Search Results for: memorial conference

Tesla Science Foundation Expands Efforts to Recognize Nikola Tesla’s Contributions

Nikola TeslaThe Tesla Science Foundation is expanding. Following the success of the most recent Tesla Memorial Conference, which took place on the 70th anniversary of Telsa’s death on January 7, 2013, the Foundation is working with other Tesla groups to recognize Nikola Tesla’s contributions to society. As Nikola Lonchar, President and Founder of the Tesla Science Foundation, recently announced:

Nikola Tesla’s popularity is growing.  Our hard work has helped make that happen. Additionally, our hard work has placed our group in a strong position to do more as the most active Tesla-related group in the country.  With this power comes the responsibility to carry out the mission of the Tesla Science Foundation, the Nikola Tesla Club and Nikola Tesla Inventors Club by facilitating the growth of free and renewable energy.

To accomplish this, the Foundation and its affiliate Tesla Groups have proposed a series of activities to enhance the Tesla name. They include:

  • Consolidation of all of the Tesla groups domains into a single website location called TeslaTalk.tv. A webinar series will provide background on Nikola Tesla, allow interviews of “some of the world’s most knowledgeable scientists and Tesla enthusiasts,” and rebroadcasts of Tesla lectures from around the world.
  • Monthly meetings and lectures at libraries, schools and universities.
  • Development of new Tesla Clubs worldwide.
  • Continue organizing two annual conferences per year in the United States – the January Memorial Conference in the New Yorker Hotel (New York City) and the July Tesla Days celebrations in Philadelphia.
  • A project to restore the Tesla Room in the New Yorker Hotel to its original appearance, including a permanent Tesla display in the hotel.
  • Funding of innovative and promising projects by group members with the goal of promoting the legacy of Nikola Tesla and developing future innovations based on his work.
  • Opening of a Tesla Club building in Philadelphia. The vision is to include an art gallery, book store, library, a “Tesla: Past, Present, Future” display, a coffee/snack shop (featuring Tesla’s favorite foods, of course), and a webinar recording studio and communication center.
  • A traveling exhibit version of the “Tesla: Past, Present, Future.”

I’ll provide more information on each of these goals in future posts so be sure to check back here often. You can search on keywords “Tesla Science Foundation” to get a list of relevant articles.

I’ll also have more on an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that is currently being developed to help make these goals a reality.

More on Tesla: Wizard of Electricity.

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Tesla: Wizard of Electricity (The Cover Design)

Nikola TeslaExciting news today.

I received the current working cover design for Tesla: Wizard of Electricity.

So, what do you think?

Tesla book cover from CB 3-7-13

You’ll notice that it differs from the cover design I had posted here up until now. I’ve been using a “body double” while the editor and his staff worked their way through the book layout and design stages. We may still tweak this a bit, but odds are the final cover will look like this one. This past week I also provided two bios – a short one for the back cover and a longer one for the inside. The finish line is within sight.

I have to admit that this is an exciting day for me. I submitted the manuscript to Sterling Publishing last September and have been holding my breath waiting to feel the actual book in my hand. Of course, I’ll have to wait a bit longer since it is just now going to the printer. A bit behind the original schedule but I’m still looking at it “going live” by my birthday.

In the meantime I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of the people who have worked the hardest to give Nikola Tesla the recognition he deserves. I presented at the Tesla Memorial Conference in New York City in January and hope to present at the Philadelphia Tesla Conference in July. I’ve started lining up other speaking engagements as well, including inquiries for talks at the public libraries in Ipswich, Hamilton-Wenham and Fairfax once the book hits the shelves. Please send me a note if you can arrange a speaking engagement near you (especially if you live in Belgrade, Serbia).

Also feel free to opine on the cover in the comments. Too blue? Not enough lightning bolts? My name not big enough? The photo of Nikola Tesla looks just a wee bit like your Uncle Wally? Let me know what you think.

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William H. Terbo, Nikola Tesla’s Grand-Nephew

Mr. William H. Terbo. Nikola Tesla’s grand-nephew. At the Tesla Memorial Conference in New York City January 5-7, 2013.

Day 1    Day 2    Kyle Driebeek

William H. Terbo, Tesla's Grand-Nephew

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book is on Abraham Lincoln, due out in 2017.

