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10 Things You Don’t Know About Edison vs Tesla

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Henry Rollins from imdb.comWay back in May I was contacted by a producer for a TV series for the History Channel called “10 Things You Don’t Know About,” hosted by Henry Rollins. They were interested in doing a program on the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. I spoke with the producer and provided my thoughts on what interesting facts they could include, and although I didn’t make it into the final program, it aired on September 7, 2014.

10 Things You Don’t Know About Edison vs Tesla

Rollins talks to an interesting array of experts and gets himself zapped by The Oatmeal, deep dives to the sunken luxury liner Oregon, and checks out Edison’s handwritten notes for a planned science fiction book. He also delves into Mark Twain’s role as Tesla’s “test dummy,” Edison’s most profitable invention (it’s not what you think and is actually quite ironic), and Tesla’s inspiration from Christopher Columbus. All in all it’s a great program.

You can also check out my own “5 Things You Didn’t Know about Nikola Tesla,” including how Tesla was both a showman and recluse, his interest in renewable energy, and why some people thought he was an alien from another planet.

Search for Telsa in the box above for more things you didn’t know about Nikola Tesla. And if you downloaded my e-book, Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time, please leave a short review and rating to help others discover Nikola Tesla.

David J. Kent is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and the ebook Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time.

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Tesla to Edison to Lincoln – Connecting the Dots

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Tesla to Edison to Lincoln (say it in the cadence of “Tinkers to Evers to Chance“).

Yes, Nikola Tesla disliked Thomas Edison, but Edison greatly admired Abraham Lincoln.  I’ve always been an devotee of Abraham Lincoln.  And now I’m writing a book on Nikola Tesla [UPDATE: I now have three Tesla books and one about Edison].  Despite conflicts with himself, Tesla had won the “War of the Electric Currents” by developing the motor needed to use Alternating Current (AC) versus the Direct Current (DC) on which Edison had staked his claim. [You can read about it in Chapter 5 of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity].

So it was a nice surprise to find the photo below on my Facebook page.

Thomas Edison and Abraham LincolnPosted by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on its own Facebook page, it turns out Edison was so enamored of Lincoln “that he placed Lincoln’s profile on his own letterhead, and wrote out this testimonial in 1880:

” … the life and character of Abraham Lincoln and his great services to this country during the war of the rebellion will stand as a monument long after the granite monuments erected to his memory have crumbled in the dust.”

Who says the unschooled Edison didn’t have a way with words, eh?

The photo was on display through Labor Day 2012 at the ALPLM in Springfield, IL. It was purchased by them from the Louise and Barry Taper Collection in 2007. I expect to be making a trek (or two) to the ALPLM myself in the not too distant future as I research my Lincoln book.

Funny how my life travels from Tesla to Edison to Lincoln with only one degree of separation.

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.

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Lincoln and the Permanent Commission of the Navy

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Lincoln testing a SpencerLincoln’s enthusiasm for mathematics, science, and technology made him a national sounding board for innovations, but he simply could not handle all the inventors pouring letters into his mailbox or showing up at the White House expecting a stamp of approval for their miraculous “war-ending invention.” Unlike today, there was no military-industrial complex developing new weapons during the Civil War. When it came to innovation, the government relied on “the chance, unreliable labors of inventors and amateurs of science” who “literally besieged official Washington after the outbreak of the war.”

Probably with Lincoln’s knowledge, Joseph Henry proposed to Secretary Welles an advisory board to serve as a more efficient mechanism for evaluating new ideas to aid the war effort. The navy had earlier tried a similar idea with its Naval Examining Board, but it failed in six months due to insufficient funding. By early 1863 Welles was willing to implement Henry’s idea, in part because any experimental research would be conducted by the originator, not the navy. With Lincoln’s approval, Welles created the Permanent Commission of the Navy Department “to which all subjects of a scientific character on which the Government may require information may be referred.” The three-member commission—Henry was joined by equally ubiquitous Alexander Dallas Bache (superintendent of the Coast Survey) and Charles Henry Davis (chief of the Bureau of Navigation)—met several times a week to evaluate the stream of proposals. After more than three dozen meetings in the first few months, Henry grumbled to Harvard botanist Asa Gray that his duties on the commission were overwhelming; the commission “occupied nearly all my time” other than that devoted to Smithsonian business.

