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In 1845 James K. Polk succeeded John Tyler, Jr., as the 11th president. The U.S. annexed Texas as the 28th state, and the young nation’s “manifest destiny” to occupy all of North America became a popular ideal. The industrial revolution was burgeoning, easing people’s lives with mechanical marvels. By this time, for instance, Cyrus McCormick had created a labor-saving reaper for crops. And with a promise to explain “New Inventions, Scientific Principles, and Curious Works,” the painter and inventor Rufus Porter introduced the first issue of a broadsheet called The Scientific American on August 28, 1845.
Porter was “a mechanical Johnny Appleseed sowing seed of new and ingenious ideas as he traveled through New England and abroad through his journals,” wrote Jean Lipman in Rufus Porter, Yankee Pioneer (Clarkson N. Potter, 1968); you can learn more about him at the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, Me. Porter took out more than 100 patents, but his best-known innovation is his revolver mechanism, which he sold in 1844 to Samuel Colt for $100. Scientific American reflected his broad interests. The inaugural edition lists patents, describes developments such as Samuel Morse’s telegraph and a filter for locomotive smoke, comments on painting portraits and even includes poetry. Find excerpts in a special 50, 100 and 150 Years Ago, starting on page 12; other excerpts from the 1845 issue and a slide show appear at www.ScientificAmerican.com.
True to Porter’s restless nature, he sold the publication after only 10 months to Orson Desaix Munn and Alfred Ely Beach, both in their early 20s. Beach was also an inventor—he designed New York City’s first subway, the Beach Pneumatic Transit (an 1870 issue featured the plans). Scientific American is included in an exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., on the history of journalism in the 1800s. Munn & Co. had a successful patent agency that shepherded more than 1,000 applications, and it ultimately held Scientific American for more than a century.
When Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species, Scientific American covered it. Thomas Edison came into the office and demonstrated his work for the staff. With editorials and silver trophies to reward flights of increasing distances, the editors goaded the Wright brothers to reveal details of their flying machines. Albert Einstein once penned an article for our pages. The magazine saw the U.S. through its Sputnik moment and the start of the “space age.”
This is Scientific American’s 165-year heritage as the country’s oldest continuously published magazine. Yet in every issue, the magazine is new again, with its scientist authors, many of them Nobel Prize winners, and top journalists describing the latest in science and technology. In this edition, feature articles cover everything from threats to the computers we now rely on (“The Hacker in Your Hardware,”) to devices that will make “fantastic voyages” in medicine a reality (“Robot Pills,”) to extrasolar Earth-like planets that might harbor life (“Planets We Could Call Home,”). Fittingly, we include a special report on “Origins”.
So Happy Birthday to Scientific American this month. We hope you will join us in celebrating the renewal and positive force of science in our world every day.
This article was originally published with the title Celebrating Science.
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8 Comments
Add CommentLETTERS editors@SciAm.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Sirs,
With respect to your editorial of Scientific American Vol 303 Number 2 of last August, I would like to comment the following.
It says&
The U. S. annexed Texas as the 28 th state& yes, to keep slavery going, and after the immigrants abused the hospitality of the legal owners of the land.
And...
The young nations manifest destiny& became a popular idea also were very popular Germanys Lebensraum and Japans HakkM ichiu ; but, were they moral ideas?
Scientific American reflects adequately scientific and technical interests; would it not be good to reflect also some ethical principles? If you stole something at least have the decency not to brag about it.
It is a pity that the editor in chief shows such insensitivity to the rights and feelings of others. Or maybe is plain ignorance?
Respectfully,
Gabriel Echavez
Subscriber and admirer of your enjoyable magazine.
Japan�s Hakko Ichiu, the computer changed the words.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"The U. S. annexed Texas as the 28 th state& yes, to keep slavery going, and after the immigrants abused the hospitality of the legal owners of the land."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAre you saying that the nation of Texas was about to outlaw slavery in the 1840's? Tell me more. When you say the "immigrants abused the legal owners of the land are you implying that the immigrants had no legal rights to private property? Please be clear.