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Tower to the People – Saving Nikola Tesla’s Wardenclyffe

In a previous post I talked about how Nikola Tesla, though largely ignored in the history books, had caught on as somewhat of a movie rock star. With David Bowie, no less. One of the movies mentioned in that post was an independent film co-written and directed by filmmaker Joseph Sikorski. The movie is called Fragments From Olympus: “The Vision of Nikola Tesla,” and in it “the enigmatic life of electrical genius Nikola Tesla unravels through a posthumous F.B.I. investigation into his particle beam research, including a new super weapon called the ‘death ray’.”

Sikorski and Vic Elefante, Production Supervisor for the film, recently attended the Tesla Memorial Conference at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Joe and Vic provided us in attendance with a double treat. First they previewed Fragments, then surprised the crowd with the introduction of a second effort, this one specifically focused on helping to save Wardenclyffe. An homage to the people who have worked so hard to raise the funds and negotiate the purchase of the Wardenclyffe property, the new effort is called Tower to the People: Tesla’s Dream at Wardenclyffe Continues. Check out the trailer:

Joe and Vic and all the others who are working on Fragments deserve tremendous credit for selflessly giving of their time and skills to develop the Tower project. They have collaborated with Jane Alcorn of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, the Oatmeal’s Matthew Inman, and myriad others, to help bring the name of Nikola Tesla back into its rightful place in history.

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Update on Nikola Tesla book

Nikola TeslaAfter a busy (okay, rough) week that kept me away it seems like a good time to provide an update on my book, Nikola Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity. In early January I attended a Tesla Memorial Conference in New York City, which if you missed my articles you can read about by clicking on this link.

Meanwhile, the book design part of the publishing process has been moving forward at a glacial pace. My editor confirmed this week that they are “proofing the interiors,” which is publisher-speak for making sure all the pictures and layout look right on the page. They also queried about a citation I had in the footnotes but was missing from the bibliography, so I provided that source. The book should be headed to the printer soon.

I also provided a book jacket cover design for their consideration. I really like my “new perspective” tagline, which goes well with the photo taken from an interesting perspective at Niagara Falls. Ultimately, the final book jacket design is up to them. I am working on how to send advance copies to folks so I can get blurbs for the back cover. Nikola Tesla’s grand-nephew, William H. Terbo, recently asked for a copy of the book so I am anxious to get him one as soon as available.

Beyond the waiting for the book production I have been busy planning for my “world tour” (of sorts). There is no guarantee that there will be enough interest to warrant book signings but I am working on the assumption that more than a handful of friends will want a copy. I will be visiting my hometown soon for a family obligation so plan to meet with local bookshops and maybe even get an interview for the local paper.

I will provide another update as soon as the book goes to the printer and I have the pre-order information. The waiting is difficult but the idea that I will be holding the book in my hands soon is incredibly exciting.

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Nikola Tesla Makes a Robot Boat

Recently I attended the Tesla Memorial Conference held at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City. Click on these links to read about Day 1, Day 2, and a special presentation by 12-year-old Kyle Driebeek. One of the presentations on Day 2 was by Marko Popovic of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Popovic mentioned that Nikola Tesla developed a remote-controlled boat he called a telautomaton.

In “The Art of Telautomatics,” written as part of his My Inventions autobiography in 1919, Tesla reminds us that he first demonstrated his robotic boat way back in 1898.

Tesla robot remote controlled boat

In order to show how wireless technology could be used to command ships and missiles from a distance, Tesla had a large tank built in the center of Madison Square Garden and “in this places an iron-hulled boat a few feet long, shaped like an arc.” The audience, mostly attendees of the first annual Electrical Exhibition, was requested to ask questions and the automaton would answer them by signs, usually by turning left or right or reversing direction. “This was considered magic at the time,” writes Tesla in My Inventions, “but was extremely simple, for it was myself who gave the replies by means of the device.”

Tesla-PSJul1956

He repeated the exercise with a more advanced and larger telautomatic boat in 1919.

Telsa robotic boat

While Tesla acknowledged that these were “the first and rather crude steps in the evolution of the art of telautomatics,” it did signal the beginning of what today we call robotics. Consider Tesla’s designs then and the remote-controlled drones used in our more recent military and terrorist control efforts and you can see how far he was ahead of his time.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, is scheduled for release in summer 2017.

