An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Professor Geoffrey Gorham (American Philosophical Association Fellow, 2026)
Cadwallader Colden: A Neglected Scottish-American Nation-Maker
The Scottish-American Cadwallader Colden (1688-1776) is a neglected constitutor of the nation of America, in a least three significant ways:
(i) For many years, Colden was Lieutenant Governor of New York, as well as Surveyor General. Colden was a skillful, even-handed diplomat, especially with the indigenous Iroquois nations, around the Great Lakes, and with the French Canadians, to the North;.
(ii) Colden encouraged women scientists, particularly his own daughter, Jane, who is regarded as the first female American natural scientist.
(iii) Colden promulgated a capacious, non-religious scientific attitude in American universities, such as Columbia, where he was influential, thanks to his Connecticut friend, Samuel Johnson.
His own emendations of Newton's Principia were examined, but largely dismissed, and his final words on Newton's system were never published. A staunch Royalist, Colden was on the wrong side of the American Revolution -- coincidentally, he died in 1776, though he was nearly killed at least once leading up to the Revolution.
Meeting ID: 384 971 962 716 1
Passcode: nV6Rg79e