"SCIENTIFIC TRUTH, RIGHTLY UNDERSTOOD, IS RELIGIOUS TRUTH": THE LIFE AND WORKS OF REVEREND EDWARD HITCHCOCK, 1793-1864

Abstract

Reverend Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864) was an important figure in 19th century American science. He contributed to the fields of geology and paleontology, and was the founder of paleoichnology. The overriding passion of Hitchcock's life was the reconciliation of science with evangelical Protestant Christianity. For most of his career, he located all of geological time in a "gap" between the first two verses of Genesis, but later tended to view the Creation days themselves as symbolic. Hitchcock also dealt intensively with the scientific understanding of Noah's flood. At first, he advocated a Deluge covering the entire planet. Subsequently, he held that the Deluge only affected the portion of the planet inhabited by humanity during the time of Noah. Hitchcock used evidence from science to support both natural and revealed religion. He combined this synthesizing with an increasingly extravagant romanticism, and confidently looked forward to continuing his scientific investigations in Heaven.