Tadhg Goodison

Profile

I began my PhD in the History of Science in 2025, funded by an AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Partnership with the Royal Society Library and Archive in London. My current research explores the transmission of meteorological knowledge through the medium of almanacs in Victorian Britain. I examine both the wide observational networks required to construct this knowledge and the readerships who engaged with, and responded to, attempts to establish a science of the weather.

My interest in the circulation of scientific ideas has developed over several stages. In 2020, I started a BA in History and Politics at the University of Oxford. During my undergraduate studies, I worked as an Archival Intern at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History, cataloguing the archive of John Phillips, the museum’s first Keeper. I was struck by the rich complexity of his correspondence network, which inspired me to pursue an MSc in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology (2023), also at Oxford. My master’s research examined Phillips’s archive through the lens of visual teaching materials, exploring the transmission of knowledge and the negotiations that shaped the development of scientific fields.

In 2024, I worked as a Project Archivist for the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, contributing to preparations for their centenary exhibition 100 Years, 1000 Faces (2027). My work focused on cataloguing and interpreting the school’s collection of portraits, highlighting the diversity of scientists associated with the institution and examining how depictions of scientists have changed over time, particularly in relation to gender, class, and professional identity.

Alongside my research, I am committed to widening participation in higher education. I have taken part in open days, residential programmes, and school outreach visits to encourage student aspirations and support university applications. During my master’s, I also ran a workshop for undergraduates considering postgraduate study and have since supported several students through their applications.

Research interests

My doctoral research examines the construction, transmission, and distribution of meteorological knowledge through almanacs in Victorian Britain. My primary source base is the Royal Society Archive in London, where I focus on the work of James Glaisher, but I also draw on contemporary newspapers and records from publishers to develop a fuller picture of the production, dissemination, and reception of meteorological knowledge. I am particularly interested in how the production and circulation of these texts depended on wide networks of observation and readership, encompassing a diverse range of contributors and audiences. Within this, I aim to foreground the often-overlooked roles of women in the collection, interpretation, and dissemination of meteorological data, as well as to consider how the British Empire shaped both the scope and the content of these observational networks.

I am also exploring how almanacs were read and received by different audiences. This includes examining regional responses through organisations such as the Yorkshire Philosophical Society and the Scottish Meteorological Society, as well as investigating how readers from various social backgrounds engaged with meteorological ideas and attempted forecasts. More broadly, my research considers how meteorology was developed in negotiation with its audiences—a particularly significant dynamic for a science that relied heavily on public participation and funding. By tracing these interactions, I seek to illuminate the breadth of readership and the social dimensions of emerging scientific practices.

Beyond this, I am interested in material culture and visual communication within the history of science. I am currently developing these interests through involvement with the University of Leeds Print Room, where I am engaging with historical printing technologies to better understand the material processes that shaped my source materials and their distribution. I am also involved with the University of Leeds History of Science Museum, where I am developing practical skills in conservation, exhibition, and public engagement.

Qualifications

• MSc History of Science, Medicine and Technology, Lincoln College, University of Oxford
• BA Hons History and Politics, Lincoln College, University of Oxford