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Science History

There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days

April 17, 2023 by Jack Kelly 3 Comments

Cardiff GiantMy first brush with the artifacts of history came when I was a youngster on a family vacation to Cooperstown, Otsego County, NY. I found the famous Baseball Hall of Fame, with its baggy uniforms, battered bats and flattened fielders’ mitts, decidedly ho-hum. I couldn’t wait to get to the nearby Farmers’ Museum and see something that I had heard of with wonder: the Cardiff Giant. [Read more…] about There Were Giants in the Earth in Those Days

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: 1901 Pan-American Exposition, Archaeology, Cardiff Giant, Circus, Cooperstown, Farmers' Museum, Fossils, Geology, Museums, Onondaga County, Otsego County, Paleontology, PT Barnum, Religious History, Science History, sculpture, Syracuse

Sunshine, Coffee and Shoelaces: Keys to Immortality

March 31, 2023 by Paul Hetzler 1 Comment

Sunlight shining through clouds courtesy Wikimedia user Michal KlajbanThe search for a way to restore youthful vigor dates back at least to the writings of Herodotus in the 4th century BCE. The pursuit continues today, though in the domain of science, rather than guesswork.

Among the best-known historic quests to reverse the aging process was Juan Ponce de León’s fabled hunt for a “Fountain of Youth” in the Caribbean. Having driven a few million native Tainos to early graves in Spanish silver mines, Ponce de León sailed away in 1521, reportedly seeking this magic water. [Read more…] about Sunshine, Coffee and Shoelaces: Keys to Immortality

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Medical History, Science History

Dr. John Swinburne’s Life in Crime, War & Politics

March 26, 2023 by Peter Hess 1 Comment

John SwinburneJohn Swinburne was born May 30, 1820 in Denmark, Lewis County, New York. He attended school in the communities of Lowville and Denmark, and in Fairfield, Herkimer County, all in New York. He was an excellent student and upon completion of his studies, he took a job as a teacher.

In 1841, at the age of 21, he began the study of medicine and in 1843 entered Albany Medical College where he was a student under the tutelage of Dr. James H. Armsby, a founder of the college. He eventually went to work for Dr. Armsby and upon his graduation in 1846, started his own practice. [Read more…] about Dr. John Swinburne’s Life in Crime, War & Politics

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Western NY Tagged With: 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Albany, Albany Med, Civil War, Crime and Justice, Denmark, French History, Legal History, Lewis County, Medical History, Military History, Political History, Science History

The African Burial Ground, Columbia University & Manhattan’s Grave-Robbers

March 13, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

US Constitution for dissemination in New York StateOn July 26, 1788, the Convention of the State of New York, meeting in Poughkeepsie, ratified the Constitution of the United States and, in doing so, was admitted to the new union as the eleventh of the original thirteen colonies joining together as the United States of America.

For New Yorkers, it had been an eventful year. [Read more…] about The African Burial Ground, Columbia University & Manhattan’s Grave-Robbers

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: African Burial Ground National Monument, Black History, Cemeteries, Columbia University, Doctor's Riot, Irish History, Legal History, liquor, Manhattan, Medical History, New Netherland, New Rochelle, New York City, Science History, Slavery, Westchester County

Becoming Barnum: Taxidermy & The Physioscope

March 6, 2023 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

Becoming Barnum podcastIn this episode of the Becoming Barnum podcast, P.T. Barnum was worried about his employees at the American Museum in New York City. He wanted museum taxidermist Emile Guillaudeu to create a pose for a pony’s skin that suggested motion with dignity and speed, but it is uncertain if he was successful. [Read more…] about Becoming Barnum: Taxidermy & The Physioscope

Filed Under: Arts, History, New York City Tagged With: Circus, New York City, Photography, Podcasts, PT Barnum, Science History, taxidermy

Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant

February 9, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

Cohoes Mastodon exhibit at the New York State Museum, Albany New York (photo courtesy Kenneth C. Zirkel)In 1866, NY State Geologist James Hall received a message from T.G. Younglove, an official at Harmony Mills in Cohoes, New York, informing Hall that while conducting some excavations to expand the mill they uncovered a “great pothole” at the foot of Cohoes Falls where the Mohawk River begins to empty into the Hudson.

The “great pothole” contained a large jawbone “of some unknown beast,” much larger than that of an elephant. [Read more…] about Science & Suckers: The Cohoes Mastodon & The Cardiff Giant

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Western NY Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Archaeology, Board of Regents, Cardiff Giant, Cohoes, Cooperstown, Farmers' Museum, Fossils, Geology, Indigenous History, Iroquois, Journalism, Mohawk River, Native American, nature, New York State Education Department, New York State Museum, Newspapers, Onondaga County, Otsego County, Paleontology, PT Barnum, Religious History, Science History, sculpture, Wildlife

Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

January 29, 2023 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

House flag of John Griswold’s Black X Line.A descendant of Dutch settlers, Jacob Aaron Westervelt began his career in 1814 as an apprentice in Christian Bergh’s shipyard at the point of land on the East River known as Corlears Hook. He left his employer in 1835 to start his own operation along the river. Over a period of three decades, the yard produced 234 vessels.

One of Jacob’s first commissions in 1836 was to build the packet boat Mediator for John Griswold’s Black X Line. Founded in 1823, its ships ran between New York and London displaying a house flag with a black X on a red background. [Read more…] about Restless Roamer: James Smithson’s Final Journey

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Cultural History, Dutch History, East River, Freemasonary, French History, French Revolution, Manhattan, Maritime History, New York City, Science History, Smithsonian

A Disastrous and Heroic Arctic Voyage

January 6, 2023 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, Buddy Levy author of Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk (Deckle Edge, December 6, 2022).

Levy, who lives in Idaho, is a go-to author for Arctic history. [Read more…] about A Disastrous and Heroic Arctic Voyage

Filed Under: History, Nature, Recreation Tagged With: Maritime History, Podcasts, Science History

The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

December 30, 2022 by Peter Hess 2 Comments

Dudley Observatory first building in Albany ca 1880The Capital District’s Dudley Observatory is considered “the oldest non-academic institution of astronomical research in America.” Originally, it was located north-east of downtown Albany, NY.

Construction there began in 1852 and the facility was dedicated in 1857.  Albany’s Congressman Erastus Corning, the founder and first president of the New York Central Railroad, was instrumental in donating a high quality telescope and time-keeping system at the new Dudley Observatory in Albany. [Read more…] about The Albany Origins of the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, Dudley Observatory, Erastus Corning, New York Central RR, New York City, railroads, Schenectady, Schenectady County, Science History, Siena College, Transportation History

“Strange things about Mrs. Simeon Hays,” The Woman That Lived Without Eating

December 27, 2022 by John Warren 2 Comments

Chestertown and Horicon map 1858Night and day for three full weeks six well-dressed men would take shifts standing watch over Betsey Hays in her bed. They planned to stay with her two at a time in her one room cabin and make careful scientific notes.  For Betsey, who spent most of her time tormented by uncontrollable bodily contortions and seizures, it was something she was used to.

Over the past two years, thousands of people had come to Chestertown in Northern Warren County to stand over her as she suffered. [Read more…] about “Strange things about Mrs. Simeon Hays,” The Woman That Lived Without Eating

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, History Tagged With: Adirondacks, Brant Lake, Chestertown, Glens Falls, Horicon, Medical History, NYU, Religious History, Science History, Warren County, Washington County, William Miller

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