/scientific-identity/intro.htm The Dibner Library Portrait Collection] online at the [http://www.si.edu/ Smithsonian Institute]