Undaunted! Five Philadelphians you should know
Posted on | July 9, 2007 | Comments Off
If you’re looking to get out of the heat, here’s something from today’s Inquirer, the American Philosophical Society is opening an exhibit called “Undaunted: Five American Explorers, 1760-2007.”
All five explorers have ties to Philadelphia, and includes David Rittenhouse (see his orrey at Penn’s Library), John James Audubon, Elisha Kane (whose bio reads a bit like the Northern edition of South), Ruth Patrick, and Titian Peale (who served as chief naturalist on the USS Peacock).
An editorial aside, the Inky article is a bit unfair in its assessment of the Wilkes Expedition — of which the Peacock was part. The expedition was created to explore the South Pacific, Antarctica and the Pacific Coast of North America. In particular, it wasn’t specifically designed to address the “hollow earth” question, but hollow earth proponents hoped it would provide answers. Antarctica and the North Pole were big blank spots on the maps in those days and the poles held a lot of attraction for fantastic speculation. I digress.
The exhibit is running now through December 2008 at the Society’s HQ on 5th and Chestnut, right behind Independence Hall. Hours vary, so check the site.