From its creation in early 1863, the commission evaluated over three hundred proposals ranging from warship designs to underwater guns to torpedoes, all of which their originators claimed would immediately end the war in the Union’s favor. Despite the optimism of the inventors, mostly these ideas were oversold and underperforming. After the war, Henry bragged that the Permanent Commission kept the government “from rushing into many schemes which, under guise of patriotism, were intended to advance individual interest.”

The commission relieved Lincoln of the steady stream of inventors that had besieged him since the beginning of the war, but it did not stop all of them. Lincoln continued to receive letters and visits for the remainder of the war, and the always curious commander-in-chief continued to personally test some of the weapons that came his way. As the burdens of war became overwhelming, more and more often Lincoln would refer inventors to the Permanent Commission or directly to the military personnel most likely capable of evaluating the proposal.

And yet inventors still badgered Lincoln even after their proposal had been evaluated by the commission, either because the commission had refused their self-professed miraculous discovery or because a decision was bogged down in endless bureaucratic delay. John H. Schenk angrily wrote to Lincoln in early 1864 complaining he had been waiting a year to get approvals, yet the evaluation “is still throttled nearly to death with Red tape.” A few months later, John D. Hall wrote to Lincoln about his idea to lay cable across waterways to cut enemy obstructions lower than the keel of Union ironclads. He had originally written to Gideon Welles, who forwarded it to the Permanent Commission, and now impatiently was writing Lincoln. He complained that “notwithstanding these devices are so simple that any mechanical mind may easily comprehend them in the space of ten minutes of time,” he had yet to receive any report after thirty days. He asked Lincoln to speed up the acceptance. He received a reply that his invention was under consideration. Sometimes even Lincoln’s positive intervention had no effect. Inventor Peter Yates had proposed an “Improvement on Steam Engines” that was the subject of several letters between Yates, Lincoln, Welles, and the members of the commission. In the end, Charles Henry Davis grumbled to Welles that the “invention has not been described with sufficient clearness to be perfectly understood,” but based on what he could infer, “the loss of power which this invention is intended to prevent does not exist.”

On the other hand, Thomas Schuebly wrote Lincoln in late 1863 enthusiastically thanking him for supporting development of his new “impregnable” ironclad steamer, which the Permanent Commission told him to build at his own expense. Testing of this new ironclad, Schuebly cautioned in his letter, would be delayed slightly. It apparently was never built.

Despite its name, the Permanent Commission petered into nonexistence midway into 1865 as new weaponry became less important than mass manufacture of conventional rifles for the postwar occupation. The idea has been resurrected over the years as new wars required evaluation of new technology. One such board, the Naval Consulting Board, was chaired by Thomas Edison during World War I and led to the creation of the internally integrated Naval Research Laboratory, which still exists in Washington, DC.

[Adapted from Lincoln: The Fire of Genius]

 

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.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

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.

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Lincoln’s Influence on Civil War Science at York Civil War Round Table

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York PA CWRT logo

I’m excited to report that I will be presenting at the York (Pennsylvania) Civil War Round Table on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. This will be an in-person meeting at the York Historical Society Museum, 250 East Market Street, York, PA 17403. It will also be broadcast via Zoom. Both in-person and Zoom attendance is open to the public and free from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

Please register for this free program in advance for head-count purposes:

In Person registration: Click Here

For Zoom link: Click Here

More information below per the York CWRT website:

David J. Kent will speak on the topic of “Lincoln’s Influence on Science and Technology in the Civil War.” Abraham Lincoln had a lifelong fascination with science and technology, a fascination that would help institutionalize science, win the Civil War, and propel the nation into the modern age. Kent will discuss how science and technology gradually infiltrated Lincoln’s remarkable life and influenced his growing desire to improve the condition of all men. The presentation will show where Lincoln gained his scientific knowledge, and how that background led him to encourage its further development and use during the war.

David J. Kent is an Abraham Lincoln historian, a former scientist, and the current President of the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia. He is also on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Abraham Lincoln Institute and the Board of Advisors of the Lincoln Forum. He is a frequent speaker on Abraham Lincoln topics and served as Master of Ceremonies for the Lincoln Memorial Centennial program in 2022. David has won numerous awards both for his scientific work and as an Abraham Lincoln historian. He has written several books, including his most recent, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and his previous Lincoln book for young people, Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America. He has also written books on Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. He is currently working on a book about Lincoln’s two visits to New England.

The York Civil War Round Table is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote, interpret, preserve, and protect the Civil War heritage of York County, Pennsylvania, through the education and exchange of information with its members and the general public. Membership is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about the American Civil War.

