Samuel Stearns (1741–1810) was an American astronomer, doctor, author and publisher.

Career

Stearns was born 13 July 1741 at Bolton, Massachusetts. He lived at

Paxton, Massachusetts Paxton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,004 at the 2020 census. History Paxton was first settled by Europeans in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1765. It was previously occupied by the Ni ...

, from 1771 until 1784, from there issuing his annual ''The North-American’s almanack''. He moved to

Brattleboro, Vermont Brattleboro (), originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The most populous municipality abutting Vermont's eastern border with New Hampshire, which is the Connecticut River, Brattleboro is located about no ...

, where his regular almanac became ''The Universal Calendar: and Northamerican Almanack''. He also published the first ever nautical almanack (1792) to be printed in America. His trade was medicine but he also studied herbalism and astronomy. The book ''Annals of Brattleboro, 1681-1895'' states of him that: "His fame as an astronomer led many of the inhabitants to consult him on the turn of future events." His sister married

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline H ...

, the astronomer.

American Revolutionary war

Stearns was a British Loyalist during and after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, which caused him to be falsely accused of several crimes and falsely imprisoned. He was forced at various times to flee to the British, first in Long Island, New York (1780–83), later to Britain itself. In 1790 he took a degree from the University of Aberdeen in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and travelled in Europe.

Death

He returned to America and died at Brattleboro on 8 August 1810. He was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Brattleboro. The Stearns papers are held at 2013 as: "Stearns, Samuel, Papers, 1784-1810; 1904-1935", as part of the American Antiquarian Society's Manuscript Collections.

Bibliography

* ''The American Herbal or Materia Medica'' (1801) (Part of his larger ''North American Dispensatory'', a uniform textbook for medical treatment). * ''The American Oracle'' (1791) (his collected contributions to ''The Philadelphia Magazine'' of which he was the editor for a short time, on recent discoveries in the arts and sciences). * ''The mystery of animal magnetism revealed'' (1791, a debunking account). * ''Dr. Stearns's Tour from London to Paris'' (1790). * ''A Tour in Holland, by an American'' (1790).

Career

American Revolutionary war

Death

Bibliography

Further reading