Twain was widely and well-read in several branches of science. He read 
Darwin and reviewed a book on early man in 1871 (Figuier's PRIMITIVE MAN), 
which he annotated in ways that indicate a close reading. He owned several 
books on astronomy -- Martin's FRIENDLY STARS, Proctor's NEW STAR ALTAS 
(with sky charts), and SIDE-LIGHTS ON ASTRONOMY by Newcomb, which he gave to 
a family member (the chapter about Father Hell whose discarded theories were 
proven true centuries later caught his interest). This also brings to mind 
his use of eclipses in CtY, TSA, FTE, Mysterious Stranger, Autobiography, 
and Christian Science and the setting for Capt Stormfield. He gave at least 
four books about birds to his daughters, and he owned at least four books 
about the social lives of wasps and ants. He also owned Clodd's STORY OF 
CREATION, Dirck's LIFE, TIMES & SCIENTIFIC LABOURS, and Gatty's PARABLES 
FROM NATURE.  I own all of the books I've mentioned but I'm sure I've 
forgotten some others. Alan Gribben records many more, and the new edition 
of his book will doubtless increase that number.

Twain also read most of the magazines in which he published -- Harper's 
Monthly and Weekly, North American Review, Century, etc. These mags often 
included stories on science, especially Harper's Weekly, which ran frequent 
in-depth stories on the latest scientific advances. Proving beyond a 
reasonable doubt that Twain read any specific article is not easy, but he 
mentions his magazine readings in passing in his letters and sometimes wrote 
letters to the editor or longer pieces in direct response to something he 
read in a magazine.

So, Twain was conversant in evolution, astronomy, birds, and bugs--but he 
could talk about other things too.

Kevin
@
Mac Donnell Rare Books
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----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 6:24 PM
Subject: Twain and science


>I just finished what there is of the =E2=80=9CSecret History of Eddypus, =
> the World Empire=E2=80=9D for the first time in probably 30 years. I =
> found it just as weird and unfocused as I remembered, but I did notice =
> something in it that had escaped me before: Mark Twain know a lot about =
> science, way more than I had realized.
>
> Although in Eddypus he=E2=80=99s usually getting his facts mixed up =
> (Izaak Walton for Isaac Newton, and so on), he has a very good grasp of =
> the development of science since the 15th century or so. His summary (p. =
> 360 in Fables of Man) of the changes in man=E2=80=99s idea of the =
> universe, and the demotion of Earth from the center of things to =
> =E2=80=9Ca potato lost in limitless vacancy=E2=80=9D is excellent. =
> Elsewhere he talks about spectroscopic analysis of stars to determine =
> what elements they contain: This was cutting-edge science in 1900, and =
> he seems to understand it well. I wonder how many people understand it =
> today, more than a century later?
>
> On a related note, in =E2=80=9CWas the World Made for Man,=E2=80=9D he =
> talks about the millions of years it took to for evolution to produce =
> the oyster. To start, he decides to put the Earth=E2=80=99s age at 100 =
> million years, using Lord Kelvin=E2=80=99s figure. The age of the planet =
> was one of the biggest scientific debates of the time; physicists sided =
> with Kelvin (as did Mark Twain), but geologists said the Earth had to be =
> billions of years old, to accommodate all the changes they were sure had =
> occurred. The discovery of the energy released in nuclear reactions =
> finally solved the problem (in the geologists=E2=80=99 favor), so Twain =
> picked the wrong horse in this debate, but clearly he knew what the =
> issues were at the time =E2=80=93 again, something that most people were =
> probably unaware of.
>
> Anyway, I just thought I=E2=80=99d mention this, since it=E2=80=99s =
> something that had never occurred to me before. I knew Twain read =
> history and so on, but he was also very well-read in science.
>
> -- Bob G.
>
>
>
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