Silvio A. Bedini (January 17, 1917 – November 14, 2007) was an American historian, specialising in early scientific instruments. He was Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution, where he served on the professional staff for twenty-five years, retiring in 1987. Biography Bedini was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut in 1917. In 1958 he accepted an invitation to write a brochure about the history of his hometown for its 250th anniversary, a project that just three months later resulted in a 411-page book titled Ridgefield in Review. In 1961 he accepted the offer of a position in Washington, D.C. as curator in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the Smithsonian Institution in the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), which was under construction. By 1965, Bedini became Assistant Director of the Museum of History and Technology, and in 1972 was appointed Deputy Director of the National Museum of History and Technology. Following his tenure as Deputy Director, he served as Keeper of Rare Books at the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology, a branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, from 1978 until his retirement in 1987. Afterwards, Bedini served as Historian Emeritus at the Smithsonian. Awards For his research and publications in 1962 Bedini received the Abbott Payson Award of the Society for the History of Technology, and in 1997 in Darmstadt, Germany he was awarded the Paul-Bunge-Preis at the General Assembly of the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry "for the book of foremost quality on the history of scientific instruments." In 2000, in Munich, Germany he was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Medal, "the highest recognition from the Society of the History of Technology." Memberships His memberships include the American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the Society of American Historians, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Scientific Instrument Society (London), the Astrolabe Society (Paris), the Surveyors Historical Society, and most recently, the DC Association of Land Surveyors, which extended to him an Honorary Membership in December 2003. Bedini was completing his twenty-third book. Works "Johann Philipp Trefler: Clockmaker of Augsburg", Bulletin of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (1956—1957), reprinted as pamphlet. (1957). Ridgefield in Review. (1958). Agent for the Archduke: Another chapter in the story of Johann Phillip Treffler, Clockmaker of Augsburg. (1961). XIVth and XVth century public clocks of the papal marches. (1962).