Dibner Fund
| Bern Dibner | |
|---|---|
Bern Dibner
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| Born | 18 August 1897 Kiev, Ukraine |
| Died | 6 January 1988 (aged 90) Wilton, Connecticut |
| Education | Hebrew Technical Institute Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Dibner |
| Children | David Dibner |
| Engineering career | |
| Significant design | Solderless electrical connectors |
Bern Dibner (18 August 1897 – 6 January 1988) was an electrical engineer, industrialist, and historian of science and technology. He originated two major US library collections in the history of science and technology.
Dibner was born in Lisianka, 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, Dibner 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 bought by the French corporation Framatome Connectors International (FCI) in 1988. In 2009, Burndy was acquired and became a subsidiary of Hubbell Incorporated. Dibner died at his home in Wilton, Connecticut on January 6, 1988.
The "Burndy" appellation, used for both his company and the library he would found, was invented by Dibner himself and represents a portmanteau or blend of his first and last names.
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, as well as thousands of portraits of various scientists. Bern Dibner also wrote a great number of books on the history of science, such as The Atlantic Cable in 1955. In 1976 he was awarded the Sarton Medal by the History of Science Society.
Dibner, who was fascinated by both art and technology, found great pleasure in studying Leonardo da Vinci. This interest led him to obtain a small library of works about da Vinci which grew over the years as Dibner's interests expanded into the history of electricity, the history of Renaissance technology, and finally the history of science and technology in general. His collection continued to grow, and in 1941 he formally set up the Burndy Library as a separate institution "to advance scholarship in the history of science." By 1964, the Burndy Library collection totaled over 40,000 volumes and Dibner opened a new building in Norwalk, Connecticut, to house the Library.
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