Sun Mar 09 18:36:00 UTC 2025: ## Two US Presidents, Unexpected Scientists: Jefferson’s Fossil Find and Lincoln’s Boating Patent
**Washington D.C., March 10, 2025** – Two of the four presidents immortalized on Mount Rushmore, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, possessed surprising scientific achievements beyond their political legacies, according to a recent article in *The Hindu*.
The article highlights Jefferson’s contribution to early North American paleontology. In 1797, while serving as Vice President, Jefferson presented a paper to the American Philosophical Society on fossils he had collected, initially classifying a large claw as belonging to a giant lion. After encountering a similar fossil illustration in a London magazine, he revised his paper, correctly identifying the remains as a type of extinct ground sloth, later formally named *Megalonyx jeffersonii*. This work is considered a foundational moment in the field. Jefferson’s interest in science extended to commissioning the Lewis and Clark expedition, emphasizing its scientific objectives.
Lincoln’s scientific contribution takes a different form. On March 10, 1849, exactly 52 years after Jefferson’s paleontological paper, Lincoln received a patent for a device to buoy stranded vessels. While the invention, involving an intricate system of air chambers, pulleys, and ropes, proved impractical, it demonstrates Lincoln’s inventive mind and understanding of basic buoyancy principles. Surprisingly, this lesser-known facet of Lincoln’s life is often omitted from biographies.
The article concludes by contrasting the scientific pursuits of these two presidents, highlighting their diverse contributions beyond politics and underscoring the unexpected intersection of science and presidential history.
First Piper 