Founded as the White Rose Civil War Round Table, the York CWRT holds monthly meetings the third Wednesday of every month except December at 7:00 p.m. in the Meeting Hall of the York County History Center’s Historical Society Museum at 250 East Market Street in York, Pennsylvania. Each meeting features a guest speaker talking about a Civil War topic of local or national interest. Meetings are FREE and open to the public.  For upcoming programs, please visit the Cannonball webpage http://www.yorkblog.com/cannonball/york-cwrt/.

I look forward to seeing everyone there soon.  Signed books can be purchased at the in-person event, or order via this website or Amazon or Barnes and Noble or your favorite independent bookstore.

 

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.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

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.

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Reflections on a Decade of Writing

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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.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

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.

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The Fire of Genius in the Civil War Monitor Magazine

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Lincoln: The Fire of Genius has been reviewed several times, including in Civil War Times, but there was recently a new one in the Civil War Monitor magazine. Written by Jonathan Tracey, co-editor of Civil War Monuments and Memory with Chris Mackowski, the review is very positive.

Civil War Monitor screenshot

Tracey notes:

“Kent, who has authored books on Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, applies his technological history lens to Abraham Lincoln in this book. Part biography and part history of innovation, Kent moves chronologically through Lincoln’s life following the threads of technology and science.”

And,

“Throughout the book, Kent repeatedly supplies strong evidence that Lincoln was a thoughtful and curious man who defied stereotypes. He was aware of advancement in fields as diverse as soil sciences, ship design, railroads, and military weapons, and he used this information in his professional and political careers.”

You can read the entire review online.

The Civil War Times review can be found in the Spring 2023 issue (page 67).

This week also featured comments from me in a Salon article written by Matt Rozsa. He explored the incident in which Lincoln says he sewed the eyes of hogs shut to get them on the flatboat (which didn’t work). Rozsa quoted me substantively, along with Harold Holzer and the president of PETA. You can read that article online at: https://www.salon.com/2023/06/04/abraham-lincoln-pig-torture-animal-cruelty-compassion/

Rozsa had quoted me last year in an article about Lincoln’s patent: https://www.salon.com/2022/08/27/abraham-lincoln-master-inventor-the-true-story-of-the-only-to-ever-patent-an-invention/

More past events and media mentions can be found on my media page.

[Screenshot of Civil War Monitor review online]

 

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.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

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.

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The Year in a Writer’s Life – 2022

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David J Kent Lincoln Memorial centennialThe year in a writer’s life was spectacular. My new book was released, I did tons of media, and wrote constantly, while also juggling my duties as president of the Lincoln Group of DC. Sometimes those two lives blended to the point where the line between them wasn’t so easy to determine. Adding in my year in a traveler’s life, my reading time, and my Abraham Lincoln book acquisitions, 2022 was a busy year. [See last year’s Life here]

Much of my writing activity this year was driven by the release of my newest book, Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, which came out in September. Feedback on the book has been universally positive, with the public and Lincoln scholars alike praising it as “a fascinating new perspective about Lincoln’s personality and mind” and “an enjoyable dive into the type of public leaders we used to have.” One Goodreads reviewer said that he “was truly fascinated by this aspect of Lincoln that has been overshadowed by his equally notable political and military activities.” Marc Rothenberg, former Editor of the Joseph Henry Papers and Historian at the National Academy of Sciences noted:

“This is the first in-depth study of Abraham Lincoln’s interest in technology and science and how that interest impacted his life and his Presidency. As Kent demonstrates, Lincoln was a catalyst for some of that transformation wrought by science and technology.”

Harold Holzer, perhaps the most prominent and respected Lincoln historian alive, added that:

“David J. Kent has melded deep research, genuine expertise, and a fine way with an anecdote to produce a study that fills a long-missing niche in the Lincoln literature.”

Others were equally effusive. I was honored by the reception the book received from both historians and the public. I’m a bit surprised that reviews and ratings have been slow to come, but I hope that all those reading the book will leave a short note on Goodreads and Amazon and other sites so that others can be encouraged to pick up the book.

Beginning in August I gave at least 18 presentations related to Lincoln: The Fire of Genius. Some were to Lincoln groups, others to Civil War Round Tables, one was to an Arts Club. In addition, I gave many presentations, moderated many meetings, and twice gave a course on Lincoln developed for Encore Learning, an adult continuing education program based in Arlington, VA. I also was interviewed in all media formats – print, radio, podcast, and video. You can read/listen/watch some of them via links on my Media page, plus see what events I have coming up. I already have 6 presentations related to Lincoln: The Fire of Genius scheduled for the beginning of 2023, so the coming year promises to be busy as well.

