Chapter Meeting Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Lunch at Noon
Program at 1:00 pm

Enjoy a lively talk and conversation with Charles Reed and Tom Davis on the controversy of
Lewis and Clark Astronomical Data—Then and Now
Recent calculations have sought to absolve Lewis and Clark of the accusation that they performed poorly in following the astronomical instructions of Patterson and Ellicott. After reviewing those instructions and their outcome—guided by Preston’s 2000 paper in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society—we will examine some mysteries of why the quality of the work took almost two hundred years to be adequately studied.

We will also tour the APS library’s exhibit: of a selection of items from the
APS Library’s Treasures and Map Collection
The library’s website describes the exhibit as including "a draft of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin’s annotated copy of the Articles of Confederation, copies of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense and Rights of Man, as well as British political cartoons lampooning Paine and his politics. Also included are two of the original journals of Lewis and Clark." For more information see the APS website, http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/lobbyexhibit/treasures2010

Tour will begin at 1:00 pm with the talk immediately following.
Meeting is free.

Please meet at the APS Library
105 South Fifth Street
Philadelphia, PA  19103

RSVP to Tom Davis at 610-828-1650 or tdavis6010@comcast.net before Wednesday, September 29th.

August 25 , 2010