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Chasing the Papers of Abraham Lincoln

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Papers of Abraham Lincoln logoThe Papers of Abraham Lincoln “is a long-term project dedicated to identifying, imaging, and publishing all documents written by or to Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime (1809-1865).” The Papers is physically located in Springfield, Illinois, and is a project of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. They are co-sponsored by the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield and the Abraham Lincoln Association.

I’ll be in Springfield this month doing research for my new Lincoln book. The staff will show me how to use the database and how to best use the documents found. As Daniel Stowell, the Papers Project Director put it to me:

Much depends on what you are looking for and what you find.  Understand that all of our documents to March 1861 are transcribed and word searchable, but only perhaps one third of the presidential documents have been transcribed.  That’s still some 27,000 documents, so it’s a lot of material.  Most, but not all, of the untranscribed materials will have images attached.

I have a lot of work ahead, but it’s much easier now that the Papers Project has begun organizing, scanning, and transcribing the documents collected from all over the country and the world.

On Lincoln's SideThe impetus for my impending visit was a talk given by Abraham Lincoln himself (in the guise of George Buss) at the Lincoln Group of DC this past December. Joining him was his Chief of Staff, played by former Abraham Lincoln Association President Bob Lenz. It was Lenz who passed my name on to Stowell, after which Stowell invited me out to Springfield. He even sent me two publications, One Lincoln’s Side and On Lincoln’s Mind.

Much is going on with the Papers Project these days. Professional historians and editors like Dan Stowell and Stacy Pratt McDermott (whom I met at the recent Lincoln symposium in Ford’s Theatre) are diligently at work collecting and organizing the papers. Unfortunately, politics has intruded, funding has been severely curtailed, and the project is in danger of not being able to complete its mission. A New York Times editorial describes some of the issues and the travesty of the project being used as a political punching bag.

I’m doing my part by being among the many historians who are showing how valuable the project is by taking advantage of the database.

Here’s how you can help.

[Note that the Papers project has been severely disabled by even more recent budget cuts and personnel removals.]

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Raphael and The School of Athens

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Today* is the birthday of Raffaelo Sanzio da Urbino, or as we better know him, the painter Raphael. A contemporary of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael sometimes gets lost in their long shadows of memory. His art and capability, however, can arguably be said to outshine even those two masters.

I had the pleasure of seeing in person what is perhaps Raphael’s greatest work; it is certainly his best known. The School of Athens is a fresco decorating an entire wall in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

The School of Athens - Ru

It took two years to paint the fresco, all while Michelangelo was down the hall painting the famous ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Raphael also painted many other walls in the Vatican, but The School of Athens was to be the apex of his career.

And he had fun with it. The School is one of four paintings on the walls of the palace depicting the four distinct branches of knowledge (Philosophy, Poetry [including music], Theology, and Law). The actual title given to the fresco is Causarum Cognitio, which translates roughly into “Seeking Knowledge of Causes.” While Raphael left no explanation for the figures, many have been identified as famous philosophers.

Plato and Aristotle detail - Wiki

The only two undisputed figures are the two most obvious in the center of the crowd. Carrying their respective master treatises, Plato (Timaeus) on the left with his protégé Aristotle (Ethics) on the right.Their hand gestures are said to signify central aspects of their philosophies. Plato’s upward point at the vaulted ceiling contrasted with Aristotle’s more down-to-earth horizontal plane positioning. These may suggest a divergence of the two philosophical schools: the elder Plato arguing a sense of timeliness while the younger Aristotle focuses on the present and the physicality of life.

Plato vertically, upward along the picture-plane, into the beautiful vault above; Aristotle on the horizontal plane at right-angles to the picture-plane (hence in strong foreshortening), initiating a powerful flow of space toward viewers. It is popularly thought that their gestures indicate central aspects of their philosophies, for Plato, his Theory of Forms, and for Aristotle, his empiricist views, with an emphasis on concrete particulars. Many interpret the painting to show a divergence of the two philosophical schools. Plato argues a sense of timelessness whilst Aristotle looks into the physicality of life and the present realm.