Unexpectedly, my writing life took me into the full breadth of the funeral industry in 2022. The year began normally with my representing the Lincoln Group of DC laying a wreath on Lincoln’s birthday in February at the Lincoln Memorial (which I plan to do again this year). The Memorial was also the site of the Lincoln Memorial Centennial commemoration in May, for which I was the primary organizer and served as Master of Ceremonies. Those were within the realm of activities that I’ve done before. But in June, I found myself in a funeral home hosting a special Lincoln Group meeting. There have been “presidents, vice presidents, Supreme Court justices, members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, military leaders and foreign dignitaries who were honored at Joseph Gawler’s Sons,” and they have the original coffin in which Abraham Lincoln’s last direct descendant, Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith was held in before his cremation in 1985. In September I was invited to give a presentation at the unveiling of a new monument at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. The intricate memorial honored famed Civil War photographer Mathew Brady with two large granite columbaria with inlaid photos related to Brady as well as life-size bronze statues of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, as well as a bronze replica of a Brady camera of the time period. Finally, in October I was in church, having been asked to give a eulogy at a memorial service for a long-time member and past president of the Lincoln Group who had passed away.

Outside of the Fire of Genius related activities, I continued to write for the quarterly Lincoln Group Lincolnian newsletter, for which I wrote eight book reviews and several shorter articles. I write constantly for the Lincolnian.org website, around 150 articles in the last couple of years. I also wrote an article for the Lincoln Forum Bulletin. Then there were dozens of articles each for this David J. Kent website and my Hot White Snow blog. Last year I mentioned that I planned to finish a Confederate Monuments book, but that took a back seat to other activities, so I’ll add it to this year’s list. There were also a couple of other writing projects I worked on, one or more of which should come out this year.

As with all writers, we survive on royalties for our work. I’m still getting royalties from my earlier traditionally published books on Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, and Abraham Lincoln. The graphically oriented style made them popular with the general public and with younger adult readers (and even middle schoolers). The royalties aren’t making me rich, but it’s nice to see them still dribbling in. I also receive a little bit from the two specialty e-books on Amazon, both of which I make available for a low price to bring information on Tesla and Lincoln to a wider audience. You can see the previous books and directly order the two e-books on my Buy the Books page (scroll down to see them all). Since most publishers pay out royalties only twice a year and my Fire of Genius book was released in the second half of 2022, the first chance of receiving royalties will be in May 2023.

What is the plan for 2023?

This year is set to begin as a continuation of the last with promotion related to Lincoln: The Fire of Genius. I have six presentations already scheduled for the next few months, with likely many more being added to my Media page soon. [You can also see previous videos/podcasts on the Media page]

I’ll continue to write book reviews for the Lincolnian newsletter and plan to submit to the Lincoln Herald, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, and Civil War Times. There should be a review of Fire of Genius in the next issue of the latter, which also says they still want to do an excerpt. In addition to reviews, I have articles in preparation for the first two that I hope will be published this year. I’ll also be posting reviews at the Abraham Lincoln Bibliography Project.

Last year I thought I would be publishing a book related to the Confederate monument debate. It got pushed to the back burner then, but I hope to get it out this year. I’m also working on a new Tesla book that I’ll put out as a print volume on Amazon.

Of course, I’ll continue to write blog posts on Lincolnian.org, DavidJKent-Writer.com, and HotWhiteSnow.wordpress.com. And as time permits, I’ll write fiction pieces and enter writing contests.

Finally, the new work in progress I was researching last year seems to have been bumped by a new Lincoln topic. I had a conversation with my agent before the holidays who said the publisher of Fire of Genius was interested in working with me on a new book, and the ensuing discussion led me in a slightly different direction. The goal is to get a one-pager to the publisher this week so they can start doing market research, then get them a formal proposal with sample chapters this spring. Meanwhile, I have two (or even three) potential collaborations on books that may come to fore in 2023. Stay tuned!

[Photo by Bruce Guthrie, Lincoln Memorial Centennial, May 22, 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.

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

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.

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Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, Available for Pre-Order

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Lincoln: The Fire of GeniusThe book is available for pre-order on the Rowman & Littlefield website (Lyons Press is a trade imprint of Rowman). You can also pre-order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (click on the respective links to pre-order). Release date is scheduled for September 1, 2022.

