PhD Lineage? Anyone traced their's?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around tracing academic genealogies, specifically PhD lineages, and the interesting historical connections that can be made through such explorations. Participants share their own lineage discoveries, notable ancestors, and the implications of these connections in the context of mathematics, physics, and other fields.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants have traced their PhD lineage back to notable figures such as Bernoulli, Gauss, and Hilbert.
  • Others mention tracing their lineages to more recent figures like Zvi Griliches and Millikan.
  • There are references to academic genealogy websites, such as the Academic Family Tree and the Chemical Genealogy Database, which facilitate these explorations.
  • One participant humorously questions the legitimacy of early PhD holders, suggesting the possibility of "imposters" in the lineage.
  • Several participants note the historical context of degrees prior to 1600, primarily being in law, medicine, or theology rather than physics.
  • There is a light-hearted exchange regarding the implications of academic lineage and the connections between different fields, such as economics and physics.
  • Some participants express surprise at their connections to historical figures like Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share their individual experiences and findings without reaching a consensus. There are multiple competing views on the significance and implications of tracing academic lineages, as well as some humorous exchanges that do not contribute to a unified perspective.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about the accuracy of lineage tracing and the historical context of academic degrees. Some participants express uncertainty about the legitimacy of early PhD holders and the nature of academic relationships across disciplines.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in academic history, genealogy, and the connections between different fields of study may find this discussion engaging.

streeters
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One of the lecturers at my uni has traced his PhD lineage back to the 17th century (Bernoulli, if you can believe it).

Has anyone here done the same? Any interesting results?
 
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One of my professors can trace his back to Gauss; another to Hilbert. Honestly, a lot of renowned mathematicians had so many students that it's not surprising to be traced back to one of them.
 
I traced mine to Zvi Griliches
 
Marc Sher of William and Mary has traced his back to the 14th century. I can tarce mine to Francesco Rossetti (1857, Vienna).
 
I can trace mine to the late 16th century, Heinrich Maius (University of Jena).
 
My intro to chemistry professor studied under Dirac at FSU.
 
Who granted the first PhD? I feel like at the beginning someone impersonated a PhD. Something like original sin being source of all later PhDs.

Could be there were more than one imposters. If so, there must be a bastard at the beginning of every lineage.
 
I can trace mine at least to Millikan. (Kind of cool. It never occurred to me to do that. I should see how far back I can go.)
 
  • #10
There's a site attempting to compile academic genealogies - The Academic Family Tree. Chemists seem to have a thing for this, as there's also the Chemical Genealogy Database at UIUC. I, apparently, can trace mine to Italy in the 1450s. Famous ancestors include Gay-Lussac, Kekule, Bunsen, von Liebig, Lavoisier, and Berthollet.
 
  • #11
Cool. According to that site, I can add Michelson and Helmholtz to my 'lineage'. (You'd think I'd be smarter.)
 
  • #12
According to that site, I go back to the 14th century as well.
 
  • #13
Earliest I can find with a date is 1380. Most of the degrees before 1600 were in law, medicine, or theology, rather than physics, of course.
 
  • #14
I don't have one, so I can't trace it to anywhere or anyone. On the other hand, I'm descended from royalty... but that ain't worth a crap where I live. Neither is a degree, for that matter...

Come to think of it, why would someone with a PhD put an apostrophe in "theirs"?
 
  • #15
Danger said:
Come to think of it, why would someone with a PhD put an apostrophe in "theirs"?

Look out, I'm getting my grammar corrected on the internet.

Do I start calling you a Nazi to win an argument now? That's how the internet works, right?
 
Last edited:
  • #17
He's a communist then.
 
  • #18
streeters said:
He's a communist then.

Actually, I'm a Socialist, but you Yanks never could differentiate between the concepts. I gave you the perfect opportunity for rebuttal in my first post, and you failed the test. How could you not counter-Nazi me by pointing out that I used the non-word "ain't"?
 
  • #19
Mike H said:
There's a site attempting to compile academic genealogies - The Academic Family Tree.

Hey, that's cool- I was only able to go as far back as von Karman < Prandtl < Foppl, but was able to go back to some incestuous nest at Jardin du Roi in the early 1600s. Seriously, tho, this kind of exercise was interesting- there's a clear line of inquiry that is present over many 'generations' (fluids, for me)
 
  • #20
For some economists, it is funny. This is because your advisor may have had a physicists as advisor, and then you end up in the physicists academic tree :). I am sure some end up in the mathematicians academic tree, both physicists and economists. Mathematics... the mother tree :smile:
 
  • #21
Oh sweet, according to this site , I've got Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei.

Haha
 
  • #22
streeters said:
Oh sweet, according to this site , I've got Isaac Newton and Galileo Galilei.

I never realized that they were a couple, let alone fertile. Congratulations.
 
  • #23
Danger said:
I never realized that they were a couple, let alone fertile. Congratulations.

Thanks.
 

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