Exploring the Work of James Edgar Higgins at the Midwest Junto for the History of Science
Historians of science from across the Midwest have gathered at the 64th meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science to discuss the work of James Edgar Higgins, director of the Summit Plant Introduction Gardens in Panama. Learn more about this fascinating topic!
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Ben Gross
VP for Research & Scholarship @LindaHall_org; Author of The TVs of Tomorrow-How RCA's Flat-Screen Dreams Led to the First LCDs (Chicago 2018) All tweets my own.
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Greetings from the 64th meeting of the Midwest Junto for the History of Science!
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Historians of science from across the region have gathered @TrumanState for a day full of #histSTM presentations. Junto President Peter Ramberg kicks things off w/introductory remarks.#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/yNl94G44wc -
Our first #Junto23 speaker is Henry Jacob (@Cambridge_Uni), who is discussing the work of James Edgar Higgins, director of the Summit Plant Introduction Gardens in #Panama.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
(Jacob visited @LindaHall_org several years ago to look at the A.B. Nichols #PanamaCanal collection.) pic.twitter.com/Q693WXSDmX -
Jacob focuses on Higgins’ efforts to cultivate new crops (teak, pineapple & rubber) at the Summit Garden.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
This example of botanical imperialism built upon earlier European precedents and corporate capitalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.#Junto23 -
“Visitors feel as if they were really in the jungle when they walk down this shady path in Summit Park.”
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Over time, Summit changed from a site for agricultural experimentation to a public garden. Today it has been converted to an animal refuge. #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/trtY5TZn4P -
Our next speaker, Victor Monnin (@illinoistech) is discussing paleontologist Charles Sternberg.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
He’s specifically interested in Sternberg’s autobiography (“Life of a Fossil Hunter”), which contributed to a larger #eugenics discourse in 20th c. America.#paleontology #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/gjY8IuefDa -
Monnin notes that #paleontology & geosciences are really struggling to diversify.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
He calls attention to @beardedladyproj, which attempts to deconstruct the exclusive personas associated w/those fields.https://t.co/sVsI0S8v85#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/qDnV6gsma1 -
Monnin summarizes Sternberg’s scientific career, which began during the (in-)famous#BoneWars of the late 19th c. & led to collaborations w/@AMNH and its president (& eugenics advocate) Henry Fairfield Osborn.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
More on Sternberg via @LindaHall_org: https://t.co/YgnckbkrnT #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/MtjGxJh3iC -
Monnin: Sternberg’s memoir establishes key tropes associated w/paleontology (“a distinctively American profession”)
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
1) Embracing adventure (like in a novel!)
2) The hunter’s mentality
3) Early/absolute dedication to science
4) Risk-taking behavior
5) Self-sacrifice#Junto23 -
Monnin’s ultimate goal: Deconstructing the mixed media fossil hunter persona, as embodied in photographs, memoirs, and popular culture.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
(For example, one can draw a line b/w Sternberg’s memoir and #JurassicPark’s Alan Grant…)#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/5vQ7EHEyq7 -
.@michele_pflug asks Monnin a great question about the specifically *American* nature of this paleontologist persona.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Monnin suggests that this merits further exploration, along w/the contrast b/w “gentlemen adventurers” and the stereotypical American frontiersman. #Junto23 -
The final speaker of this panel is @k8shep. Her paper focuses on Amelia Edwards’ lecture 1890-91 lecture tour, which inspired broader American interest in ancient Egypt.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
More on Edwards via @trowelblazers: https://t.co/V1Xqw9XCvE#Junto23 #Egyptology pic.twitter.com/tdpceWbsuJ -
.@k8shep suggests Edwards’ American tour reflected the broader popularity of lectures by public intellectuals in 19th c. America.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
She also highlights the involvement of Edwards’ companion Kate Bradbury, who oversaw many of the logistical aspects of the trip.#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/PTkOFuzsPH -
.@k8shep concludes by asking how one should measure the success of a science lecture tour?
