The year 1852 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed here.

Awards

• Copley Medal: Alexander von Humboldt
• Wollaston Medal for Geology: William Henry Fitton

Births

• September 9 - John Henry Poynting (d. 1914), physicist, discovered the Poynting-Robertson effect and developed the Poynting vector.
• October 2 - Sir William Ramsay (d. 1916), chemist and Nobel prize winner
• December 15 - Henri Becquerel (d. 1908), physicist.

Deaths

• January 6 - Louis Braille (b. 1809), inventor.
• August 15 - Johan Gadolin (b. 1760), Finnish chemist.
• November 10 - Gideon Mantell (b. 1790), paleontologist.