In Praise of Bowditch

Dear Editor,
Discovery is fundamental to learning, and a recent Sextant played a feature role. Searching the Harvard University Archives for Nathaniel Bowditch, I came upon the beautifully produced and concise Berman article, "Salem's Stellar Scientist: Nathaniel Bowditch" (Sextant Vol. VII, No. 1, 1996). Despite over forty years teaching applied physics at Harvard, I had not met the name prior to this year.

This past spring I finally visited Greece having always felt previously that I was not ready to appreciate its wonders. In Athens late one evening on the hotel roof, viewing the Parthenon as an illuminated candy confection surmounting the Acropolis, a fellow tour member asked if I recognized the name Bowditch. Setting my refreshing Ouzo aside, I acknowledged I did not. It is appropriate that a retired oceanography professor should introduce me to this extraordinary seaman from Salem. The key comment he made was that Bowditch became a Fellow of The Corporation, the highest governing position at Harvard University other than the President. With my access to the library I would be able to research at leisure this fantastic story.

Curiously, there is only one biography, Yankee Stargazer, by Berry, and memoirs by his sons that I found. Ah, but the real treasures are the Eulogies by Young, White and Pickering with further comments by Benjamin Pierce, some hundred pages, with notes and listings that add to one's astonishment at America's first mathematician of world renown. That a self-taught clerk might produce a technical treatise, The New American Practical Navigator, a treatise that remains in print to this day, would be significant. That his translated and annotated Celestial Mechanics of LaPlace was admired in France and all learned societies, was a monumental achievement. But these were actually byproducts, work in spare time, by a ship's mate, later captain, and still later insurance company president! To this day his contributions to Harvard are not fully known. Indeed, recently I have been exploring the history of science and engineering here, and believe Bowditch played a key role.

This extraordinary seaman from Salem, most distinguished mathematician, and businessman with service to the insurance industry as well as Harvard University, is perhaps an early model of an American entrepreneur. His only rival might be Ben Franklin of Philadelphia or Thomas Jefferson of Virginia.

Sincerely,
Dick Land
Belmont, Massachusetts

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Acknowledgements

Several people have made the job of producing this magazine much easier, and to them we remaain indebted: Susan Case, Kris Cowles, Carol Morgan, Joyce Rossi-Demas, Elaine Caron, Rose Cooke, Leon Jackson, Kim Mimnaugh, Rob Brown, Derek Barr, Nick Giarrantani, Ed Worthy, and Scott Prewitt. It is with special appreciation that we thank Carole Soule, our graduate assistant for this academic year. She has taken on every task asked of her---from hauling boxes of Sextants, to sending out editorial letters, to editing manuscripts, to tracking down facts and photos from the House of Seven Gables---and has done so with skill and grace. She has been a delight to work with, and we will miss her.

Of course, many departments and centers on campus deserve our thanks because we simply couldn't do our job without them: academic affairs, college library, college relations, fiscal affairs, institutional advancement, instructional media, mail services, publications, purchasing, and shipping and receiving.

Finally we would like to thank Amanda Newhall from the National Park Service; Dave Kayser from the Salem Custom House; Haven McGovern, Ruth Filias, Susam Metzger, and Alexandria Mason from the House of Seven Gales; and, of course, the staff at Imperial Company.

----MV & SM