_From 1803 to 1823—age, 30-50._
Papers published by Mr. Bowditch in the Memoirs of the Academy;
account of some of them.—Total eclipse of the sun in 1806;
effect of it.—Anecdote of Chief Justice Parsons.—Meteor that
fell over Weston, Ct.; account of its curious appearance;
effect of these papers upon his fame in Europe.—Chosen member
of most of the learned societies of the Old World.—Quits Salem
to become connected with larger institutions in Boston.
[Sidenote: EMPLOYMENT IN POLITICAL TIMES.]
[Sidenote: TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN.]
[Sidenote: MR. BOWDITCH OBSERVES IT.]
[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF THE ECLIPSE.]
It should be remembered, that, during these stormy political times, Mr.
Bowditch was chiefly engaged in making his notes on the great work to
which we have already alluded, La Place’s “Mécanique Céleste,” and that
it was between the years 1800 and 1820, that is, during this same time,
that he wrote twenty-three papers, which were published in the Memoirs
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Of some of these last I
will give you an account. Of the others, were I to mention them, you
could understand but little. They relate chiefly to observations made
upon the moon; the comets of 1807 and 1811; the eclipses of the sun
which took place in 1806 and 1811; measurements of the height of the
White Mountains, in New Hampshire; observations on the compass; on a
pendulum supported by two points; and the correction of some mistakes
in one of the books studied first by him in early life, called Newton’s
“Principia.” A few of these papers I will try to explain to you, at
least in part. I commence with his observation upon a total eclipse of
the sun, which occurred June 16, 1806. I shall quote nearly the words
of the observer. “On the day of the eclipse the weather was remarkably
fine, scarcely a cloud being visible in any part of the heavens. I
made preparations for the observations in the garden adjoining the
house in which I reside, near the northern part of Summer Street, in
Salem. Having been disappointed in procuring a telescope of a large
magnifying power, I was obliged to make use of that attached to my
theodolite, which gave very distinct vision, though its magnifying
power was small. An assistant was seated near me, who counted the
seconds from a chronometer, and thus enabled me to mark down with a
pencil, the time when the first impression was made on the sun, without
taking my eye from the telescope till four or five seconds had elapsed,
and the eclipse had sensibly increased, after which I examined the
second and minute hands of the chronometer, and took every precaution
to prevent mistakes. Four or five minutes before the commencement of
the eclipse, I began to observe that part of the sun where the first
contact [of the moon’s shadow] was expected to take place; and eight
minutes twenty-eight seconds after ten o’clock, I observed the first
impression. As the eclipse advanced, there did not appear to be so great
a diminution of the light as was generally expected; and it was not
till the sun was nearly covered that the darkness was very sensible.
The last ray of light disappeared instantaneously. The moon was then
seen surrounded by a luminous appearance of considerable extent, such
as has been generally taken notice of in total eclipses of the sun.” A
number of stars became visible. The observer mentions that the light
in the garden was not entirely gone; but in the house candles were
needed, as if it were evening. At thirty-two minutes eighteen seconds
after eleven o’clock,—that is, at a little more than an hour from the
beginning of the eclipse,—the first returning ray of light burst forth
with great splendor. I have heard that the effect upon those who saw it
was surpassingly grand. Suddenly the light of midday seemed to break in
upon the quiet of evening. So completely were all the animal creation
deceived, that the cows returned lowing homeward, and the fowls sought
their roosts, and quietly placed their heads under their wings. All human
beings were looking in mute amazement, and deep silence prevailed, as
the dark shadow of the moon came stealing over the surface of the sun
at noon. There was something fearful when the sun was wholly covered.
Suddenly a bright ray shot forth mid heaven, and fell upon the earth,
and with it arose a loud shout from the assembled crowd. Aged men[9] and
women joined in the chorus, and saluted again the beautiful sunlight.
This paper, though short, is one of the most important he ever wrote. In
a note to it he first mentions publicly a mistake he had discovered in
the “Mécanique Céleste.”
[Sidenote: METEORS.]
[Sidenote: OBSERVATIONS OF ONE OF THEM.]