"The young nations manifest destiny& became a popular idea also were very popular Germanys Lebensraum and Japans HakkM ichiu ; but, were they moral ideas?"
She did not say that popularity was moral. She simply made an OBSERVATION of its popularity.
Of course, I am not saying that, and I do not need to be clear in things I am not saying.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe young�s nation manifest destiny; the very young�s Third Reich, lebensraum; and the ancient�s empire, hakko ichiu; were all very popular, but since they were not ethical ideas, do not you belive is better not to mention them in the context that the editor in chief did?
"Of course, I am not saying that, and I do not need to be clear in things I am not saying."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou think that you do not need to be clear about what you are trying to communicate?
"The young�s nation manifest destiny; the very young�s Third Reich, lebensraum; and the ancient�s empire, hakko ichiu; were all very popular, but since they were not ethical ideas, do not you belive is better not to mention them in the context that the editor in chief did?"
The Editor did not mention Manifest Destiny with approval.
I insist that I am not saying or trying to communicate what you wrote, but for the sake of clarity, let me add the following:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith respect to:
"The U.S. annnexed Texas as the 28th state,"&
and contrary to what you said,
"that the nation of Texas was about to outlaw slavery in the 1840's"
one of the main reasons of the annexation was to incorporate one more pro slavery vote, and thus to reach the majority in the U. S. Senate and keep slavery going (which they accomplished for three more years).
And with respect to...
"...are you implying that the immigrants had no legal rights to private property?"
not only they had that right but in 1821 they were allowed to colonize that land, opportunity that promptly was seized by Esteban F. Austin to offer 640 acres to each head of the family plus other 320 to the wife, 100 for each son and 50 for each slave (I am adding this to confirm their right to private property, and not as a criticism to E. F. Austin, one of your heroes).
And to finish, with respect to
"&the young nations manifest destiny to occupy all of North America became a popular ideal".
I repeat that "the very youngs Third Reich, lebensraum and the ancients Japanese Empire, hakko ichiu ; to occupy...? all of...? other people countries, were also very popular, but since they were not ethical ideals, do not you believe it is better not to mention any of them in the context that the Editor in Chief did?
No Mr. Gechavez,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou are not understanding what is being said.
"one of the main reasons of the annexation was to incorporate one more pro slavery vote, and thus to reach the majority in the U. S. Senate and keep slavery going (which they accomplished for three more years)."
This is not what you originally said. What you originally said was "The U. S. annexed Texas as the 28 th state& yes, to keep slavery going, and after the immigrants abused the hospitality of the legal owners of the land."
I pointed out to you that Texas was already independent of Mexico by the 1840's. I am also asking why you seem to think that the American settlers in Mexico did not actually 0wn any property other wise why the "legal owners of the land" phrase?
You claimed I said: that the nation of Texas was about to outlaw slavery in the 1840's"
Here is what I actually said.
"Are you saying that the nation of Texas was about to outlaw slavery in the 1840's? Tell me more."
How about trying for some honesty here?
"not only they had that right but in 1821 they were allowed to colonize that land, opportunity that promptly was seized by Esteban F. Austin to offer 640 acres to each head of the family plus other 320 to the wife, 100 for each son and 50 for each slave (I am adding this to confirm their right to private property, and not as a criticism to E. F. Austin, one of your heroes). "
Why would you presume that E. F Austin is one of my heroes?
I am simply trying to get the "legal owners of the land" statement out of you.
"I repeat that "the very youngs Third Reich, lebensraum and the ancients Japanese Empire, hakko ichiu ; to occupy...? all of...? other people countries, were also very popular, but since they were not ethical ideals, do not you believe it is better not to mention any of them in the context that the Editor in Chief did?"
I think you need to get an editorial job with Scientific American so that the writers can say exactly what you think they need to say. The writer of the above article did not mention Manifest Destiny with approval just that it was a fact that it was popular at the time of Scientific American's first publication.
An editorial job with Scientific American? No, Steven, my only hope is to get a response from anybody in the staff of Scientific American. Best wishes.
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