Of course, since no one knows what Plato actually looked like, Raphael painted him to look a lot like a certain Leonardo da Vinci. Similarly, Aristotle is painted in the visage of sculptor Giuliano da Sangallo.

Beyond these two the identifications get dicier. The following comes from the Wiki page for the painting (click on the link to see the names):

The School of Athens numbered - Wiki

Those that are more or less identified with certainty, in addition to Plato and Aristotle, are Socrates, Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Zoroaster, Raphael (painters love to paint themselves into their art), Sodoma, and Diogenes. Others are more speculative. Since Raphael and Michelangelo were not particularly friendly rivals, the rather frumpy looking depiction of pre-Socrates Greek philosopher Heraclitus (#13 in photo above) just happens to look like Michelangelo.

By the way, the two big sculptures in the background are Apollo (left) and Athena (right).

A quick note about fresco. Derived from the Italian word for “fresh,” fresco is a technique of mural painting in which pigments are mixed in wet lime plaster and applied to walls and ceilings. As the plaster dries it becomes an integral part of the wall. It is notoriously difficult to work with, which is why they are so amazing to see today. Other great examples are down the hall in the Sistine Chapel.

Ironically, today is also the anniversary of Raphael’s death in 1520, apparently caused by a fever caught after a debaucherous night of excessive sex with his mistress. He was only 37. Raphael’s influence was so great that he was buried in Rome’s Pantheon.

*There is some question as to whether his birthday was April 6 or March 28 (Good Friday). Either way, he was born in Urbino, a small but “artistically significant” city in central Italy.

[Photo credits: 1st: Ru Sun; 2nd and 3rd: Wiki]

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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Update on Tesla and Edison

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Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison had a friendly rivalry. Okay, not always so friendly. Having written books on both inventors, I can say that while they had a lot in common (including the tendency to work all night long), they were very different men of invention. Here’s where they stand now.

Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World is scheduled for release in July 2016 and will be available in Barnes and Noble bookstores. In fact, BarnesandNoble.com already has the Nook version listed and available for pre-order!

Next to the Nook button you can click on the button for hardcover to see the new cover design, which looks like this:

Edison cover on BN

If you’re interested in either version of the book please pre-order as soon as you can as this will increase the chances that the publisher will order additional printings to keep it in the stores. To get a teaser, check out 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Thomas Edison.

Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity now has over 65,000 in print in the United States plus is also available in at least two languages. Dutch and German editions (below) were published in 2015, a Turkish edition is in the works, and editions translated into several other languages are in negotiations.

Tesla Wizard Dutch edition

Tesla Wizard German edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can still find Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity in Barnes and Noble stores and at BN.com, as well as through resellers on Amazon. You can also get a signed first edition directly from me. My two Tesla-related e-books can be downloaded on Amazon.com.

Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time

Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This July promises to be a busy month. Not only does the Edison book come out and Tesla books get translated into additional languages, but I’ll be making a pilgrimage to visit Nikola Tesla’s heritage in Belgrade, Serbia.

Stay tuned for more exciting news about both Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Writing Bulgaria, Traveling Serbia, Mourning Brussels, Tesla, Edison and More

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It’s been a hugely busy month of writing, traveling, mourning, Tesla, and Edison. Here’s a quick catch up in case you missed anything.

Writer pyramidHot White Snow: My more “creative” writing, responses to writing prompts, some memoir-ish works, and articles “On Writing.” Featured recently:

IrelandThe Dake Page focuses on communicating science to the general populace, with a sometimes emphasis on climate change. Recent articles:

KotorScience Traveler: Here on my author website I focus on my non-fiction works (Tesla, Edison, Lincoln), plus tips and tales about traveling the world. Several recent posts:

This past month also so a draft cover for my Thomas Edison book due out in July, and I’ll share that with you all shortly. Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World is in the same style and format as my Tesla book. And while I continue with the sample chapters of my Abraham Lincoln book, another potential book offer arose. More on that later.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in July 2016.

