Religious Scientists: Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J. (1881-1955); Jesuit paleontologist
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) Credit: French Jesuit Archives
If one mentions the name Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the first thing that comes to mind is his philosophical/theological speculation on the evolution of Creation and mankind toward its ultimate Omega Point. During his lifetime (i.e. before the Second Vatican Council), such theories were quite controversial and he was not permitted to publish them. Even today, while many people embrace his writings, others continue to view them with skepticism.
Regardless of one’s views regarding his theology or philosophy, one must also recognize that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was quite an accomplished scientist in the fields of paleontology and geology. He investigated early hominids, and took part in the discovery of Peking Man in China.
Biographical Sketch:
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on the first of May, 1881, into a large French family in the region of Auvergne. His father instilled in him an interest in geology, and his mother encouraged his prayer and spiritual development.
He attended a Jesuit school and then entered the Jesuit order in 1899. He studied philosophy and earned a licentiate in literature in 1902.
He did his Jesuit regency a the College of the Holy Family in Cairo, Egypt, where he taught chemistry and physics.
He studied theology in Hastings, Sussex, England from 1908-1912, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1911.
He took final vows in the Order on 26 May, 1918.
In 1912, he began work on the paleontology of early mammals at the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. This research was associated with academic studies in geology, botany, and zoology at the University of Paris.
It was during his time in Paris that fragments of the infamous “Piltdown Man” were discovered in Sussex, England. Teilhard joined the team to explore the dig site, being taken in by the hoax. After that, colleagues at MNHN encouraged him to study human paleontology. This new direction would eventually take him to dig sites around the world.
His work was interrupted from 1914-1918 due to World War I. He served as a stretcher bearer, and earned several honors for his service.
In 1920, the became a lecturer in geology at the Catholic University of Paris. He earned his doctorate in 1922.
In 1923 he joined Fr. Emile Licent S.J. on his first expedition to China, and would then spend the periods 1926-1935 and 1939-1945 in that country, studying the geology of the region. It was during the period 1926-1935 that he joined the excavation that discovered Peking Man.
He returned to France in 1946, but later moved to the United States, hoping to find a more receptive audience for his ideas there.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin died of a heart attack on April 10, 1955 in New York City.
Beginning as early as the time of his theology studies in Sussex, he was captivated by the idea of developing theological and philosophical concepts around new information and theories about human evolution and mankind’s spiritual relationship with the created world as a product of evolution. This led to the concept of the noosphere and the Omega Point; ideas that he would pursue throughout his life. He wrote several books and essays on the subject, including The Phenomenon of Man and The Divine Milieu. He did not receive permission to publish during his lifetime, so these books were published posthumously.
In the period preceding the Second Vatican Council, any innovative theology that incorporated any modernist ideas at all was considered suspect. It is worth noting that, during this period, the works of such theologians as Karl Rahner and Yves Congar were also sanctioned. Those two then served as periti during the Second Vatican Council, and their thought can be found throughout the Conciliar documents. One wonders if, had Teilhard lived to see the Council, he might also have played a role.
Today, while some endorse his ideas and others still find it problematic, the taint of unorthodoxy has dissipated. Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have made positive references to Teilhard’s writings.
Scientific Contributions:
Skull of Homo erectus pekinensis (Peking Man), discovered by Teilhard's team in 1929.
Peking Man: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was part of a team (along with Davidson Black, C. C. Young, and Pei Wenchung) excavating a cave site known as Choukoutien, in China’s Beijing province. In December of 1929, they uncovered a skull. This skull was later joined by four others. The specimens (known as “Peking Man”) belonged to the hominid Homo erectus pekinensis, and are now considered the closest relative to Java Man (Homo erectus erectus). Teilhard established the geological era of the inhabitation at about 750,000 years ago. With Henri Brueil, Teilhard determined that this hominid used fire and manipulated stone tools.
This site remains one of the largest finds of Homo erectus.
Teilhard de Chardin also visited numerous other excavation sites where other early hominids had been uncovered.
