And first, the fair PARABOLA behold, Her timid arms with virgin blush unfold!... Mathematical poetry may seem an unlikely form of satire, but 'The Loves of the Triangles' (1798) was not only a clever parody of Erasmus Darwin (Charles' grandfather) but also a powerful political commentary expressing contemporary fears of revolution and evolution. Patricia Fara has a degree in physics from Oxford and a PhD in History of Science from London. Now based at Cambridge University, she is the Senior Tutor of Clare College and lectures in the History and Philosophy of Science Department. Her major research topics are eighteenth-century England and scientific portraits but she has published a range of academic and popular books on the history of science.Her most recent major publication is Science: A Four Thousand Year History (2009) but others include Newton: The Making of Genius (2002), Sex, Botany and Empire: The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks (2003) and Pandora's Breeches: Women, Science and Power in the Enlightenment (2004). In addition to her work for TV and radio she regularly writes reviews and articles for publications such as Nature, The Times Literary Supplement, BBC Knowledge and Endeavour. This lecture is to be jointly held with the British Society for the History of Mathematics. All our lectures are available for free download from the Gresham College website, in video, audio or text formats: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Gresham College professors and guest speakers have been giving free public lectures in central London since 1597. This tradition continues today and you can attend any of our lectures, or watch or listen to them on our website. Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gresham-College/14011689941 Less