Augustus Pleasonton

Augustus James Pleasonton, often called A. J. Pleasonton (January 21, 1808 – July 26, 1894), was a militia general during the American Civil War. He wrote the book The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky, which was published in 1876. This book is often attributed to being the birth of the contemporary pseudoscientific practice of chromotherapy.

Personal life
Augustus Pleasonton was born in Washington D.C. in 1808. He was the second son of Stephen Pleasonton and Mary Hopkins (from Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Mary was the third daughter of John Hopkins, a wealthy farmer and then Senator of the state of Pennsylvania.

Augustus Pleasonton would go on to serve in the military, directly influenced by his father's public and civil service, as would Augustus' younger brother General Alfred Pleasonton, who commanded the Cavalry Corps in the Civil War.

Pleasonton married Caroline Dugan, and the couple had six children who survived infancy. Caroline died on November 25, 1855. In 1864 he married Elizabeth Hoge.

Military service
Pleasonton attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1826. His first posting was at the Artillery School of Practice at Fort Monroe, Virginia. From 1827 he served on topographical duty, resigning in June 1830.

In 1833, he became a brigade major in the Pennsylvania volunteer militia. In 1835 he was elected as colonel of the Regiment of Artillery, First Brigade, and served as assistant adjutant general and paymaster general of the state of Pennsylvania. He became president of the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad in 1839. In July 1844, while engaging armed rioters in Southwark, Pennsylvania, he was wounded by a musket ball to the left groin. He continued serving in the militia until 1845.

Pleasonton was appointed to the rank of brigadier general of the Pennsylvania militia in May 1861, during the Civil War. He commanded a 10,000-strong detachment of home guard infantry, cavalry, and artillery for the defense of the city of Philadelphia.

The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight
Apparently influenced by Robert Hunt's research into the effect of different wavelengths of light on the growth of plants, in his later years, Gen. Pleasonton came to a theory that the blue wavelengths from the sun are inherently unique and that the blue rays from the sun are especially influential in the growth of plant and animal life. He also postulated that blue light was especially significant in the health of humans and helped eradicate disease. This theory is pseudoscientific and was never adopted by mainstream scientists, even in his time, but it is often credited as being the birth of modern chromotherapy. Chromotherapy, also called color therapy, is an alternative medicine therapy method which states that certain colors can influence the health of a person.

His basis for his theory was that plants flourished in the spring time and not in the winter, when the sky was less blue. Between the years 1861 and 1876, he tested this theory by establishing greenhouses to grow grapes and ran experiments on plants and animals. His grape experiment consisted of growing grapes in a greenhouse-like building in which the panes of glass alternated between colourless and blue. He claimed that this method greatly increased his production of grapes.

In 1871 Pleasonton published his findings in a monograph entitled On the Influence of the Blue Color of the Sky in developing Animal and Vegetable Life. After continuing his experiments and expanding his theories, in 1876 he published his main work, the book The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky: In developing animal and vegetable life; in arresting disease, and in restoring health in acute and chronic disorders to human and domestic animals.

"Blue-glass craze"
Pleasonton's theory led to what was called the "Blue-glass Craze", whereby people began growing crops under blue light. Soon, blue panes of glass were being sold as a way to increase crop production.

Chromotherapy
After Pleasonton's findings, scientist Dr. S. Pancoast studied the blue-light phenomenon and described his findings in his book Blue and Red Light; or, Light and Its Rays as Medicine which was published in 1877. Edwin Dwight Babbitt was also influenced by this concept and published a book about chromotherapy in 1878, entitled The Principles of Light and Color.

Pop culture
Alternative-rock band OK Go's concept album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, is influenced by Pleasonton's book.