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5 Things You Didn’t Know About Nikola Tesla

Nikola TeslaNikola Tesla is one of the most prolific inventors of all time, and yet many have never heard of him. Born in the little village of Smiljan in what is now Croatia, Tesla’s family was actually Serbian. From a young age Tesla liked to experiment, even to the point of gluing June bugs to sticks to create a self-propelled windmill. He later went on to work for Thomas Edison, then became one of Edison’s biggest rivals in the “war of the currents.” Tesla was the one that made it possible to put alternating current, AC, into widespread use, much to the dismay of Edison who had been pushing direct, DC, current.

Unfortunately, Telsa’s name is often ignored in the history books. Here are five things that you probably didn’t know about Nikola Tesla.

1) Tesla was a showman, but also a recluse: Yes, that does appear to be a paradox, but it’s true. Tesla would often hide himself in his lab with the shades closed to keep the light out. Sleeping only a few hours a day he would work from late morning one day well into the wee hours of the morning the next day. And yet at other times he would be a much sought after socialite, partying with the likes of writer Mark Twain and poet Robert Underwood Johnson and his beautiful wife Katharine. When Tesla gave presentations to the scientific community he would enthrall the audience with magical shows of light and energy. Then he could disappear from the public eye for months on end, digging himself into his work and, later, feeding the pigeons in his lonely hotel suite.

2) Tesla inspired Google’s Larry Page to become an inventor: When Larry Page was 12 years old his father gave him a copy of Nikola Tesla’s autobiography, My Inventions. Page was impressed with all of the innovations that sprung from Tesla’s mind. And yet, Page decided later that it was better to be more like Thomas Edison. Whereas Tesla focused on fundamental research, Edison knew how to develop a practical way to market the discoveries and make money. Edison died rich, Tesla died in poverty. Meanwhile, Larry Page has invested in Tesla Motors, the electric car company named after you know who.

3) Nikola Tesla was a proponent of renewable energy: Tesla lived from 1856 to 1943, and yet more than 100 years ago he said “long before this consummation, coal and oil must cease to be important factors in the sustenance of human life on this planet.” He advocated for the development of energy from the sun, from windmills, and from hydroelectric power. His inventions allowed the first major production and long-distance distribution of alternating current hydroelectricity on a large scale – from Niagara Falls. And he sought ways to tap the energy of nature, believing that the best way “to obtain power would be to avail ourselves of the sun’s rays.”

4) Tesla was from Venus: Okay, this one isn’t actually true, at least to most people. But there are some who believe that Tesla was born on Venus and sent here to prepare mankind for the eventual arrival of Venusian culture. Whether he was Venusian or not doesn’t change the fact that Tesla believed that he had received signals from outer space while he was experimenting with radio technology in Colorado Springs. In any case, Tesla did discover radio before Marconi made millions of dollars (and received a Nobel Prize) after having “borrowed” ideas from Tesla. The question wasn’t settled until many decades later, mere months after Tesla had passed away in his sleep at the New Yorker Hotel on January 7, 1943. [I was at the New Yorker Hotel on January 6 and 7, 2013 – 70 years to the day after Tesla died. I attended the Tesla Memorial Conference.] Oh, and his body wasn’t returned to Venus. Tesla’s ashes are held in a Tesla coil-shaped sphere at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade, Serbia.

5) Wardenclyffe Lives!: Tesla’s last formal laboratory was on Long Island in what is now Shoreham. Called Wardenclyffe, Tesla had spent many frustrating years building a huge tower that would serve as the base of operations for his World Wireless System. Essentially a radio station to broadcast wirelessly across the world, Tesla also saw Wardenclyffe as the center of his wireless electrical power system. The Earth would serve as a conductor and everyone would be able to simply tap into the energy wherever they were. For free. The idea never came to fruition due to both technical and financial problems. While the tower was torn down to pay debts early in the 20th century, the laboratory property remains. Astonishingly, the property came up for sale and, through the most amazing crowdfunding feat in modern history, the lab is being purchased by the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, a non-profit group led by Jane Alcorn that plans to restore it as a working science center and tribute to Nikola Tesla.

So in the not to distant future visitors will be able to take themselves back in time to watch Nikola Tesla shoot bolts of lightning through his body and electrify the Earth. Perhaps Tesla’s dream of bringing free energy to all will finally come to fruition.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) (both Fall River Press). He has also written two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His next book is on Abraham Lincoln, due out in July 2017.

