Authors on Stage: Cathryn J. Prince, 'A Professor, A President and a Meteor: The Birth of American Science'

The nascent state of American science at the dawn of the 19th century and the passion of a young Yale chemistry professor form the core of this fascinating narrative about the formative years of American science. Join and on Thursday, Jan. 13, as they host Cathryn J. Prince, author of the newly-released "A Professor, A President and a Meteor: the Birth ofAmerican Science." The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the library's Lamb Room.

In 1807 a fiery meteor crash in Weston, Conn., ignited the curiosity of Benjamin Silliman, then a dedicated young chemistry professor at nearby Yale College. Where his curiosity took him, how his investigation raised the credibility of the American scientific community in the eyes of the world, and his political conflicts with President Thomas Jefferson are just some of the interwoven stories that make this heavily researched chronicle a riveting read.

Cathryn J. Prince is the author of Burn the Town and Sack the Banks: Confederates Attack Vermont! and Shot from the Sky: American POWs in Switzerland. She is an adjunct professor of journalism at Quinnipiac University, a reporter for Wilton Patch, and a freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor and Weston Magazine. Ms. Prince resides in Weston, Connecticut.

Details on the series are available at the library, and online at www.newcanaanlibrary.org .

All library programs are free and open to the public but registration is required and can be done by email at programs@newcanaanlibrary.org or by phone 203-594-5040.

Submitted by New Canaan Library