John Cleves Symmes, Jr.

John Cleves Symmes, Jr. (1779 – May 1829) was an American army officer whose 1818 Hollow Earth theory, expounded on the lecture circuit, gained him considerable notoriety.

Biography

Symmes was born in New Jersey to Timothy Symmes. In some local dealings he used the name Junior to distinguish himself from his prominent uncle John Cleves Symmes. His cousin, Anna Harrison briefly served as First Lady of the United States. He died in May 1829 and is buried in Symmes Park at Hamilton, Ohio. His son, Americus Symmes, erected a Hollow Earth monument above his grave.

He was commissioned as an ensign in the 1st Infantry Regiment of the United States Army on 26 March 1802, was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on 1 May 1804, 1st lieutenant on 29 July 1807 and to captain on 20 January 1813, during the War of 1812. [1] He was stationed along the Canadian frontier, at both Fort Niagara and Fort Erie. He served in the Army until his death.

Hollow Earth theory

His 1818 theory of a Hollow Earth, envisioning a shell about 1250 km (800 mi) thick, with openings at both poles about 2200 km (1400 mi) across with four inner shells also open at the poles, made his name famous/notorious.

Some have claimed he was the real author of: Symzonia; Voyage of Discovery,[2] which was attributed to "Captain Adam Seaborn". A recent reprint gives him as the author. Other researchers argue against this idea. Some think it was written as a satire of Symmes' ideas, and believe they identified the author as an early American writer named Nathaniel Ames who wrote other works, including one that might have served as the inspiration of Moby Dick. (see Lang, Hans-Joachim and Benjamin Lease. "The Authorship of Symzonia: The Case for Nathanial Ames" New England Quarterly, June 1975, pg 241-252.)

Symmes himself never wrote a book of his ideas, as he was too busy expounding them on the lecture circuit, but others did. His follower James McBride wrote and published Symmes' Theory of Concentric Spheres in 1826. Another follower, Jeremiah N. Reynolds apparently had an article that was published as a separate booklet in 1827: Remarks of Symmes' Theory Which Appeared in the American Quarterly Review. In 1868 a professor W.F. Lyons published The Hollow Globe which put forth a Symmes-like Hollow Earth theory, but did not mention Symmes. Symmes's son Americus then republished The Symmes' Theory of Concentric Spheres to set the record straight.

Family

Symmes was probably the father of John Cleves Symmes (born in Kentucky circa 1827) who graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1847 and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment.

Symmes served as an assistant professor of geography, history, and ethics at West Point from 1847 to 1849 and transferred to the Ordnance Corps in 1849. He then served as an assistant ordnance officer at the Watervliet Arsenal in New York from 1850 to 1853. He was promoted to first lieutenant in July 1853. He was then placed in charge of the armament of the fortifications on the Rio Grande, Texas, from 1853 to 1854 and as assistant ordnance officer at Washington Arsenal, D. C., from 1854 to 1855.

He returned to West Point as Principal Assistant Professor of Geography, History, and Ethics from September 28, 1855, to August 16, 1856. He served as Assistant Ordnance Officer at Watertown Arsenal, Massachusetts from 1856 to 1859. He was then placed in command of Leavenworth Ordnance Depot in Kansas from 1859 to 1860.

He took a leave of absence in Europe from 1860 to 1861. He was promoted to captain in the Ordnance Corps on July 1, 1861. He retired from active service on November 1, 1861 for disability resulting from disease and exposure in the line of duty. [3]

Legacy

Compare a fictional echo of Symmes in Ian Wedde's Symmes Hole (1987); and a focus on both Symmes and Reynolds in James Chapman's Our Plague: A Film From New York (1993).

John Cleves Symmes also makes an appearance in Rudy Rucker's steampunk novel, The Hollow Earth, and in Felix J. Palma's The Map of the Sky.

Samuel Highgate Syme, the subject of The Syme Papers in Benjamin Markovits' book of the same name, is based on John Cleves Symmes.

References

  1. ↑ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903. Vol. 1, pg. 942.
  2. ↑ ISBN 0-405-06312-1
  3. ↑ http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1331*.html

External links