A century of science in America : $b with special reference to the American Journal of Science, 1818-1918 — John Shaqi
A century of science in America : $b with special reference to the American Journal of Science, 1818-1918
History
A century of science in America : $b with special reference to the American Journal of Science, 1818-1918
American journal of science; Science -- United States -- History
It is difficult at this date to give any adequate statement of the
amount of encouragement and active assistance given to Silliman by his
scientific colleagues in New Haven and elsewhere—a subject earlier
alluded to. It is fortunately possible, however, to acknowledge the
generous aid received by the Journal in the early days from a source
near at hand. It has already been noted in another place that the
dawning activity of science at New Haven was recognized by the founding
of the “Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences,” formally established
at New Haven in 1799 and the third scientific body to be organized in
this country. From the beginning of the Journal in 1818, the Connecticut
Academy freely gave its support both in papers for publication and at
least on one occasion later it gave important financial aid. Upon the
occasion of the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the Academy
on October 11, 1899, Professor, later Governor, Baldwin, the president
of the Academy, discusses this subject in some detail. He says in part:
To support his [Silliman’s] undertaking, a vote had been passed in
February [1818], “that the Committee of Publication may allow such of
the Academy’s papers as they think proper, to be published in Mr.
Silliman’s Scientific Journal.”
Free use was made of this authority, and a large part of the contents
of the Journal was for many years drawn from this source. In some
cases this fact was noted in publication;[2] but in most it was
not....
In 1826, when the Journal was in great need of financial support, the
Academy further voted to pay for a year the cost of printing such of
its papers as might be published in it. In Baldwin’s Annals of Yale
College, published in 1831, it is described as a publication
“honorable to the science of our common country,” and having “an
additional value as being adopted as the acknowledged organ of the
Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences.”
Many active campaigns were carried on over the country through paid
agents to obtain new subscribers for the Journal and it was doubtless
due to these efforts that the nominal subscription list was, at times,
as already noted, relatively large as compared with that of a later
date. The new subscribers in many cases, however, did not remain
permanently interested, often failed to pay their bills, and the
uncertain and varying demand upon the supply of printed copies was
doubtless one reason why many single numbers became early out of print.
An interesting sidelight is thrown upon the efforts of Silliman to
interest the public in his work, at its beginning, by a letter to the
editor from Thomas Jefferson, then seventy-five years of age. The writer
is indebted to Mr. Robert B. Adam of Buffalo for a copy of this letter
and its interest justifies its being reproduced here entire. The letter
is as follows:
Monticello, Apr. 11. ’18.
Sir
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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