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Science Traveling Bulgaria

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Several years ago, while I was still living and working in Brussels, I received a call in the middle of the night telling me that I would need to be in Bulgaria to defend a client’s business venture. Shortly I found myself in Sofia, the capital.

Bulgaria is squeezed in between Romania (where I’ve still never been) and Greece (where I have). Just to the west is Serbia (where I’ll be going this summer). Its language looks like a cross between Greek and Russian. To make matters worse all the street signs were in Bulgarian but the map given to me by the hotel showed the street names only in English. Despite this handicap I was able to find my way around the city, including witnessing the changing of the guard at the presidential palace and a variety of ancient churches. Dominating the skyline is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral:

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria

While grabbing a bite to eat at a street-side cafe I became acquainted with the local beggar boys (to whom a shake of the head means “yes”). While prevalent, it seems they are outnumbered by the approximately 6600 street dogs (to whom shaking of anything seems to be a trigger for gnashing and drooling anything that looks edible).

I was only one afternoon and night in Sofia. The next morning a driver picked me up for the two hour ride to Plovdiv, the “City of the Seven Hills,” where the international meeting I was attending would take place. For the next three days I alternated science lobbying work with nights out on the town (including some variant of belly dancer and the local hard liquor). Plovdiv also is the site of some ancient Roman ruins, not the least of which was an old amphitheater now used as a concert venue:

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

I’m happy to say that the meeting was successful for my client (though he would lose that success two years later after someone else represented him). I’m also happy I had the opportunity to visit such an interesting country, and to do so even before making the acquaintance of friends who hail from there.

Meanwhile, I’m busy planning for the next trips. More on that in future posts.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, now available. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (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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Of Nikola Tesla and Actors

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Yesterday I had a fascinating conversation with actor Bobby Campo about Nikola Tesla. It reminded me of the fascinating connections between actors and the electrical engineer that was the topic of my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity.

Bobby CampoCampo currently plays Seth Branson in the Scream: The TV Series. He also appeared in movies such as Legally Blondes and Final Destination, not to mention roles in various popular TV programs like CSI, CSI:Miami, and Gray’s Anatomy.  We had a pleasant conversation about a wide range of Tesla-related topics. I has impressed by Campo’s technical knowledge; he’s actually done experiments and built a Tesla coil. I gave him some background about my book, suggested he also check out Bernie Carlson’s Tesla book, and hooked him up with the Tesla Science Foundation. I enjoyed our conversation immensely.

James Lee TaylorCampo was sent to me by another actor, James Lee Taylor (aka, Jammy). I first met James when I was asked to advise the Director, Writer, and Cast of the off-Broadway play, TESLA, in 2013. I reviewed the play here, and it went on to a huge hit, completely sold out every night of its run in New York. James Lee Taylor has gone on to star in several acting endeavors, most recently in a guest starring role as the love interest of Gabrielle Union (yes, THAT Gabrielle Union) in the hit BET TV show, Being Mary Jane. Taylor is also a highly sought after model; so much so that it seems every update he posts comes from a different continent.

David Bowie

The fascination with Tesla by actors doesn’t stop there. Pop icon and actor David Bowie played Nikola Tesla in The Prestige, a 2006 movie about magicians featuring other big stars who like Tesla: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Andy Serkis, and Michael Caine. Other actors fascinated by Tesla include prolific actor Jack Dimich, who not only co-starred with James Lee Taylor in the above mentioned TESLA play but plays Tesla in a new documentary in production. Another huge Tesla project is Tower to the People, directed by Joseph Sikorski, one of the biggest supporters of Nikola Telsa and the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe. Sikorski is also the driving force behind another Tesla movie in production, Fragments From Olympus: The Vision of Nikola Tesla.

