[meteorite-list] Thomas Jefferson in 1807 commented thathe didn't believe the Weston Meteorite fell out of the sk

[Chris Peterson]

The quote is apparently anecdotal. Quite a few people have sought out its 
source in Jefferson's writings, AFAIK without success. Jefferson did 
acknowledge the existence of meteoritic material, and recommended its study 
by American academics. Personally, I don't believe he ever made the 
statement, simply because the structure of the comment doesn't ring true to 
Jefferson's writing style.

Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Scherff" <peterscherff at rcn.com>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 5:36 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Thomas Jefferson in 1807 commented thathe 
didn't believe the Weston Meteorite fell out of the sk


> Hi,
> I have a friend who looked into this famous "quote" of Jefferson's,
> he was unable to find a contemporary source for it. Does anyone know of a
> source; letter, diary or other account written at the time that Jefferson
> supposedly said it? I would love to be able to find it. Until then I would
> hesitate to put words into Thomas Jefferson's mouth.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Peter