In 1815, Mr. Bowditch published another paper, which I may be able to
explain to you in some degree. You have all heard of falling stars,
or meteors, and probably most of you have seen them frequently, when
walking at night, when the sky is clear. Some of these are very small;
they seem at a great distance. They suddenly appear in our heavens,
and as suddenly disappear, and perhaps nothing more is heard or seen
of them. Others, on the contrary, appear larger, and fall to the earth
after having traversed a great portion of the heavens. On the 14th of
December, 1807, one of the most curious exploded, and fell over Weston,
in Connecticut. Mr. Bowditch, in his Memoir, writes thus:—
“The extraordinary meteor which appeared at Weston, in Connecticut, on
the 14th of December, 1807, and exploded with several discharges of
stones, having excited great attention throughout the United States,
and being one of those phenomena of which few exact observations are
to be found in the history of physical science, I have thought that
a collection of the best observations of its appearance at different
places, with the necessary deductions for determining, as accurately
as possible, the height, direction, velocity, and magnitude of the
body, would not be unacceptable to the Academy, since facts of this
kind, besides being objects of great curiosity, may be useful in the
investigation of the origin and nature of these meteors; and as the
methods of making these calculations are not fully explained in any
treatise of trigonometry common in this country, I have given the
solutions of two of the most necessary problems, with examples calculated
at full length. The second problem is not, to my knowledge, given in any
treatise of spherics. The observations of the meteor, which, after many
inquiries, were found to have been made with sufficient accuracy to be
introduced in the present investigation, were those made at Wenham, about
seven miles north-easterly of Salem, by Mrs. Gardner, a very intelligent
lady, who had an opportunity of observing it with great attention; those
at Weston, by Judge Wheeler and Mr. Staples; and those at Rutland, in
Vermont, by William Page, Esq.” After giving the requisite solutions,
he proceeds: “Some time after the appearance of the meteor, I went
with Mr. Pickering to Mrs. Gardner’s house, at Wenham, where she had
observed the phenomenon. She informed us that on the morning of the
14th of December, 1807, when she arose, she went towards the window of
her chamber, which looks to the westward, for the purpose of observing
the weather, according to her invariable practice for many years past.
The sky was clear, except a few thin clouds in the west. It was past
daybreak, and, by estimation, about half an hour before sunrise, or seven
o’clock. The meteor was immediately observed just over the southern part
of the barn in her farm-yard, nearly in front of the window; its disk
was well defined, and it resembled the moon so much, that, unprepared as
Mrs. G.’s mind was for a phenomenon of that nature, she was not at first
aware that it was not the moon, till she perceived it in motion, when her
first thought (to use her own words) was, ‘Where is the moon going to?’
The reflection, however, was hardly made, when she corrected herself, and
with her eye followed the body with the closest attention throughout its
whole course. It moved in a direction nearly parallel to the horizon, and
disappeared behind a cloud northward of the house of Samuel Blanchard,
Esq. She supposed the meteor to have been visible about half a minute.
“The attention of Judge Wheeler was first drawn by a sudden flash of
light, which illuminated every object. Looking up, he discovered, in
the north, a globe of fire just then passing behind the cloud which
obscured, though it did not entirely hide, the meteor. In this situation
its appearance was distinct and well defined, like that of the sun seen
through a mist. It rose from the north, and proceeded in a direction
nearly perpendicular to the horizon, but inclining by a very small angle
to the west, and deviating a little from the plane of a great circle, but
in pretty large curves, sometimes on one side of the plane and sometimes
on the other, but never making an angle with it of more than four or
five degrees. Its apparent diameter was about one half or two thirds the
apparent diameter of the full moon. Its progress was not so rapid as that
of common meteors and shooting stars. When it passed behind the thinner
clouds, it appeared brighter than before; and when it passed the spots
of clear sky, it flashed with a vivid light, yet not so intense as the
lightning of a thunder-storm. Where it was not too much obscured by thick
clouds, a waving, conical train of paler light was seen to attend it,
in length about ten or twelve diameters of the body. In the clear sky
a brisk scintillation was observed about the body of the meteor, like
that of a burning firebrand carried against the wind. It disappeared
about fifteen degrees short of the zenith, and about the same number of
degrees west of the meridian. It did not vanish instantaneously, but
grew, pretty rapidly, fainter and fainter, as a red-hot cannon-ball would
do if cooling in the dark, only with much more rapidity. The whole period
between its first appearance and total extinction was estimated at about
thirty seconds. About thirty or forty seconds after this, three loud and
distinct reports, like those of a four-pounder near at hand, were heard.
Then followed a rapid succession of reports less loud, so as to produce a
continued rumbling. This noise continued about as long as the body was
in rising, and died away, apparently, in the direction from which the
meteor came. Mr. Staples observed that when the meteor disappeared, there
were apparently three successive efforts or leaps of the fire-ball, which
grew more dim at every throe, and disappeared with the last. From the
various accounts which we have received of the appearance of the body, at
different places, we are inclined to believe that the time between the
disappearance and report, as estimated by Judge Wheeler, is too little,
and that a minute is the least time that could have intervened.
[Sidenote: OBSERVATION OF THEM.]
[Sidenote: THEIR NATURE.]