My forthcoming book has a cover design, a pre-order form on Amazon, a “want to read” listing on Goodreads, and a scheduled release date.

The full title is Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America. 

But let’s just call it The Fire of Genius.

The title comes from a somewhat obscure science lecture that Lincoln delivered several times in 1858. Moderately attended, the lecture was not exactly his best oratory work, but it ended on the following line:

The patent system…secured to the inventor, for a limited time, the exclusive use of his invention; and thereby added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius, in the discovery and production of new and useful things.

Readers will learn through The Fire of Genius how science and technology gradually infiltrated Lincoln’s remarkable life and influenced his growing desire to improve the condition of all men. The book traces this progression from a simple farm boy to a president who changed the world.

I’m excited about the pending release of this book not just because it’s another book I’ve written, but because it blends my two lifelong passions of science and Abraham Lincoln. Growing up on the coast led me to a career that began in marine biology and meandered into environmental consulting. Science was my occupation, but Lincoln was always a side gig. That changed ten years ago when I left my science career and began pursuing in earnest a life of Lincoln. I’ve been researching this particular book for a long time. Way back in 2012, it was a primordial idea for this book that I pitched to an agent at a writing conference. That led to an immediate opportunity to write a book on Nikola Tesla, then Thomas Edison, then a general biography on Abraham Lincoln. While writing all of those (and two specialty e-books), I refined the original concept into its present form. Finally, The Fire of Genius is coming to bookstores near you.

Pre-order Lincoln: The Fire of Genius now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble (click on the respective links to pre-order). The price is likely to drop before the final shipment, and any pre-orders will automatically get charged the lower price at fulfillment. Pre-ordering now helps the publisher get a sense of the interest, which could mean a bigger print run. So please go ahead and pre-order without worries. While you’re there, check out my other books.

The book is 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. That will also ensure you get informed of the release date AND will let you try for one of ten free hardcover copies of the book that I’ll be giving away this summer. I’ll also be giving away as many as a hundred e-books. [The book will also be put out on audio]

You also follow my author page on Facebook.

I’ll have much more about the book over the next few months, so join my mailing list here to keep informed.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of 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.

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

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The Year in Science Traveling -2021

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Lincoln at GettysburgLast year I started off my annual science traveling post with “Well, this shouldn’t take long.” Despite expectations, I could have started my 2021 post with: “Ditto.”

My year in traveling looks like my previous year’s “goals” list; just change the date and carry over everything to this year. Now I’ll be carrying most of it over to 2022. As with everyone else, I’ve grown exhausted by the continuing battle with COVID, in part due to its evolving variants, and in part due to the irresponsible choices of many to remain unvaccinated. And as with everyone else, it has crimped my traveling schedule. Luckily, I was too busy to travel in the first half of 2021, which I’ll talk more about in my annual “A Year in the Writing Life” that will come out next week.

I again planned to do a series of “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” road trips. Some were local (Richmond, Gettysburg, Washington DC), while others were a bit farther afield (Illinois, upstate New York, New England, California). All are now transferred to my 2022 plans. As usual, my goal was to get to five new countries this year. The reality is that the last trip I took out of the country was to Cuba in May 2019. Things started looking up in July when my brother proposed a two-week catamaran trip around the British Virgin Islands for November. Circumstances soon changed and that trip was cancelled. The idea of sailing around Spain and Portugal in November was put on the table, then removed literally the next day as both countries were added to the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” list due to COVID. Okay, let’s do the Caribbean instead. Same problem. All of this was after foregoing a trip to the Galapagos because we thought we would be tied up at that time.

Around the time things were getting the most depressing, I saw that a writing acquaintance was doing a self-imposed “writer’s retreat” on Long Island. It was a lightbulb moment, and before long the plan became a mini vacation on Long Island on the way to New England for a Thanksgiving visit with my family. The trip was delightful. We had no trouble getting accommodations because it was off-season, although several restaurants on the coast were closed for the same reason. But we did get to see my 60th aquarium and visit some cool museums at the Vanderbilt estate, plus hiked the beautiful fall woodlands at Sands Point. Then there was the wine tasting at Lieb Cellars vineyard. All-in-all, a wonderful trip. As was the chance to see my family for the second time in a year, a treat given the continuing restrictions.

