The Discovery of a Professional Tradition:  Herbert and Lou Hoover’s Translation of De Re Metallica

By Thomas F. Schwartz Often projects that seem simple at first, become more complicated and involved once begun.  Unanticipated problems emerge as greater comprehension of what is required only emerges by working through the project.  And so it was when the Hoovers decided to undertake an English translation of Georgius Agricola’s De Re Metallica, a … Continue reading The Discovery of a Professional Tradition:  Herbert and Lou Hoover’s Translation of De Re Metallica

De Re Metallica, Translated

Before entering public service, Herbert Hoover was a successful and wealthy mining engineer. In fact, he and his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, both majored in geology at Stanford University. In 1905, Lou attempted to find an adequate English translation of the medieval mining treatise De Re Metallica by Georgius Agricola. Because classical Latin is not … Continue reading De Re Metallica, Translated