Paleontology: Much of Teilhard de Chardin’s scientific study, particularly his early work in Paris, focused on the paleontology of early mammals. These were mammals of what was then considered the middle tertiary period (approx. 20-35 million years ago).
Geology: Teilhard de Chardin extensively studied the geology of China on at least five geological expeditions throughout the country. He improved understanding of China’s sedimentary deposits and established approximate ages for various layers. He also produced a geological map of China.
The primate genus Teilhardina is named for him.
Specola Guestbook: May 10, 1912 – Frederick H. Seares
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from May 10, 1912, when Frederick Seares made a visit.
Frederick H. Seares (1873-1964)
Next to his name, Frederick Hanley Seares (1873-1964) wrote, "Mount Wilson Solar Observatory, California." He had been at the observatory since 1909, and would remain there until 1945.
Seares researched a number of areas of astronomy, including variable stars, comets, and galaxies.
One of his most significant astronomical contributions is the establishment of standards for the system of stellar magnitude and its extension for stars beyond 18th magnitude.
He also studied the relative brightnesses of spiral nebulae (galaxies) compared to the Milky Way, and the attenuation and reddening of starlight passing through interstellar gas and dust.
He was elected president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1929, and was awarded the Society's Bruce medal in 1940.
There is a crater named for him on the Moon, as well as the asteroid 11766 Fredseares.
Specola Guestbook: April 6, 1912 – Stanislas Meunier
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from April 6, 1912, when Stanislas Meunier made a visit.
Stanislas Meunier (1843-1925) frieze by Lecomte de Noûy, 1920.
Next to his name, Stanislas-Étienne Meunier (1843-1925) wrote, "Muséum Paris." He was the chair of Geology at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN) in Paris, France.
In my field of meteoritics, his contributions are not insignificant. He compared the chemical compositions of meteorites with those elements identified in solar spectra. He recognized that (except for the most volatile elements) the elemental composition of meteorites closely matches that of the Sun. From this, he concluded that the overall composition of the solar system is effectively uniform.
He also introduced experimental geology as a distinct field of science. He contributed much to our understanding of the geology of the Paris Basin.
Specola Guestbook: March 30, 1912 – Russell Crawford
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from March 30, 1912, when Russell T. Crawford made a visit.
Next to his name, Russell Tracy Crawford (1876-1958) wrote, "University of California, Berkeley, Calif. U.S.A." He was an astronomer who spent most of his career at U.C. Berkeley.
His interest in astronomy began at a young age; he had joined an eclipse expedition at age twelve. He earned the University of California's first Ph.D. in astronomy, based on research conducted at Lick Observatory. (He also had one of the first fellowships granted by the observatory.)
He became president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1914, and also served as chair of the International Astronomical Union (IAU)'s Committee on Calendar Reform.
He is the author of The Determination of Orbits of Comets and Asteroids (1930), which served as a standard reference for many years.
At the time of his visit to the Specola, he was spending the academic year devoted to advanced study at the University of Berlin.
Religious Scientists: Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller B.V.M. (1913-1985) – Computer Science
When I was little, my dad bought an Apple II+ computer. Every Christmas, my uncle would send us a pack of computer games on 5.25-inch floppy disks. We spent countless hours playing those games on its primitive green pixelated screen. It was fun to play games made by somebody else, but even better was when I learned to make the computer do what I wanted it to do, with a little programming. I learned a very simple computer language called Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, or BASIC. With it, I made my own games, limited only by my imagination and skill. For the freedom that programming in BASIC gave me, I have to thank a nun: Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller.
Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller, B.V.M. (1913-1985) Source: Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Biographical Sketch:
She was born Evelyn Marie Keller on Dec 17, 1913 (different sources disagree on this date) in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1932, she joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where she took the name Mary Kenneth, and she professed vows in 1940.
She then went to DePaul University in Chicago, where she received a B.S. in mathematics in 1943, and continued on to receive an M.S. in mathematics and physics in 1953.
During her graduate studies, she was also affiliated with other universities, including Dartmouth, Purdue, the University of Michigan, and the University of Wisconsin. She was part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's brand-new computer science program, and received its first Ph.D. on June 7, 1965.