I’ve been privileged to have been associated with these people. The interest and dedication to keeping Nikola Tesla’s name alive has been a wonderful experience, one that I hope will continue for a long time.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Feeling Brussels

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My feelings about the events of yesterday remind me that I’m coming up on the fifth year anniversary of my return to the states after my 3-year stay in Brussels. It hardly seems possible as I feel it was just yesterday I was admiring the biennial flower carpet in the Grand Place.

Flower carpet in Grand Place

Four months ago I scrambled for news that friends in Paris were safe after the November attacks. Today I repeated the now-too-frequent scurry for information, this time friends and former colleagues in Brussels. In both cases all were fine. My heart then turned to those whom I’ve never met but instantaneously became close to on these fateful days.

Brussels is a beautiful city. In some ways it’s typical of old European cities with its central plaza (the Grand Place), impressive cathedrals, and amazing architecture. In other ways it is supremely atypical. As both the capital of Belgium and the capital of the European Union, the city has the aura of Washington, DC with its international flavor and populace. Away from the old city sits the EU quarter, glass skyscraping office buildings replacing the ancient mix of Gothic, Baroque, and Louis XIV edifices. Like DC, the city features the embassies of virtually every foreign nation. Even Belgians are multinational, with three official languages reflecting its Dutch, French, and German heritages.

I have fond memories of the city, the people, and my former colleagues. I have the urge to see them again, and so will put a return trip on my busy travel calendar. For now, my feelings for the events of yesterday are best represented by one of Brussels’s most iconic landmarks, the Manneken Pis.

Manneken Pis

Until we meet again, mon cher.

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 (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

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Abraham Lincoln – No Other Marks or Brands Recollected

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Abraham Lincoln InstituteThis past weekend I attended a fascinating day at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, where the Abraham Lincoln Institute held its annual full-day symposium, “The Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln.” Little did I expect to hear Lincoln’s advertisement as a slave, with “no other marks or brands recollected.”

Taking place on the stage where John Wilkes Booth boldly declared Sic Semper Tyrannis after assassinating our 16th President, Ford’s Theatre was both a somber and appropriate venue for the symposium. This year the speakers were Sidney Blumenthal, Edna Greene Medford, Louis P. Masur, Stacy Pratt McDermott, and Thomas L. Carson. All were fantastic speakers who discoursed on various aspects of Lincoln’s (and Mary’s) life.

Among the gems of the day was mention by Sidney Blumenthal of a description Lincoln provided to journalist Jesse Fell in late 1859 when Lincoln was preparing to run for president. One portion of the bio says:

If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes—no other marks or brands recollected.

I’ve read this passage many times over the years and yet never made the connection Blumenthal raised, that is, that this is not unlike the kind of newspaper advertisement seen when slave owners were searching for fugitive slaves. It reads like a spec-sheet: height, weight, skin complexion, hair and eye color, and presence or absence of other identifying marks. All the information needed to hunt down human beings attempting to escape from two hundred and fifty years of bondage.

During the break I spoke with Blumenthal (as well as his main source for the passage, eminent historian Michael Burlingame). I thanked him for bringing to light something that seems obvious now that it has been said overtly. Lincoln was, in his own clever way, bringing the role of slavery into the race for the presidency, a race that would pit the new Republican party against a history of racism and pro-slavery sentiment. A race that would, ironically, result in the end of slavery as it existed.

No other marks or brands recollected. The phrase shivers under this cold beam of light.