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
She notes Edwards & Bradbury did more than educate the public: they fanned sparks of interest in ancient Egypt into flames, raised $, set stage for emergence of US #Egyptology. #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/iOMEkkBU8M -
As an aside, one of the organizations that sponsored Edwards’ tour was the Sorosis Club—the 1st professional women’s club in the US.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
(Not be confused with the Cirrhosis Club, which is presumably for people suffering from liver disease.)https://t.co/Tk77iBnTOi#Junto23 #badpun -
After a brief coffee break, we move on to the 2nd #Junto23 session of the morning.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
We begin w/a talk on the mathematics of barrel gauging by @GuySechrist (@DonnellyCollege). He begins w/a discussion of gauging and its links to early modern commerce & accounting practices. pic.twitter.com/wI7bJUe7QF -
.@GuySechrist is specifically interested in #Kepler’s work on gauging, but he begins w/something far removed from the mundane realities of the marketplace: the geometric model of the universe presented in Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596).#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/JOJDYzItDB
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@GuySechrist notes that after #Kepler moved to Linz, he became interested in applying geometric methods from Mysterium to practical problems (i.e., gauging) & demonstrating value of math to both cosmic & mundane problems. #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/Q7tkwd2WYu
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@GuySechrist highlights important features of Kepler’s 1615 book on gauging (Nova stereometria), e.g., inclusion of pre-calculated tables of wine barrel volumes.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
(The full text of this book is available in @LindaHall_org’s digital collections: https://t.co/60ogvRs5t6) #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/tEwKjuWFsN -
Moving now to our 2nd speaker, @IAStranger (@BrownUniversity), who is looking at the mathematical procedures that Babylonian astronomers used to determine the positions of the moon & planets. She is approaching these texts through an algorithmic lens.#Junto23 #astronomy pic.twitter.com/nZtnOL4cJV
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@IAStranger focuses on a specific tablet (MUL.APIN), which includes an intercalation procedure that ensures the calendar remains synced up w/the seasons.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Mezaros examines specific language used in this text & notes possibility of reframing as an algorithm. #Junto23 #astronomy pic.twitter.com/eDaVGucuyk -
.@IAStranger: Examining these early astronomical texts highlights differences in language, mathematical practice, and the role of observational data in ancient & modern exact sciences.#Junto23 pic.twitter.com/MWQ3BX1Zdr
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
The final speaker of this session, @KendylSchmidtHx (@SLU_Official) is writing a dissertation on debates over dissection & medical training in antebellum America.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Her presentation is focused on syndicated fiction related to these topics that appeared in U.S. newspapers. #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/cGd8uIgIkn -
.@KendylSchmidtHx: Short stories about resurrectionism, dissection & medical education would be juxtaposed w/news reports and advertisements, blurring the line b/w fact & fiction.#Junto23
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@KendylSchmidtHx: Short stories captured the realities of resurrectionism—e.g., easier to rob the graves of poor people—but also redacted key details that added verisimilitude to the narrative while piquing readers’ interest. (Was this happening in their communities?) #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/6yvZBV6MOK
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@Sarah_Nara asks @KendylSchmidtHx about the extent that race played into antebellum anxiety surrounding grave robbing.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
A: Race is generally not mentioned explicitly in these newspapers, but the stories deploy racially inflected standards of beauty & literary tropes.#Junto23 -
Almost time for the next #Junto23 session.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
FYI, I’ll be chairing the session so my livetweeting may be somewhat sporadic… -
The first speaker in this #Junto23 session is Peter Ramberg (@TrumanState), the president of the Midwest Junto. His presentation focuses on the emergence of analytical #chemistry in the first decades of the 19th c.#chemistry #histSTM pic.twitter.com/g9r0dMrNmY
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
Ramberg: There was a growing state interest in trained chemists who could test the purity of pharmaceuticals, etc.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
This interest in analytical #chemistry is reflected in the proliferation of textbooks (1790-1862). Ramberg has found 34 sources in HathiTrust/GoogleBooks. #Junto23 -
Ramberg: By the 1820s “analytical chemistry” had begun to appear in the titles of handbooks like this one by Christian Heinrich Pfaff.#Junto23 #chemistry pic.twitter.com/XugnWNT2jo
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
#TIL that Swedish chemist Torbern Bergmann is normally credited with the first use of the word “reagents”, but Johann Joachim Becher also uses the term in his Physica Subterrane (1669).#Junto23 #chemistry pic.twitter.com/SSMWu3GVcb
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
Ramberg concludes: By the 1820s, growing professionalization of chemists, new vocabulary (updated discourse re: reagents, quantitative vs. qualitative analysis) & improved identification techniques facilitated emergence of analytical chemistry.#Junto23
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
Our next speaker, Liz Root (@hstm_umn), who is discussing medical chemistry and attempts to develop treatments during the yellow fever epidemic that struck Philadelphia in 1793.#histmed #Junto23 pic.twitter.com/TIRwbQ35AA
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
Root notes that although the humoral system was no longer popular in the 18th c., some physicians continued to treat the body as a system of moving fluids.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
See, for example, Boerhaave’s embrace of Sylvius’ theories re: insoluble masses that impeded fluid flow—>symptoms#Junto23 -
Root concludes: Benjamin Rush never doubted the cure of his mercurial purge, but some of his later publications warned against overuse of his powders.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
(This suggests that he had heard about cases of patients dealing w/side-effects from his treatments.)#Junto23 -
“I’ll attempt to make this as appealing as possible while talking about glandular swelling…”@Sarah_Nara begins her #Junto23 presentation examining the history of endemic goiter, a highly gendered endocrine disorder that was historically associated w/mental health.#histmed pic.twitter.com/BqhLcl3TpK
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023 -
.@Sarah_Nara: Debates over the cause of endemic goiter persisted even after the isolation of iodine and tests confirming its utility as a treatment.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
These discussions frequently invoked Progressive era eugenics rhetoric as well as recent advances in public health.#Junto23 -
.@Sarah_Nara: By looking at public-facing #goiter information, it is possible to determine the geographic distribution of the condition in the U.S.
— Ben Gross (@bhgross144) March 11, 2023
Naramore compiled ths map based on digitized newspapers in @librarycongress’ Chronicling America project.#Junto23 #histmed pic.twitter.com/Ali1FsRrZx