This makes her one of the first two people in the United States to receive a doctorate in computer sciences (Irving Tang at Washington University in St. Louis received a Sci.D. on the same day), and perhaps the first woman ever to receive a Ph.D. in the field. (She is certainly the first woman in the U.S. to do so, but I am having difficulty confirming the fact worldwide.)
After finishing her degree, the Sisters of Charity of the B.V.M. assigned her to Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. There, she founded and directed the computer science department, where she stayed for the next 20 years. During this time, she was a strong advocate both for women in computer sciences and for the use of computing resources in education. She founded the Association of Small Computer Users in Education.
She died on January 10, 1985.
Scientific Contributions:
Sr. Mary Kenneth Keller is most noteworthy for her role in helping develop the BASIC computer programming language. She had received an exception from what was then male-only Dartmouth College to attend their National Science Foundation workshop on computer science. At this workshop, she worked with John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz on the implementation of the BASIC kernel.
Keller also anticipated the ubiquity of computing in fields outside of computer science, as well as the development of artificial intelligence.
The computer center at Clarke University is named in her honor. The university has also endowed a computer science scholarship that bears her name.
Specola Guestbook: January 18, 1912 – Nello Venturi Ginori
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from January 18, 1912, when Nello Venturi Ginori made a visit.
Next to his name, Nello Venturi Ginori Lisci (1884-1943) wrote simply, "Firenze" (Florence).
He was part of an Italian noble family from the region of Florence, the son of Ippolito Venturi Ginori, and apparently a descendent of King James I.
He studied astronomy in university, but from 1908-1911 he bowed to family pressure and became a banker in Argentina. At the time of his visit to the Specola, he had returned to Florence and was looking to get back into astronomy. He was accompanied on the visit by Giorgio Abetti, of the Observatory of the Roman College. (Please see the previous Specola Guestbook post on Giorgio Abetti. Also, Abetti wrote the memorial for him after his death.)
His astronomical interests involved variable stars, sunspots, and comets. He constructed an observatory in Belmonte, equipping it with an 8-inch Cooke equatorial refractor. He also collaborated with the observatory at Arcetri (near Galileo's villa). He also made contributions to meteorology and geodesy. In 1913-1914, he joined an Italian scientific expedition to the Himalayas, serving as the group's meteorologist.
Specola Guestbook: Dec 1, 1911 – Charles G. Abbot
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from the first of December, 1911, when Charles G. Abbot made a visit.
Charles Greeley Abbot (1873-1974)
Next to his name, Charles Greeley Abbot (1872-1973) wrote, "Director Astrophysical Observatory, Washington D.C."
At the time of his visit, he was director of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). He was the observatory's second director, succeeding its founder Samuel Pierpont Langley in 1907. In 1928 he would become the fifth Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, but also remained director of the SAO until his retirement in 1944.
While director of the SAO, Abbot oversaw the construction of an observatory facility atop Mount Whitney, in California. His research focused mostly on the Sun and solar radiation. He participated in several eclipse expeditions. He carefully measured the quantity and character of solar energy output over time. He was the first to use automated measurement devices on high-altitude balloons to conduct his studies of solar radiation. He also oversaw the construction of solar observation outposts in several other places around the world. Later in life, he correlated variation in solar output with climate effects on Earth. His data were critical for the first studies of the greenhouse effect.
Under his tenure as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and despite the effects of the Great Depression, he managed to oversee many improvements to the museum. It was during his tenure that the National Museum of Natural History was constructed, and the Institute for Social Anthropology was acquired and incorporated into the Smithsonian.
He held seventeen patents for inventions related to utilizing solar energy for practical purposes. These include the solar still, the solar cooker, and the solar boiler.
He was also a man of faith. A devoted protestant, he served as a deacon in his church.
There is a crater on the Moon named for him.
Specola Guestbook: July 21, 1911 – Joel Metcalf
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from July 21, 1911, when Joel Metcalf made a visit.
Joel H. Metcalf (1866-1925) Source: Old Colony History Museum
Next to his name, Rev. Joel Hastings Metcalf (1866-1925) wrote "Winchester, Mass." He was a Unitarian minister and an avid amateur astronomer who specialized in hunting asteroids and comets.
