Observations on Paine and his Interest in things Scientific 

By R. W. Morrell – Malacologist and Honorary Secretary of the Thomas Paine Society. 

THE BICENTENARY OF the erection of what was probably the first iron bridge in the world took place in July, 1979, and moved a writer in the Daily Telegraph to draw attention to Thomas Paine’s interest in the use of iron for the construction of bridges. (Daily Telegraph. 1/7/1979) Paine spent considerable time, effort and money to promote his ideas for bridge construction, but failed to find either individuals or governments to back him financially. Many words of praise for his ideas flowed out but these words were not backed by deeds. 

Paine’s interest in the problems of bridge building was stimulated; he considered the difficulties present in erecting a bridge across Schuylkill River. According to Paine, “the vast quantities of ice and melted snow at the breaking of the frost in that part of America render it impractical to erect a bridge on piers” over the river. To surmount these difficulties he proposed a bridge made from iron. Nothing, however, came of this suggestion, and it was to be in England some years later that Paine took out a patent on his design (specification of patents No.1667 of 17- 86).

The second iron bridge to be erected in Britain was over the River Wear at Monswearmouth, and opened to the public as a toll bridge in 1796. For many years this bridge was thought to have been based on Paine’s technique, and some parts of a bridge made for Paine do appear to have been incorporated into it, while men used by Paine, and a firm employed by him, also used by the people behind the Wear bridge. However, a study of the history and techniques by S.T. Miller has clearly demonstrated that the bridge was constructed according to the ideas drawn up and patented by Rowland Burdon (specification No. 2066 of 1795). Burdon’s idea was to use iron in the same manner as stone (the first (?) ironbridge at Coalbrookdale was based upon the principles of wood construction), whereas Paine’s project was, as Miller notes, more appreciative of the potentialities of iron. Miller refers to the Presidential Address to the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1905 by Charles Schmeider, in which it was pointed out Paine’s design was of the modern girder type, so modern in concept it was “the prototype of the modern steel bridge.” (Miller, S.T. “The Second Iron Bridge.” TPS. Bulletin. 5.2. 1975. pp.5-11.)

Paine’s fame as a writer on social, political and religious themes plus his controversial activities, has tended to obscure his passionate interest in scientific matters. Paine was perhaps the first person to recognise the critical implications of the growing stream of scientific discoveries to religion, using these to attack Christianity in The Age of Reason point of fact this work is fundamentally “a democratic treatise” aimed at the “politico-religious ruling class” of his day. (Morrell, R.W. “The Relevance of The Age of Reason for Today.” TPS. Bulletin. 3.2. 1968 .pp.10-14.) Taking a broad look at Paine’s published works and his letters, it becomes clear that his attitude towards science would not be out of place among advanced thinkers today. He looked upon scientific work from a very practical angle, measuring its value in terms of use; he was essentially a technologist rather than a scientist proper. 

In The Age of Reason Paine states that “the natural bent of my mind was to science.” (Paine, T. The Age of Reason. Pioneer Press, London. p.33.) He claimed that the human mind “has a natural disposition to scientific knowledge, and the things connected to it.” (Ibid. p.29.) “Natural philosophy,” remarks Paine, “embraces the whole circle of science,” (6. Ibid. p.23.) and this “is the study of the works of God…” Paine went on to say that “natural philosophy, mathematical and mechanical sciences, are a continual source of tranquil pleasure….the study of these things is the study of true theology…” (Ibid. p.86.) Our knowledge of Paine’s frantic efforts to obtain backing for his bridge project suggests that not every situation involving science brought a sense of tranquility, whatever he might claim. The practical of Paine’s approach to science was reflected in the friendship of Benjamin Franklin with him, and it is worth noting that in the letter of recommendation from Franklin that Paine took with him to the American colonies, as they then were, when he left England in 1774, was the suggestion that potential employers might find him a good “assistant surveyor.” 

It was not as an “assistant surveyor” that Paine found employment on his arrival in the colonies, he turned instead to journalism, being appointed editor of the newly established Pennsylvania Magazine. Under his editorship the journal flourished, and its content matter included a series of technologically oriented articles, most of which Paine appears to have written himself. Illustrations. included plates showing, among other things, a new type of threshing machine, something likely to attract the agricultural readership. With the farmers in mind again he published also an article on methods to be employed to improve the fertility of the soil. Paine’s attitude towards labour saving inventions prompted his biographer, Audrey Williamson, to recognise in him “the true American.” (Williamson, Audrey. Thomas Paine, His Life, Work and Times. Allen & Unwin, 1973. p.67.) 

In one article Paine speculated about the potential wealth which might be tapped if America expanded westward. This line of thought was prompted by a visit he paid to examine the geological collection of the Library Company of Philadelphia. A.O. Aldridge calls this “a fossil collection,” which in fact it was not. (Aldridge, A.O. Man of Reason. Cresset Press, 1960. p.31.) Paine himself refers to it as being mainly European, with the American section consisting of “several specimens of earth, clay, sand, etc., with some account of each, and where brought from. (Paine, T. Miscellaneous Letters and Essays on Various Subjects. Sherwin, London, 1817. p.9.) In the terminology of 18th century geology, fossils were generally called “petrifications, ” and could also be termed minerals. We might bear in mind here that the actual word geology was not introduced by J.A.de Luc until 1778. (Woodward, H.B. The History of the Geological Society of London. London, 1908. p.1.) When Paine wrote his geological essay, in which he displays a grasp of geological time far more modern in concept than many of his contemporary colleagues who displayed greater interest in the subject, the literature on American geology was very limited, and the first proper geological study of any part of the country, “Beytrage zur mineralogischen Kenntniss des ostlichen Theils von Nord-Amerika und seiner Geburge”, by Johann David Schopf, was not published until 1787, and then in Germany. Paine betrays no indication of having heard of this work in his later works, and even if he had he did not read German. Paine was not the only individual unfamiliar with the book, few geologists knew of it, and a full English translation did not appear until 1972. However, he may well have met the author. Schopf served as a surgeon on the British side during the War of Independence, and following its conclusion he stayed on and spent the better part of a year doing an extensive geological tour. During this time he met various leaders of American scientific life, including Paine’s friends, Benjamin Rush and David Rittenhouse. Schopf left America in 1784, three years before Paine did. As mineralogy was rather less specialised in meaning than it is now, Schopf’s book took in all aspects of geology as it was then known, though the title of his book when rendered into English is Contributions to the mineralogical knowledge. (Hafner, New York, 1972.) This same broad meaning is to be found in Paine’s magazine article, which appeared in the February 1775 issue of the Pennsylvania Magazine. One wonders whether Schopf also visited the collection which so interested Paine.