Ursula Franklin
Canadian metallurgist, research physicist, author, and educator (1921-2016) · Canada · Scientists · Died at 94
Ursula Franklin is read about 45 times a day, in 31 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 25 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 91 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?Ursula Martius Franklin was a Canadian metallurgist, activist, research physicist, author, and educator who taught at the University of Toronto for more than 40 years. Franklin is best known for her writings on the political and social effects of technology.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 5
A U.S. nuclear weapons test in 1953. Franklin helped end such above-ground testing.
The cover of Franklin's 2006 book on pacifism, feminism, technology, teaching and learning
An ancient Chinese bronze ding. Franklin describes the prescriptive methods used in producing such ritual vessels.
Franklin writes that household sewing on machines such as this gave way to the industrial production of cheap clothing in sweatshops that exploited female labour.Awards
About this person
Ursula Martius Franklin was a Canadian metallurgist, activist, research physicist, author, and educator who taught at the University of Toronto for more than 40 years. Franklin is best known for her writings on the political and social effects of technology. She was the author of The Real World of Technology, which is based on her 1989 Massey Lectures; The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map, a collection of her papers, interviews, and talks; and Ursula Franklin Speaks: Thoughts and Afterthoughts, containing 22 of her speeches and five interviews between 1986 and 2012. Franklin was a practising Quaker and actively worked on behalf of pacifist and feminist causes. She wrote and spoke extensively about the futility of war and the connection between peace and social justice. Franklin received numerous honours and awards, including the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case for promoting the equality of girls and women in Canada and the Pearson Medal of Peace for her work in advancing human rights. In 2012, she was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. A Toronto high school, Ursula Franklin Academy, as well as Ursula Franklin Street on the University of Toronto's St. George campus, have been named in her honor.
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