“The observations made at Rutland were procured by the kind offices
of Professor Hall, of Middlebury College, Vermont, to whom Mr. Page
communicated his valuable observations, in a paper expressed in the
following terms: ‘I was at the west door of my house, on Monday morning,
the 14th of December, 1807, about daylight; and perceiving the sky
suddenly illuminated, I raised my eyes and beheld a meteor of a circular
form, in the south-westerly part of the heavens, rapidly descending to
the south, leaving behind it a vivid, sparkling train of light. The
atmosphere near the south part of the horizon was very hazy; but the
passage of the meteor behind the clouds was visible until it descended
below the mountains, about twenty miles south of this place. There were
white, fleecy clouds scattered about the sky, but none so dense as
to obscure the track of the meteor. I now lament that I did not make
more particular observations at the time; and I should probably, until
this day, have considered it to be what is commonly called a “falling
star,” had I not read in the New York papers an account of the explosion
of a meteor, and the falling of some meteoric stones near New Haven,
Connecticut, which, by recurring to circumstances then fresh in my
recollection, I found to be on the same morning that I observed the
meteor at Rutland. I am indebted to my learned friend Dr. Samuel Williams
for his aid and directions in ascertaining the situation of the meteor
when I first observed it, and its course, and also for the order of my
observations: Form, circular; magnitude, less than a quarter of the
diameter of the moon; color, red, vivid light; tail, or train of light,
about eight times the length of its diameter, at the least, projected
opposite to its course.’”
I quote these to give you some idea of the appearance of this meteor, and
likewise of Mr. Bowditch’s diligence. From the examination of all the
accounts given him, he came to the conclusion that the body moved at the
rate of more than three miles per second, and at the height of eighteen
miles above the surface of the earth. With regard to the magnitude of the
body, the results were less accurate; and the probability is, that all
the body did not fall, but merely passed through the air, and continued
on its course into unknown regions of space.[10]
[Sidenote: EUROPEAN FAME.]
[Sidenote: ACADEMIC HONORS.]
The other papers I shall not mention, because they are upon subjects
difficult to be comprehended. The last appeared in the volumes of the
Memoirs of the Academy published in 1820. All these papers were read by
the astronomers and mathematicians of Europe, and the consequence was,
that Mr. Bowditch was chosen a member of many of the learned societies
instituted there for the promotion of science. In 1818 he was chosen into
the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh, and in the year following
was enrolled on the list of the Royal Irish Academy. While I am upon
this subject, I would state that he afterwards was elected associate
of the Astronomical Society of London, of the Academies of Berlin and
Palermo, and had a correspondence with most of the astronomers of Europe.
The National Institute of France was about choosing him one of its
candidates for the position of foreign member, only eight of which are
chosen from the whole world. He died before any election was held.
[Sidenote: LITERARY LABORS.]
In addition to the papers to the Academy, Mr. Bowditch published several
articles in reviews, &c. One of them is an interesting history of modern
astronomy, which is intended to give us an account of the lives and
doings of the most celebrated astronomers of modern times. Such were his
principal literary labors, and the greater part of them were performed
during his residence in Salem.
The article on modern astronomy was prepared a few years after his
removal to Boston. To that removal let us now turn. In 1823 overtures
were made to him to control two institutions in Boston, one for life
insurance, the other for marine risks. The offers were too liberal for
him to refuse. His duties to his family compelled him to accept them. On
his determination being known, his fellow-citizens paid him a pleasant
tribute of respect and love by inviting him to a public and farewell
dinner.
[Sidenote: REMOVAL TO BOSTON.]
As the family left Salem, Mr. Bowditch and his wife often thought that,
after remaining eight or ten years at Boston, they would return, in order
that their bodies might be laid by the side of those of their ancestors.
But new friends awaited them in Boston; new ties were formed there; and
although they always looked to their native place as the seat of many of
their most beloved associations, they both lived in Boston until their
deaths.
His engagements of a public nature, during his residence in Boston, were
similar to those he had whilst at Salem. For many years he managed both
of the institutions to which he had been called. But the directors,
finding that the duties of one were sufficient to occupy all his
attention, broke up the Marine Insurance Company, and Mr. Bowditch (or
Dr. Bowditch, as he was now generally called, having received the degree
of Doctor of Laws from Harvard University in 1816) devoted himself to
the life insurance office. This he raised to be one of the greatest
institutions in New England. By an alteration in the charter, proposed
by Dr. Bowditch, this became, in fact, a great savings bank, where
immense sums are now yearly put in trust for widows and orphans. The
only difference in his habits, caused by his removal to Boston, was an
enlargement of his sphere of labor. All objects of public utility still
engaged his attention.
The system of popular lectures, of which we have now so many, commenced
with the Mechanic Institution of which he was the first president. He
was zealous for the improvement of the Boston Athenæum, and was very
influential towards getting for it large sums of money, and in making it
more liberal in its rules.
[Sidenote: SERVICES TO HARVARD COLLEGE.]
An honor was conferred upon him, after his arrival in Boston, which he
thought as high as any ever received. Having had two honorary degrees
from Harvard University, and having been one of the board of overseers
of that institution for many years, he was finally chosen a member of
the corporation, or council of seven men, who guide the whole of the
concerns of that important institution. How different the commencement
and termination of the career of the poor son of a cooper, who at ten
years of age left school, and yet at the end of life was one of the chief
directors in the first literary institution in America!