January 30, 2025

The history department mourns the passing of our colleague, Professor Emeritus Larry Owens, who passed away peacefully at his longtime home in Amherst in November, surrounded by memories of his spouse, Janet, and their children, Rebecca and Sarah.

Larry took a circuitous path to become a historian. He earned his BA in philosophy from Seattle University in 1966, then completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rutgers in 1972 before turning his hand to the history of science: he earned a second Ph.D. from Princeton in that field in 1987 while beginning on the history faculty at UMass Amherst. He maintained an unconventional approach throughout his career, always seeking a quirky subject or a fresh angle, and encouraging his students and colleagues to do likewise.

Eschewing the standard historian’s commitment to monographs, Larry’s preferred medium was the journal article. His own lovingly polished articles explored surprising corners of history to speak to central themes in the cultural history of science and technology. Favorites included: an investigation of the MIT scientists and engineers who, in the 1930s, sought to create the “perfect cup of coffee”; the catechism-style science fiction writings designed to inculcate faith in science among Cold War-era youth; and the gripping, if grisly, personal narrative of research into the history of wound science, “The Cat and the Bullet: A Ballistic Fable,” nominated for the 2004 Pushcart Prize.

Larry shared his love of the well-crafted journal article, along with his love for pubs, in the reading groups he organized at Amherst Brewing Company on Friday afternoons. Faculty and grad students took turns choosing articles to discuss, but there were rules: the articles had to be recent and they could not be directly related to one’s own research—the idea was to build our intellectual community, and in the process also build our knowledge of the broader world of active historians of science.

Larry’s enthusiasm for diverse ideas and practices infused all of his teaching. Although his own research plumbed US history, he pioneered the teaching of global history of science at UMass, and he focused especially on those works that explored non-Western epistemologies. His love of technology spanned all ages: students who came to his office hours could view a “really neat” replica of a medieval verge-and-foliot mechanical clock, even as he experimented with holding class in the virtual world of Second Life. When necessary, he was not above using absurdity to keep things lively—as when he climbed a chair to stand directly beneath the classroom clock to recapture the attention of his less engaged students. In his tenure as graduate program director, he was known for innovation, including systematizing MA fields and reading lists, but also for the countdown calendar he kept on his door to check off each day of his three-year term. He did not seek out that job, nor his central role in bringing a Grateful Dead conference to UMass, but he performed those roles savvily and left the program stronger than it was when he started.

Larry is remembered by his colleagues as a whip-smart, strong-minded scholar and friend, with an understated manner, real warmth of character, a wonderful sense of humor, and excellent stories about his rock climbing adventures out West and his virtual explorations of the isle of Capri in Italy. He later visited Capri in real life as part of a walking tour of England and Italy he and Janet completed during their retirement. We stand in awe of, and will dearly miss, his abilities, erudition, and endless curiosity.

Larry was married to his beloved spouse, Janet Owens, from December 28, 1968 to her passing on April 6, 2024. He is survived by his daughters, Rebecca and Sarah.

A memorial and celebration of life for Larry and Janet will be held in April 2025.