Evening star., 1935-01-13
Americas First Great Scientist
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

In these times when science Is hold
ing popular attention as never before
and when its branches are being looked
to with increasing confidence to solve
the material and even, perhaps, some
Of the spiritual troubles Of mankind,
1t seems likely that renewed interest
will be taken In the first great Amer
ican scientist, Samuel Latham Mitcfill
Of New York who. at the turn Of the
eighteenth century, stood out in
scientific fields not only here but IN
Europe. DR.. Mitchell was born in
l764 and lived until 1881.
It has been customary to think OF
Or. Benjamin Franklin as America s
first great scientist and his work can
not be belittled, but beside Dr. Nit
chill, DR.. Franklin was an amateur
who might not have attained such
historical statue had his science not
been mixed with politics and jour-
naliSm.
The face Of America today is over
spread with scientific institutions.
The Rockefeller Foundation. the Oar
negie Institution, the Smithsonian In
stitution, the scientific branches of the
great universities-literally hundreds
of institutions, most of them estab-
lished by private beneficence-have
given America leading place In the
world of science, pure and applied. In
the face of these riches it seems almost
incredible that an American, dead
scarcely . century. was an important
instrumentality In bringing science out
of the field of alchemy. clarifying its
principles. giving it a practical, work
ing entity. Yet DR.. Mitchill is credited
with this service In a greater degree
than any other American. It must
be recalled that, although Franklin
played with the lightning on q kite
string. he did nothing with his dis
covery.
Mitchill was born ut North HEMP
stead, Long Island, of the third gen.
Grafton of Quaker stock in this coun-
try, which had come down from q
knightly family Of Berkshire in Eng
land. Like Lincoln, the young Mitchiil
studied before the freight, became
apprenticed In medicine to DR.. Sam
uei Bard Of New York, and then, at
10. with the assistance of an uncle.
was enabled to attend the University
OF Edinburgh. then probably the fore
most medical school In Christendom
In three years he graduated with all
honorS. Travelled awhile on the Conti-
nent and returned to New York to
embark on his epochal career.
The notability Of that career may
be judged from the fact that he is
known to have been a member of 40
learned societies, including such world
renowned ones as the Royal Society
OF Edinburgh, London Medical So
ciety. French, Spanish. Italian, Danish
societies and others, foreign and do
mestic, membership in any one Of
which Is scientific accolade. For a
Long Island, pre-Revolutionary lad to
achieve election to 40 such bodies was
recognition, indeed.
All Science Was His Province.
The reasons were ample, Henry
Adams. the historian. observes: DIR.
Mitchill could have filled In succession
every chair In Columbia College, as
well as in the Academy Of Fine Arts
about to be established" For q long
time European chemists had accepted
a substance which they called phlogis-
ton as the element or principle of
combustion. People still were being
taught that there were Just four ele-
mentsVfire, water, earth and air
and phlogiston seemed quite advanced.
Well. Mtchill was among the crew
Of revolutionaries of science who rec
ognized that there were many more
elements. He aligned himself with
European radicals and almost holy
wars ragged among the savants. AS
nearly every one knows now, there
are more than 80 elements, instead of
four. and there never was any such
thing as the mysterious phlogiston.
A glimpse at the scope Of this
curious early American Is found in
Francis contemporary American his
tory, Old New York. An essaye
on compostS," 1t reads, "a tractate on
the deaf and dumb. verses to Septon
or the Indian tribes might be elm