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Reflections on a Decade of Writing

David J Kent at the Lincoln MemorialI double-checked my calendar as I started to write this because the idea of it being a decade into my second career seemed scarcely credible. But yes, ten years have passed since I left my thirty-plus year career in science to pursue a life of writing. It has truly been an amazing experience, and as I said in my first anniversary reflections, it’s still the best decision I ever made.

Not that it has gone exactly as planned. I originally referred to this website and reflections posts as Science Traveler in anticipation of my focus being on traveling and science. I envisioned visiting far off places and writing from a scientific perspective. Those things have certainly remained a part of my life (especially the travel), but I found myself becoming more and more immersed in my second passion – the study of Abraham Lincoln. That shift is reflected in, well, these reflections. After five anniversaries of Reflections of a Science Traveler, I skipped the intervening years and this tenth anniversary reflections is more about my decade of writing. So, what has happened in ten years? Let’s dive in.

The Writing: The book that started it all was about the eccentric electrical engineer and namesake of the electric car company, Nikola Tesla. I had fallen into the topic of Tesla after attending a writer’s conference and participating in what can best be described as speed dating for agents. The book was a huge success, garnering eight printings, translations into four languages, and six figure sales. Released in the summer of 2013, it was also the impetus for me to resign from my scientific consulting job a few months later. I had been thinking about the change for some time, but holding my first book in my hands gave me the confidence to, as the Nike commercials say, Just Do It! So, I did. I then published two e-books over the next two years. The first to expand on one component of Tesla’s life I thought was largely ignored (renewable energy); the second to show the astonishing number of connections between Tesla and Abraham Lincoln. The following year (2016) my book on Thomas Edison came out, sort of a counterpoint to Tesla. And then in 2017 my general biography of Abraham Lincoln was released, which like the other two from Fall River Press was packed with photos, graphics, drawings, and cartoons to capture the eye. That Lincoln book received several award nominations and was named “Best Lincoln Biography for Young People” by Tom Peet and David Keck in their 2021 compendium of Lincoln books.

Following Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, I decided to switch gears again and focus on the book I had always wanted to write. I had proposed a rudimentary concept for the book back in that 2012 speed dating conference, but it saw significant development while I was writing the other books, and a lot more research. By 2020 (aka, the year of the COVID) I was ready to formally propose it to my agent, who placed it with Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Lincoln: The Fire of Genius came out in 2022 and has received significant critical praise and many book award nominations. I’m immensely proud of this book and so happy I was finally able to get it out into the publishing world.

In addition to the books, I wrote a ton of shorter pieces, most of it unpaid. While I did receive payment for some book reviews, most of my reviews have been gratis, including those for the Lincoln Group of DC newsletter, the Lincoln Herald professional journal, and the Abraham Lincoln Bibliography Project website. Then there are several blogs, including my own author website (the one you’re reading now), my “personal side of writing” I call Hot White Snow, some now defunct blogs (no time for them), and the Lincolnian.org website, for which I’ve written nearly half of the 360 blog items published to date. I also squeeze in some random writing to practice my skills and submit to writing contests.

The Traveling: A large factor in the decision to leave my old job was to give me more time to travel. I’ve certainly done that, although the COVID pandemic truncated the decade by about two years. I had been to Asia and Europe prior to my three-year secondment there from 2008-2011, plus a lot more of Europe while there. Since then, I’ve expanded my travels, both around the United States and six of the seven continents. In 2014 I spent three weeks on a road trip through Argentine Patagonia. In 2016 I did both the Caribbean and the Balkans, including a visit to the Royal Palace to meet the Prince and Princess of Serbia. I went to South Korea and China in the spring of 2017, then to Australia and New Zealand that fall. The year 2018 took me to into the Baltic Sea in June, then the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore in December. 2019 was a “C” year, with separate trips to Cuba and Costa Rica, as well as Chicago and Charleston. COVID wiped out 2020 and 2021 was largely empty of travel, although I managed a November off-season retreat to eastern Long Island. Back to real travel started up in 2022 with trips to Iceland and Tanzania (my first time in Africa). I went back to Africa earlier this year, hitting Morocco as well as Portugal, Spain, and even tiny Andorra. Soon I’ll be seeing some Turkey and some “Stans” (more on those in later posts). Overall, my travels have taken me to 67 countries and territories (according to a tracking app called Been) and 42 states (somehow, I’ve missed the middle of the country).

