Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The eccentric poet who became Wisconsin's second state geologist.
The Poet Percival (1854)
Utterly lacking in ambition and confidence, Percival was an outcast and scholar who mastered a dozen languages and the emerging science of geology while huddled in seclusion among his books. After helping publish Noah Webster's first dictionary and researching the geology of Connecticut, he moved to Wisconsin after being named our state geologist. Already well into middle age, he spent his days crouched in holes and caves and returned home with weary knees to a supperless cottage to feast on moonshine.
| Related Topics: |
Mining, Logging, and Agriculture Lead Mining in Southwestern Wisconsin Mining in Northern Wisconsin |
| Creator: | anonymous |
| Pub Data: | St. Paul Pioneer, Aug. 9, 1854 |
| Citation: | "The Poet Percival." St. Paul Pioneer, Aug. 9, 1854; Online facsimile at: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=733; Visited on: 5/5/2024 |
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