Pennsylvania Polymath: Samuel Stehman Haldeman

Posted by on Jun 8, 2020 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Polymath: Samuel Stehman Haldeman Samuel Stehman Haldeman was a pioneer in American science with an uncompromising empirical bent who made definitive contributions in geology, metallurgy, zoology and the scientific study of language. His groundbreaking lifework touched nearly seven decades of science and included identification of one of the oldest fossils in Pennsylvania, elucidation of a plan for an anthracite coal furnace for...
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Historian of Pennsylvania Exceptionalism: Samuel W. Pennypacker

Posted by on Dec 2, 2013 in | Comments Off on Historian of Pennsylvania Exceptionalism: Samuel W. Pennypacker Reflecting on “the play of forces” that propelled him to Pennsylvania’s governor’s office in 1903, Samuel Whitaker Pennypacker (1843–1916) confidently declared, “there is no such thing as an accident” (a notion popularized by Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis). This was not to say chance plays no part in history because he pronounced with equal certitude: “To every man certain...
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Ewell Sale Stewart Library Books

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Ewell Sale Stewart Library Books Established in 1812 “for the encour­agement and cultivation of the sciences, and the advancement of useful learning,” the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is the oldest natural sci­ences institution in the Western Hemi­sphere. The Academy’s Ewell Sale Stew­art Library, with its extensive collections of books, manuscripts, maps, paintings, and photographs, has been...
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Joseph Leidy, A Natural Observer

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Joseph Leidy, A Natural Observer The life of naturalist Joseph Leidy (1823-1891) was one of quiet dedication, but revolutionary achievement. He preferred to allow his research, published findings, and academic distinction to speak for him. When the modest father of paleontology in North America died in Philadelphia on April 30, 1891, local institutions quickly paid tribute. The Academy of Natural Sciences immediately passed a...
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Pennsylvania Heritage Recommends

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Heritage Recommends A Glorious Enterprise: The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and the Making of American Science The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, founded in 1812, is the oldest natural history museum in the Western Hemisphere. Early expeditions organized by the academy were of central importance to the exploration of America’s vast western wilderness, and the plant and animal specimens...
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Pennsylvania’s First State Geologist: Henry Darwin Rogers

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania’s First State Geologist: Henry Darwin Rogers Geology made Pennsylvania what it is today. The mining of anthracite and bituminous coal, the drilling for petroleum, and the production of iron and steel in the Commonwealth long drove the economy of the United States. Elucidating the history of the geological study of Pennsylvania is an integral part of comprehending its history. Henry Darwin Rogers (1808–1866), the first State Geologist of...
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