Between 1905 and 1914, he discovered 41 asteroids and several comets. He was a member of the visiting committees of the Harvard Observatory and the Ladd Observatory (Brown U.)
The asteroids 726 Joëlla and 792 Metcalfia (both among the 41 he discovered) are named for him, and several of the comets he discovered also bear his name.
Specola Guestbook: June 21, 1911 – Robert S. Woodward
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from June 21, 1911, when Robert S. Woodward made a visit.
Robert S. Woodward (1849-1924) Source: American Mathematical Society
Next to his name, Robert Simpson Woodward (1849-1924) wrote, "President Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C."
From 1884-1890, he was an astronomer for the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1890-1893, he served in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, during which he developed an inexpensive technique that improved how base lines are established. Following that, he was a professor of mechanics and mathematical physics at Columbia University until 1905, when he became the second president of the Carnegie Institution (after Daniel C. Gilman). During his tenure, the scientific reputation of the Carnegie Institution grew.
Woodward also served as president of the American Mathematical Society, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and served on the Naval Consulting Board.
[Note: As far as I can tell, Robert Simpson Woodward is not related to Robert Upshur Woodward, the journalist for the Washington Post who reported on the Nixon Watergate scandal.]
Religious Scientists: Fr. Roger Boscovich S.J., F.R.S. (1711-1787) – Atomic Theory
Roger Boscovich S.J. (1711-1787) Portrait by R. Edge Pine, 1760.
Fr. Roger Joseph Boscovich S.J. was one of the last great polymaths. His areas of study and work include physics, mathematics, atomic theory, celestial mechanics, geodesy, philosophy, theology, architecture, poetry, and more.
Biographical Sketch
Ruđer Josip Bošković was born May 18, 1711 to a merchant family in Dubrovnik, in what is today Croatia. He attended the Jesuit school in Dubrovnik. In 1725, he traveled to Rome to study at the Roman College, and in 1731 entered the Jesuit order. He was ordained a priest in 1744.
He showed aptitude for mathematics and the natural sciences, and from 1740-1759 served as a professor of mathematics at the Roman College. It is during this time that he made many of his more significant scientific contributions.
In 1742, Pope Benedict XIV requested Boscovich’s input on a little problem. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica was developing cracks. Boscovich recommended securing the dome with iron bands, which was then implemented successfully. This led him to be consulted on other such projects.
Boscovich was well studied on the latest physics from contributors such as Isaac Newton, and promoted Newton's works in continental Europe. He also successfully petitioned Benedict XIV to remove Copernicus’s works from the Index of forbidden books.
In 1759, the Jesuit superior general Lorenzo Ricci named Boscovich a Jesuit Visitor, for which he traveled to Paris and London. His visit to London also had a diplomatic dimension, serving as ambassador to ease tensions between the British government and his native Ragusa. In 1764 he became professor of mathematics at Pavia, near Milan. In 1765 he helped establish the observatory of Brera, and he became its first director in 1770.
In 1773, an event occurred that would deeply affect not only Roger Boscovich, but every Jesuit alive at the time. Pope Clement XIV, bowing to political pressure from Portugal, Spain, and France, formally suppressed the order. (The suppression would not be lifted until 1814, many years after Boscovich’s death.)
At this time, Boscovich was invited by King Louis XV of France to relocate to Paris and become the director of optics for the French Navy.
In 1782, after some disputes with Laplace and other rivals over scientific priority, he left France and returned to Milan. He died there of lung disease on Feb 13, 1787.
Scientific Contributions
Atomic Theory: While Boscovich’s early atomic models have been superseded by modern atomic theory, he was the first to develop a plausible scientific model for the theory of the atom. Unlike many of his predecessors, he rejected the idea of the atom as an extended indivisible body. Instead, each atom was a point particle that interacted with other atoms though forces that acted at a distance. (Some have also called this a precursor to field theories.)