Looking back, it seems my entire traveling year was crammed into November. Prior to leaving for Long Island, I attended my one and only in-person conference in two years. The Lincoln Forum had gone virtual in 2020, but they were intent on holding an in-person event in 2021. All attendees were required to be fully vaccinated – and prove it – in order to be present. Everyone was required to wear masks for all lectures and meetings, although removal was okay (by necessity) during meals. Around 300 people enjoyed a mostly normal Forum, exchanging ideas and learning about ideas. I was elected to the Board of Advisors. I’m happy to say that a grand total of zero reports of COVID cases arose from the meeting. Luckily for us, the omicron variant didn’t show up until just after our conference. It was nice to be back with people.

There was one additional in-person event in 2021. The Lincoln Group of DC, of which I am now president, had a tour of a local battlefield in September. We car-pooled and masked to limit exposure, with the rest of the tour being completely outside. Again, we managed to do it with no reported cases before or after.

So, what’s the plan for 2022?

Largely, the 2022 plan is “see 2021 plan.” The uncertainly of the omicron surge in cases has already sunk several plans for the spring, but I’m hoping/praying/pleading that travel is back on the table. In fact, we’ve already booked a Windstar cruise for late September/October that begins and ends in Istanbul and bounces around the Black Sea. We’re hoping to book another major travel destination in the early spring or early summer, but the options are still open for that one. September will be a busy month, in part because of the Windstar trip but also because my new book is scheduled for release on September 1. I’m likely to go to New England at least three times, the July 4th and Thanksgiving holidays and on my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln – New England” tour. I expect to be doing some road trips to accommodate a speaking tour for the book. I’ll also be checking off as many of the “local” road trips I’ve been carrying for two years.

A quick note on the “Year in Science Traveling” title. This website was originally called “Science Traveler” to reflect my intent to delve into the science of worldwide traveling. That was the plan when I left my last science job in 2013, the same year my first book came out (on Nikola Tesla, followed a few years later by Thomas Edison). I continue to travel and have plans for more science travel-related content, but regular readers will notice that I’ve renamed the website with my author name to reflect my divergent interests. Abraham Lincoln had always been my side-gig, but it’s clear to anyone reading this that Lincoln is now my main job and science traveling is the side-gig. I’m planning to revamp the website in early 2022 to make it more modern and functional. Stay tuned.

David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of 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.

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

[Photo credit: David J. Kent, 2021, Detail of “Return Visit” sculpture]

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Lincoln at the Exhibition

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Lincoln at the moviesTechnically, Lincoln didn’t attend the exhibition, but on this date, October 14, 1861, a committee of commissioners for the industrial exhibition in England visits President Lincoln in the White House and asks use of a government vessel to transport American contributions to the fair. Lincoln had supported United States participation.

Eying an opportunity to showcase American science, Lincoln appointed Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry (an informal science adviser to the President) to yet another Commission, this one organizing American participation in the International Exhibition scheduled for London in 1862. Lincoln approved the Commission’s recommendations in December 1861 and the House Ways and Means Committee endorsed an appropriation of $35,000 for expenses.

Lincoln had always had an eye for scientific and technological advancement, which had been rapid leading up to his nomination. The canal system had opened up the Midwest and railroads were stringing themselves in all directions, creating towns and economies as they spread. Steamships were regular features on the Great Lakes and the great rivers like the Ohio and Mississippi. American reaping machines amazed visitors to the Paris World’s Fair in 1855 with their ability to cut an acre of grain in a third of the time of European models. By 1860, the United States had become the fourth largest manufacturing country in the world. George Perkins Marsh, perhaps America’s first environmentalist, approved of industrialization but also warned of the dangers of deforestation. Marsh began writing his now classic treatise, Man and Nature, as Lincoln accepted the nomination; once President, Lincoln appointed Marsh minister to Italy. Long-standing Whig principles would become part of Lincoln’s presidential platform.

Yet neither the full House nor Senate could pass a bill and the lack of political and financial support discouraged many companies from participating. The lost opportunity probably hackled Lincoln as the Exhibition showcased such industrial advances as the electrical telegraph, submarine cables, and a new thermoplastic called Parkesine, later renamed Celluloid, which became the basis of Thomas Edison’s motion picture film.

Lincoln quickly moved on to other more pressing matters as the Civil War settled into what would be four years of constant turmoil. But the only president with a patent never gave up on his vision of empowering science and technology in the federal government.

[The above is adapted from my forthcoming book due out in 2022]

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!