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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Mar 21 11:36:17 2005 > Subject: Jefferson Meteorite Quote > Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 11:36:08 -0500 > From: "Anna Berkes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > 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 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <http://www.monticello.org/library/> http://www.monticello.org/library/ > <http://www.monticello.org/library/index.html> index.html ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