The Reading: Another goal in my new career was to find more time for reading. My job and studies required so much technical reading and writing that I had largely given up reading anything for pleasure. Now I read 75-100+ books a year. Most of that is still nonfiction, but I read a lot more fiction than in the past. The fiction ranges from classics to the hot new releases, with the choice often defined by what shows up in the local mini-libraries. Nonfiction has a lot of science, history, psychology, civil rights, and, of course, a lot of Abraham Lincoln. Which gets me to…

The Lincoln Groups: The same month I took the plunge, and the train to New York, to test the writing conference waters, I joined the Lincoln Group of DC. The group had been around since 1935 but I hadn’t heard of it until I returned from Brussels seeking to explore my other interests. It wasn’t long before I was on the board, then a vice president (the group has three), and for the last 2.5 years, the president. I also ended up on the board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and I’m now their treasurer. I’m on the board of advisors for the Lincoln Forum, a book reviewer for the Lincoln Herald, and active in the Abraham Lincoln Association and other Lincoln organizations. Over the years I’ve won several awards and recognitions related to Lincoln work, most recently the Wendy Allen Award from the Lincoln Forum as president of the Lincoln Group of DC and the Lincoln Legacy Award from the Lincoln Society of Peekskill. I also was the primary organizer for the big 2022 centennial celebration for the Lincoln Memorial, coordinating with the National Park Service and other groups, plus serving as Master of Ceremonies for the two-hour program on the Memorial steps in the shadow of where Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech.

I’m sure there is more. You can also look at the previous five reflections for more insights: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. Or just click here and scroll down to see them all at once.

It’s been a busy, and satisfying, decade. So, what’s the plan for the next ten years? Well, keeping in mind that my “plans” are fluid, changing not quite willy nilly depending on conditions and opportunities, here’s at least an outline of future goals.

Retire: I have no idea what retirement means, so presumably I’ll know it when I see it. That said, I do anticipate some changes.

Future Writing: Perhaps my biggest problem is my inability to focus (which ironically is a subject for a potential future book). I currently have three or four books I’m actively trying to finish, plus I’m working on a proposal for another to have my agent shop around to publishers. Since I can’t seem to focus on one at a time, they all creep along at a snail’s pace and seem never to be completed. My “book ideas” list has reached 51 books, some of which are in progress while others are almost certainly never going to get beyond the brilliant idea stage. To date, all my published books have been biographies. I want that to shift into more creative writing, which will include memoir, travel, history, mixes of memoir/travel/history, and yes, even fiction. These genres scare me. The biographies (which I won’t abandon completely; I have ideas for several) feel like an extension of the scientific writing I did in my past life. Indeed, my first two biographies were of famous scientists. Narrative nonfiction and the various genres of pure fiction are something I’m going to have to work at. And yet, my life has been a series of tangents, the adaptation necessary to remain employed in the uncertain world of regulation-driven consulting. I’ve managed to be successful now in two broad careers, and it feels like a good time to go off on one of those tangents while remaining in the writing sphere.

Future Travel: I’ve been to six of the seven continents, so the obvious step is to get to Antarctica. That’s definitely on my “must” list, as are the Galapagos, Machu Picchu, the pyramids, and a few other places that I’ve somehow managed not to see yet. The goal is to do the must-see places within the next five years. In the short term, I’m scheduled for those previously mentioned “Stans” and have tentative plans for the Caribbean next spring. I also have tentative plans for southern Africa for about a year from now. I also expect to do a series of domestic road trips in the next year or two. Beyond that will depend on some personal factors out of my control. If all the more proximal plans come to fruition, that will mean by the end of next year I will have visited 80 or so countries and territories (territories include places like Bermuda that officially count as a British Island Territory). Maybe I’ll hit 100 someday. On the other hand, there are places I wouldn’t mind going back to and I’ve already tentatively planned on a road trip through the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. And we’ll always have Paris (yeah, cheesy, I know, but I couldn’t resist using the line after having been in Casablanca earlier this year).

