[meteorite-list] more on Jefferson and meteorites

From: Jeffrey Shallit <elvis_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon Mar 21 15:55:41 2005
Message-ID: <200503212055.j2LKtZH29120_at_graceland.math.uwaterloo.ca>

I thought I'd report on what I found out more recently about
Thomas Jefferson and meteorites. I have contacted three Jefferson
experts and none of them believe the quote attributed to him is
authentic. The most recent expert is a researcher at Monticello,
who provides some interesting information. I got her approval
to relay this message to the list.

Jeffrey Shallit

> From aberkes_at_monticello.org Mon Mar 21 11:36:17 2005
> Subject: Jefferson Meteorite Quote
> Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 11:36:08 -0500
> From: "Anna Berkes" <aberkes_at_monticello.org>
> To: <Shallit_at_uwaterloo.ca>
>
> Dear Professor Shallit,
>
> As it turns out, the quote you asked about is indeed apocryphal: "I
> would rather believe that two Yankee professors would lie than believe
> that stones would fall from heaven."
>
> Silvio Bedini, in his book Thomas Jefferson: Statesman of Science
> (MacMillan, 1990), states: "The subject [meteorites] is of particular
> interest because of an oft-quoted comment on the subject which was
> erroneously attributed to Jefferson. Concerning the report by Silliman
> and Kingsley he is claimed to have stated 'It is easier to believe that
> two professors could lie than admit that stones could fall from heaven.'
> Investigation has revealed that the statement is a fabrication which
> first appeared in a work by Silliman's son published in 1874 and
> repeated in later biographies of Silliman." (p. 388). Footnoted is the
> work Benjamin Silliman, by Fulton and Thompson, pp. 76-78.
>
> If you are interested in the topic of Jefferson and science, I highly
> recommend you take a look at the Bedini book; I believe it's now out of
> print, but it is available in many libraries (the University of Waterloo
> library has several copies) and through used booksellers such as
> www.abebooks.com.
>
> I hope this helps you. Don't hesitate to let us know if you have
> further questions.
>
> Sincerely,
> Anna Berkes
>
> Jefferson Library Reference Desk
> P.O. Box 316=20
> Charlottesville, VA 22902
> Phone: 434.984.7543 | Fax: 434.984.7546
> library_at_monticello.org
> <http://www.monticello.org/library/> http://www.monticello.org/library/
> <http://www.monticello.org/library/index.html> index.html
Received on Mon 21 Mar 2005 03:55:35 PM PST