Interatomic forces varied in direction (attractive / repulsive) and strength at varying distances. At larger distances, the force manifested as the gravitational attraction described by Newton. At close interatomic distances, at certain distances the force was attractive, allowing atoms to come together in coherent structures, but at closer distances it became repulsive again, preventing atoms from collapsing into one another. Repulsive forces between component atoms are also why extended bodies appear solid.
This work was published under the title Philosophiae naturalis theoria redacta ad unicam legem virium in natura existentium. (The Theory of Natural Philosophy derived to the Single Law of Forces which Exist in Nature.)
Celestial Mechanics: In 1746 he had developed a method for calculating the orbit of a comet from three observations of its position.
He developed a method for determining the equator of a rotating body from three observations of a given point on the surface.
Planetary Science: He used the method of stellar occultations to determine that the Moon has no atmosphere. [Insert joke about lunar restaurants]. He published this in 1753 in De lunæ atmosphæra dissertatio. The method of stellar occultation is still the standard technique of studying the atmospheric densities of distant objects, such as Pluto.
His other contributions are many. He organized observations of the transits of Venus and Mercury. He measured gravity anomalies (variations in the strength of the local gravitational field) along the surface of the Earth. He developed ways of measuring the limits of telescope resolution. He studied aurorae. He made improvements to the achromatic telescope and the ring micrometer. His mathematical contributions helped Legendre develop the principle of least squares. His contributions go on, but I haven’t had a chance to research them all.
He was named a member of the Royal Society of London in 1761. He was also a member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences.
There is a lunar crater named for him, as is the asteroid 14361 Boscovich.
Of him, Pope Benedict XVI said (Address in Croatia, June 4, 2011):
I would like to single out Father Ruđer Josip Bošković…. He is a good illustration of the happy symbiosis of faith and scholarship, each stimulating the other through research that is at the same time open, diversified and capable of synthesis. … In Bošković, there is analysis, there is study of multiple branches of knowledge, but there is also a passion for unity. This is typical of Catholic culture. … The experts say that his theory of “continuity”, which holds true both in the natural sciences and in geometry, accords well with some of the great discoveries of modern physics. What are we to say? Let us pay tribute to the illustrious Croat, but also to the true Jesuit; let us pay tribute to the cultivator of truth who knows how far the truth surpasses him, but who also knows, in the light of truth, how to engage fully the resources of reason with which he has been endowed by God himself.
Specola Guestbook: April 20, 1911 – George C. Comstock
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from April 20, 1911, when George C. Comstock made a visit.
George C. Comstock (1855-1934). [Source: Stebbins, J. (1938) "Biographical Memoir of George Cary Comstock." National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoirs 20:160-182.]
As an astronomer, he mostly studied stellar aberration, atmospheric refraction, and the proper motion of double stars. He was a founding member of the American Astronomical Society in 1899 and was a coauthor of its constitution. He served as its first secretary, and in 1925 was elected president.
In 1899 he became a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Specola Guestbook: March 20, 1911 – P. H. Cowell
Since its founding in 1891, many people have passed through the doors of the Vatican Observatory. A quick perusal of our guestbook reveals several Names, including Popes, nobel laureates, astronauts, actors, and saints.
Today's guestbook entry is from March 20, 1911, when P. H. Cowell made a visit.
Next to his name, Philip Herbert Cowell F.R.S. (1870-1949) wrote, "Nautical Almanac Office, Gray's Inn, London."
He was superintendent of the H.M. Nautical Almanac Office, part of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, from 1910-1930.
As an astronomer, he was particularly dedicated to celestial mechanics, computing and refining the orbits of many comets and other solar system bodies. He developed a method for computing perturbations in an orbit that proved to be both relatively simple and robust. He is known for refining the orbit of the moon and resolving a discrepancy between its observed orbit and its theoretical orbit.
He also showed that the supposed perturbations of the orbit of Neptune--that suggested the existence of an undiscovered planet beyond its orbit--were erroneous and disappeared when all effects were accounted for. (Ironically, the search for the nonexistent "Planet X" did coincidentally result in the discovery of Pluto.)
He discovered the asteroid 4358 Lynn.
The asteroid 1898 Cowell is named for him.