Future Reading: This is the easy one. I’ll likely continue to read 75-100 books a year. I’ve broadened my selection considerably over the last decade and expect to continue to do that in the next. As long as it exists, you can always find me on Goodreads as I track my progress. And yes, I do take book suggestions.

Future Lincoln Groups: Here is where the near future might bring the most adjustment. I’ve been in some form of management with the Lincoln Group of DC for virtually all of this decade. I was Vice President of Education and Outreach for not one but two non-consecutive two-year terms, Vice President of Programs for two years, and I’m in my final year in a three-year stint as President. But as onerous as that sounds, I’ve also acted in a kind of shadow capacity for other positions during that time. Interestingly, when I looked back on my first anniversary reflections, I noticed that I was in the final year of the presidential cycle for CPRC (it was my second time as president for this scientific organization, ten years apart) and just beginning my first year officially as vice president on the Lincoln Group board. A decade hence and it’s time for me to recalibrate again. I’ve already informed the board that I will step down at the next election in May 2024, but since I’m still obsessed with Lincoln, I won’t be gone – I’ll serve as Immediate Past-President for whoever takes over the position. Dropping the presidency will give me more time to write for the website and newsletter, plus taken on a much-needed role as historian-at-large as I wade into the Lincoln Group file drawers to collate a history of the group. I’m also thinking of starting a Lincoln podcast. We also have a grant application in the works for a big (big) program, so stay tuned.

Then there are the other groups. My term as treasurer and executive board member of the Abraham Lincoln Institute runs until 2025, although I’m likely to continue indefinitely. My term on the Lincoln Forum Board of Advisors is somewhat open-ended but may be turned over to the incoming Lincoln Group president. I’ll remain active in all Lincoln Groups for the foreseeable future. As my interests evolve, I’m likely to get involved with non-Lincoln groups as well, although I’ll have to be careful not to end up as president (somehow that has happened five times before).

What else? I mentioned above that I’m not sure what “retirement” means, but I’m thinking it starts with offloading some responsibilities so I can focus more on things I enjoy. For ten years I’ve been talking about rekindling my interest in photography, so I consider that being part of it. I also want to travel as much as I can manage. Then there are more entertainment events. More relaxing time instead of hyperventilating myself through the day. More creative writing. Whatever. I’ll know it when I see it, right? All that said, I doubt I’ll ever actually retire, just allow myself to follow those tangents-of-the-moment opportunities when they arrive. I suspect no one will even know when that time comes. I probably won’t know it myself.

On to another decade in the writer’s life.

[Photo Credit: Henry Ballone photo of David J. Kent emceeing the Lincoln Memorial Centennial, May 2022]

Fire of Genius

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

An Award, A Breakout, and A Feature at the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg

November 19, 2022 marked the 159th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. As is traditional, a commemoration is held on that date, along with a remembrance of “these honored dead.” The three days leading up to the event is also the annual Lincoln Forum, one of the premier Abraham Lincoln conferences in the nation. This year was special because I accepted an award, ran out breakout session, and in addition to a short presentation, was featured in the Lincoln Forum Bulletin. If that wasn’t enough, my book launch presentation from September also premiered on C-SPAN, appropriately enough on the morning of the Gettysburg remembrance.

Wendy Allen Award 2022 Let’s start with the award. As president of the Lincoln Group of DC, I was honored to accept the prestigious Wendy Allen Award given to the group by the Lincoln Forum. The annual award is given “to a Lincoln or Civil War institution or organization that has achieved widespread recognition for bringing learning, scholarship, and enlightenment to a wide public. The award comes in the form of a framed color print of an original Lincoln painting by acclaimed Gettysburg-based artist Wendy Allen, who generously makes her work available for the honorees.”

The Lincoln Group of DC was honored for its 87 years (and counting) contribution to Abraham Lincoln scholarship and public education. I was happy to acknowledge that long history and our most recent presidents going back a dozen years: John O’Brien, the late John Elliff, Karen Needles, and the late Buzz Carnahan, as well as at least a couple more former presidents present in the room. As one might expect from a group based in Washington, D.C., our membership has included congressmen and other key figures in government. But the group itself goes way beyond the district. Our members are located nationwide and have had far-reaching influences. Among our many accomplishments is the official naming of the old post office room in the U.S. Capitol the Lincoln Room,” complete with a bipartisan resolution, a sign, and a ceremony. We also organized in collaboration with the National Park Service and with co-sponsorship by the Lincoln Forum, the Lincoln Memorial Centennial commemoration in May 2022 (watch the C-SPAN recording of the event here). The group has done much, much more over the years. Membership is open to everyone interested in Abraham Lincoln, with local dinner meetings and monthly Zoom presentations. Our website is Lincolnian.org.

