History – Anniversaries in Science

Abstract

„History – Anniversaries in Science” is an internet-basedpublic service which presents famous scientists on the occasion of the anniversaries of theirbirth or death (URL: http://www.kfki.hu/historia). It is the objective of this service to spreadknowledge on the one hand, and to call attention to past achievements on the other. Using thisservice one can prepare for commemorating scientists at school events, among the specialistsof various fields of knowledge, or at institutions bearing the relevant scientists’ names. In thecompilation the short biographical summaries of deceased researchers and teachers excellingin science or technology appear whose birth or death has its 5th, 10th or 15th etc. anniversaryon a given day. After a short review of the preliminaries and how the service started thearticle presents the objectives set and the principles of data collection. It sums up theopportunities offered, the search criteria and methods. The issues of software background,display options and legal issues are dealt with as well. Finally, the main sources used arelisted.