It is with profound sadness that the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) announces the passing of our esteemed colleague, Wolfgang Lefèvre, on 25 December 2025.

Wolfgang Lefèvre was a historian with a deep and expansive understanding of the history of science and technology in early modern Europe and beyond. His scholarship was distinguished by a sustained commitment to illuminating the material, conceptual, and social foundations of knowledge. As an intellectual, he embodied the spirit of curious critique, masterfully weaving meticulous historical analysis with profound reflection on the nature of technical action and scientific ideas.

His scholarly contributions ranged from the history of German thinkers such as Max Weber, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels, to the philosophy of the Enlightenment, the study of visualization, and the material culture of knowledge. He played a decisive role in moving the field toward examining the tools, images, and workshop practices that underpin science, thereby challenging narratives centred solely on theory and genius. This seminal “practical turn” is perhaps best exemplified in his influential edited volume, Picturing Machines 1400–1700. In his later work—most notably his reflections on Immanuel Kant, Ludwig Feuerbach, and the limits of ethics—he returned insistently to a question that guided his scholarship throughout: how moral and scientific reasoning remain answerable to the material, historical, and social conditions from which they arise.

As a senior member of the MPIWG since its founding in 1994, within the department led by Jürgen Renn, Wolfgang was instrumental in defining the Institute’s distinctive character. He carried out his work with a rare sense of dual responsibility: a responsibility to society, informed by his early intellectual formation under Theodor W. Adorno and Jürgen Habermas, and a profound responsibility to the scholarly field itself.

Colleagues will remember Wolfgang as a true gentleman: thorough, with a combative yet principled intellect, ever ready to offer a challenging perspective in the pursuit of clarity. Charmingly generous, he exerted his influence through the solidity of his research, the rigour of his critiques, and a steadfast commitment to historical research. Every encounter with him—whether in passing conversation or distant correspondence—invited reflection. His work continues to offer essential points of reference for historians concerned with the epistemic, material, and cultural dimensions of science. Few compliments to a scholar are finer.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. Wolfgang will be deeply missed and remembered with the utmost respect and affection.

The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science