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Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Logo: The logo is from the following website: https://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de, Non-free logo, via Wikipedia3

Research institute

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, MPIWG) is a research institute in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1994. It is one of more than 80 institutes of the Max Planck Society and is dedicated to the study of scientific thinking and practice as historical phenomena. Research at the MPIWG examines how knowledge is produced, circulated, and transformed across different periods and regions.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1994Founded1

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The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, MPIWG) is a research institute in Berlin, Germany, founded in 1994. It is one of more than 80 institutes of the Max Planck Society and is dedicated to the study of scientific thinking and practice as historical phenomena.2

Corporate structure

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science is part of a group headed by Max Planck Society. 101 entities, 5 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Max Planck Society München, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for the History of Science Berlin
    • Max Planck Innovation Subsidiary · Munich, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Coal Research Subsidiary · Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Subsidiary
    • Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory Subsidiary
    • Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research Subsidiary · Göttingen
    • Minerva Stiftung Subsidiary · Stadtbergen, Germany
    • Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History Subsidiary · Rome, Italy
    • CENOBIUM Subsidiary
    • Center of Advanced European Studies and Research Subsidiary · Germany
    • Ernst Strüngmann Institute Subsidiary · Germany
    • Friedrich Miescher Lab Subsidiary · Tübingen, Germany
    • Fritz Haber Institute of the MPG Subsidiary · Berlin, Germany
    • German Climate Computing Centre Subsidiary · Hamburg, Germany
    • Halbleiterlabor of the Max-Planck-Society Subsidiary · Munich, Germany
    • Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique Subsidiary · Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France
    • Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz Subsidiary · Florence, Italy
    • Max Planck Computing and Data Facility Subsidiary · Garching bei München, Germany
    • Max Planck Florida Institute Subsidiary · Jupiter, United States
    • Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law Subsidiary · Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Subsidiary · Heidelberg, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Subsidiary · Garching bei München, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics Subsidiary · Bonn, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Subsidiary · Jena, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics Subsidiary · Tübingen, Germany
    • and 81 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

Products and brands

The MPIWG consists of two departments and several independent research groups. The Institute's two departments are:

"Knowledge Systems and Collective Life," directed by Etienne Benson

"Artifacts, Action, Knowledge," directed by Dagmar Schäfer

Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, who headed the department "Experimental Systems & Spaces of Knowledge" from 1994 to 2014, and Lorraine Daston, who headed the department "Ideals & Practices of Rationality" from 1995 to 2019, both remain at the MPIWG as emeriti.

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Jürgen Renn headed the department "Structural Changes in Systems of Knowledge" from 1994 to 2023.

The Institute's current research groups are:

"Astral Sciences in Trans-Regional Asia (ASTRA)," led by Anuj Misra.

"China in the Global System of Science," led by Anna L. Ahlers

"Experience in the Premodern Sciences of Soul & Body ca. 800–1650," led by Katja Krause

The Institute also hosts a doctoral school, the International Max Planck Research School "Knowledge and Its Resources: Historical Reciprocities."

The MPIWG library holds extensive print and digital collections of primary and secondary sources, as well as a rare books collection. Its collections and services are tailored to the Institute’s research needs, and Institute scholars have round-the-clock access to the library’s print and digital holdings and study spaces.

In addition, the Institute's structure includes:

Digital Humanities Team

Research Communications and Management Team

Administration and IT Support

The Institute also maintains research, teaching, and institutional cooperations with partners worldwide. These include:

Max Planck–NTU Singapore Centre for Biocultural Worlding (CBCW): A joint initiative of the MPIWG and the Nanyang Technological University Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, established in April 2026. The Centre brings together history of science, artistic and curatorial practice, legal inquiry, and diverse knowledge traditions to examine the interdependence of biological and cultural diversity and to develop collaborative approaches to more equitable biocultural futures.

EduTrack: Tracking Education Pathways and Social Policies: A six-year interdisciplinary collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, the MPIWG, and the Max Planck Institute for Political and Social Science, funded by the Max Planck Society and led by Population Europe. Within EduTrack, the MPIWG team examines how migration, social mobility, and digital access shape knowledge exchange between Asia and Europe, focusing on migratory expertise, practices of knowledge transmission, and the digital accessibility of cultural heritage and historical materials.

From Wikipedia’s article on Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1994Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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