More on the Symposium can be found here. And the C-SPAN video of Sidney Blumenthal can be seen here: Sidney Blumenthal.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Book Review – Lincoln Inc.: Selling the Sixteenth President in Contemporary America by Jackie Hogan

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Lincoln IncThis book is much more substantive than the colorful cover featuring a Lincoln bobblehead doll might suggest. It starts out light enough, with chapters cataloging various ways Abraham Lincoln is “sold” to the modern public. These include how Lincoln has been adopted by both current political parties, does brisk sales in memorabilia and museum visits (even if much on display is reproduction), and gets featured in a variety of sales pitches. But the book also delves into more scholarly questions such as how Lincoln is presented to the public. Hogan suggests this is mostly as a positive “boy scout” model who rose from meager beginnings to epitomize the American dream while his more negative attributes are ignored.

And she does seem to have some negative opinions. Perhaps because of her background in gender and race studies (she is a sociologist, not a Lincoln scholar), she at times appears to give undue weight to fringe opinions. For example, she laments that opinions on Lincoln’s “racial bigotry” and “suggestions of homosexuality” are largely ignored in biographies and museum displays. While she acknowledges that most public facilities have competing pressures for what they display, she disregards the main reason they are not highlighted; because scholarship tells us they are not supported by the facts.

This particular bias and some other more superficial understanding of Lincoln scholarship, however, should not dissuade people from reading the book. Each chapter ends with a section headed “An Outsider’s Perspective.” It is in these sections that Hogan most adeptly employs her sociologist perspective. Many of her insights, which Lincoln scholars may or may not always agree with, offer up substantive topics for debate that are highly worthwhile.

The book gives us a closer look not only at how we view Lincoln but in how those views reflect our desire to elevate him as an icon of the American Dream. He started low and ended high, as we all would like to believe can be achieved through hard work. This view can be inspiring, but as Hogan notes, can also set unreasonable standards not reflected by modern reality.

A short book (157 pages of text), it nonetheless has extensive endnotes (though most are to published biographies rather than primary literature). An interesting read.

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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Visiting Nikola Tesla in Belgrade

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I’m going to visit Nikola Tesla in Belgrade, Serbia. Last month I mentioned that my originally planned trip to Machu Picchu had hit a snag and that an opportunity to see the Tesla Museum in Belgrade had popped up. After examining the options I decided on Serbia for this July. [A bigger and better trip to Machu Picchu with my friend from Argentina will be done in 2017]

This particular Serbia trip was too good to pass up. Organized by famed Eurocircle travel guru Sherry Kumar in conjunction with an international Tesla Conference , the trip will take us to three countries and a cocktail party with royalty.

HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine

Yup, royalty. After a day of touring around Belgrade we’ll change into formal attire for an evening reception at the Royal Palace with HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine of Serbia. We’ll also get a tour of the royal palace.

While in Belgrade we’ll also visit the Nikola Tesla Museum, whose director I met here in the U.S. some time ago. Since I didn’t have a chance to visit the Museum itself prior to publishing my book, Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity, I’m eager for this chance. We’ll even have dinner in the Bohemian quarter.

Kotor

After Belgrade we’ll head to Montenegro, where we’ll have a chance to see the historic environs of Tivat and the island of Sveti Stefan on the Adriatic Sea, plus travel to see Kotor (photo above), Cetinje, and Lovcen. If that wasn’t enough, we’ll check out the Blue Cave.

The last few days will be spent in famed Dubrovnik, Croatia.

I’ll have a lot more information before and after the trip, which we’ll do in July, but to give you a feel for what we’ll see, check out these cool videos.

It should be an exciting trip. We still have to work out flights into Belgrade and out of Dubrovnik, but the deposit is down and we’re committed to visiting a part of the world I haven’t seen yet.

So who is coming with me?

David J. Kent has been a scientist for thirty-five years, is an avid science traveler, and an independent Abraham Lincoln historian. He is the author of Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (now in its 5th printing) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate. His book on Thomas Edison is due in Barnes and Noble stores in spring 2016.

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[Photo of HRH Prince Alexander and HRH Princess Katherine by By Holger Motzkau 2010, Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons (cc-by-sa-3.0)]