Talk:Nathaniel Bowditch

Initial comments
I am new to Wikipedia, and I am trying to add a discussion comment to Nathaniel Bowditch but not by any means edit the well-written article.

Nathaniel Bowditch is the subject of a wonderful Newberry Medal book titled, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch contains fascinating background information about Salem and navigation in the 1700s, providing a valuable context for Mr. Bowditch's contributions and allowing the reader to more fully understand just how remarkable and important they were.

It is quite inspiring to read how Nathaniel Bowditch, who experienced many traumatic events in his youth and childhood, triumphed and made such a meaningful - albeit a bit obscure - contribution to mankind. —This unsigned comment was added by 141.156.144.117 (talk • contribs).


 * Yes, a very much contribution for-mankind. —This unsigned comment was added by 65.81.4.183 (talk • contribs).

My daughters and I were delighted with this encouraging, enlightening biography of a real genius who modernized and improved navigation exponentially. Maritime Navigation is something I had little understanding of, and had taken for granted, before having read this book on his life. Wonderful! We are now Nathaniel Bowditch fans, in our home. Also greatly improved our knowledge of geography. - Jennifer Szuter -


 * For others who have read "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch", bear in mind that this is a dramatization. Its descriptions of navigation and Bowditch's contributions to the subject are thoroughly misleading. The scene in the book where he rushes about on the deck of a ship, waking his captain, and experiencing a "eureka" moment where he discovers a new way of working lunars is sheer fantasy. Bowditch didn't invent this method, though he did develop a nice mathematical shortcut that was fairly popular for a few years. Naturally, the book would be dull if it had Bowditch sitting at his desk saying "hmmm, here's an interesting trigonometric identity that I could use to work lunars in a slightly different way." Many other aspects of Bowditch's life are fictionalized in "Carry On..." If you decide you're interested in the real story after reading this version, there is no better biography of Nathaniel Bowditch than "Yankee Stargazer" by Berry.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.148.18.151 (talk) 01:30, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" which I read when in grade school was for years all I knew about the man, and I only later discovered how much of what I thought I knew was false! A better understanding of the actual Mr. Bowditch can be gained by reading any edition of Bowditch. I own 1872, 1938 and 1963. Snezzy (talk) 15:55, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Honorary Degree
Harvard awarded Nathaniel Bowditch an honorary Master's Degree. Correct me if I am wrong, but otherwise I will add this information to the article. Tetty2 01:28, 25 June 2007 (UTC) I am reading Carry on Mr, Bowditch as a school assignment if you ever plan on readin it DONT get revised !! it is a great story and something anyone interested in learnig is advised !!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.137.150.176 (talk) 14:04, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

Schooner named after him
A Maine-built schooner from 1922 was renamed after Bowditch in 1972. She sails out of Rockland ME in the windjammer tourist trade. Details at http://www.windjammervacation.com/history.html and perhaps some day I'll get around to adding something about her. Snezzy (talk) 15:49, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Date Discrepancy
If I have time I'll try and fix this in the next couple days: The page says Mr. Bowditch died in 1838, yet "One of his favorite people who worked on the ship was Rachel Elizabeth Probst, whom he liked for her perseverance and wittiness. He was very happy when she got married in 1849." [He can't have known she was married after his death.] Hope this gets fixed Wikiiscool123 (talk) 17:56, 16 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Might have been a vandal / prank from an IP anon. No other edits. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nathaniel_Bowditch&diff=626110354&oldid=626108100 --Dual Freq (talk) 18:27, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Mostly legend; mediocre history
This article is largely a legendary account of Bowditch. The article begins by saying "He is often credited as the founder of modern maritime navigation". But this is emphatically untrue. The exact wording avoids error by a loophole with the expression "often credited" (though this fails Wikipedia standards since it requires a reference... often credited "by whom"?). Sticking to the facts, there were numerous navigation manuals comparable to Bowditch from the earliest editions of his book onward. If Nathaniel Bowditch had never lived, the history of "maritime navigation" would be largely unchanged. In addition, the opening paragraph claims that "his book" is carried on every USN vessel. This is grossly misleading since the book was radically transformed starting as early as 1880. It is "his book" in name only; in the same sense that an old sailing vessel that has had every splinter of wood replaced is still known by its original name and sometimes referred to as the "same vessel". Today's "Bowditch" (the book) has no significant connection to Nathaniel Bowditch, the author/editor of the early editions 200 years ago. Furthermore, the description of the "New American Practical Navigator" as a "new book" authored by Bowditch is misleading. The original book was a re-write, a re-editing, an American-ized version of Moore's "New Practical Navigator" and, in fact, many of the new sections were copied wholesale from other English works on navigation. Finally, the statement that Bowditch would not "put down in the book nothing I can't teach the crew" is yet another repetition of legend. There are numerous sections in the book that are quite irrelevant to a practical navigator, and this line is actually advertising copy. Bowditch was not some lone-genius mathematician. He was carefully managed by Edmund Blunt who was the marketing expert and salesman behind the book in its earliest editions.

I propose a re-write carefully noting the difference between the "legend" of Bowditch and the historical facts. 2600:1000:B123:8BC0:C19C:E827:7C65:2A33 (talk) 15:06, 21 May 2015 (UTC)

Edit to father's name
The article claims that his father's name is William, citing


 * this source

However, other sources such as:
 * this
 * this
 * this

Claim the father's name is Habakkuk.

I'm persuaded it is Habakkuk (partly because the Google Book link is a Memoir of Nathaniel Bowditch, written by his son, who is more likely to know than the source used.) I also note that Nathaniel has a brother William, which may had led to the confusion.

If anyone objects to my change, let's itemize the various sources to see how they stack up.-- S Philbrick (Talk)  22:13, 8 September 2016 (UTC)