In addition to accepting the award on behalf of the Lincoln Group, I was kept busy with several personal and professional events during the three-day Forum. I participated in the book signing for my new book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, along with other Forum presenters. I found myself seated in between two of the great Lincoln scholars of all time: Frank Williams, the past chairman of the Forum, and Harold Holzer, the current chairman of the Forum. Also at my table was prolific Lincoln and Civil War author Jonathan W. White (vice chairman of the Forum), and Forum presenters/authors John Rhodehamel and Michael Green.

Lincoln Forum Lincoln Memorial articleI also led a breakout session about my book. About thirty people gathered to discuss Lincoln’s interests in science and technology. Joining me was Ed Steers. Like me, Ed had a full career as a scientist (he was at the National Institutes of Health) before turning to Lincoln scholarship. He is a renowned expert on Lincoln’s assassination as well as his early life and ancestry. Questions from the participants led us into discussions not only about my book, but also the broader issues of how scientific and historical research are similar and dissimilar, a topic I wrote about back in June in a post called “The Science of History.”

Like the scientific conferences I used to attend (SETAC was going on in Pittsburgh when I was in Gettysburg, with my book raising money for students in their silent auction), much of the benefit of in-person conferences like the Lincoln Forum is the chatting with other researchers about history in the hallways. This year led to some interesting new ideas for future research, plus a couple of invitations to present about my book in the spring. On Thursday night, immediately after accepting the award, I gave a brief recap of the Lincoln Memorial Centennial program we organized in May.

And that wasn’t everything that happened last week. I’ll have more on recorded presentations in the next post.

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius

 

Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.

Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.

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David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.

His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Lincoln in Ecuador – Wiegers Calendar February

Lincoln in QuitoAs Lincoln’s birthday week begins I turn to the David Wiegers calendar for another international statue of Abraham Lincoln. This one is in Quito, Ecuador.

Shockingly, I have yet to make it to Ecuador. I say shockingly because the Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador and my past history as a marine biologist almost demands I make a pilgrimage. I have two potential options for doing so this year, which makes David’s February calendar photo even more appropriate.

So why does the capital of a South American country have a statue of the 16th President of the United States? Certainly the Union had diplomatic relations with Ecuador during the war. Lincoln authorized a “Convention for the mutual adjustment of claims between the two parties,” although it’s unclear what claims he was referring to. Oddly, Frederick Hassaurek, editor of a German-language newspaper in Cincinnati, was appointed Minister to this Spanish-speaking nation. [Lincoln would later free Hassaurek’s half-brother from Libby Prison at his request]

But that isn’t why there is a statue in Quito. Instead, in 1959, to mark the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s birth, the statue was donated by a committee of Americans living in Quito. The dedication was part of a city-wide renovation to make way for a large international conference. A re-dedication ceremony was held on Lincoln’s 200th birthday in 2009.

Lincoln in Quito

The statue itself depicts Lincoln from belly-button up hovering over the top of a lectern, presumably giving one of his great speeches. He is beardless so he had not yet been elected President. The half-figure sits on top of a stone pedestal. In the background stands a wall with a plaque, although the wall sits back a ways and off to the side so is only visible in photos taken from a certain angle. As you might expect, the statue sits in Abraham Lincoln Plaza just off Calle Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln in Quito

Unlike last month’s photo from Scotland (and some upcoming photos), I didn’t miss seeing this because I haven’t been there yet. But I will (go there, not miss it). I’m thankful that David Wiegers has been to these places and taken such great photos.* For more of his wonderful Lincoln photos, check out his Facebook page, “Images of Abraham Lincoln.”

Until next month!

*In a comment left on Facebook, David clarifies: “This picture is of the original statue on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. The one in Ecuador is a copy of this original.” After checking my photos I realized I had seen the original at LMU during my visit a couple of years ago.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

Photo credits: Two photos by me of David Wiegers 2020 calendar photos. Photo on pedestal from Frederic Calvat on Twitter.