On This Day: Great Moon Hoax published in The New York Sun - August 25, 1835
(edited from Wikipedia)
"
The "Great Moon Hoax" was a series of six articles published in The Sun, a New York newspaper, beginning on August 25, 1835, about the supposed discovery of life and even civilization on the Moon. The discoveries were falsely attributed to Sir John Herschel, one of the best-known astronomers of that time, and his fictitious companion Andrew Grant.
It was not discovered to be a hoax for several weeks after its publication and, even then, the newspaper did not issue a retraction.
Hoax
The articles described animals on the Moon, including bison, goats, unicorns, bipedal tail-less beavers and bat-like winged humanoids "Vespertilio-homo" who built temples. There were trees, oceans and beaches. These discoveries were supposedly made with "an immense telescope of an entirely new principle".
Eventually, the authors announced that the observations had been terminated by the destruction of the telescope, by means of the Sun causing the lens to act as a "burning glass", setting fire to the observatory.
Authorship
Authorship of the article has been attributed to Richard Adams Locke, a reporter.
Assuming that Richard A. Locke was the author, his intentions were probably, first, to create a sensational story which would increase sales of The Sun, and, second, to ridicule some of the more extravagant astronomical theories that had recently been published. For instance, [an 1824] paper titled "Discovery of Many Distinct Traces of Lunar Inhabitants, Especially of One of Their Colossal Buildings".
However, a more direct object of Locke's satire was Rev. Thomas Dick, who was known as "The Christian Philosopher" after the title of his first book. Dick had computed that the Solar System contained 21.9 trillion inhabitants. In fact, the Moon alone, by his count, would contain 4,200,000,000 inhabitants.
His writings were very popular in America; intellectual Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of his fans.
Reactions
According to legend, The Sun's circulation increased dramatically because of the hoax and remained permanently greater than before, thereby establishing The Sun as a successful paper. It brought the journal to international fame, and the hoax resembled crime reports that allowed the readers to play detective, trying to discover the truth.
However, the degree to which the hoax increased the paper's circulation has certainly been exaggerated in popular accounts of the event.
Herschel was initially amused by the hoax, noting that his own real observations could never be as exciting. He later became annoyed when he had to answer questions from people who believed the hoax was serious.
Edgar Allan Poe claimed the story was a plagiarism of his earlier work. Poe had published his own Moon hoax in late June 1835, two months before the similar Locke Moon hoax. The Poe Moon hoax was less successful because of the satiric and comical tone of the account. Locke was able to upstage Poe and to steal his thunder.
Legacy
The hoax reflected a time when readers were looking for entertainment as much as information from penny press newspapers, which would later change with the development of ethical reporting.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moon_Hoax
---------------------------------------------------------
On This Day: 6,000 Jews killed in Mainz after being blamed for plague - August 24, 1349
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016361451
On This Day: Western North Carolina declares itself an independent state - Aug. 23, 1784
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016361368
On This Day: De Gaulle ambushed, later inspired The Day of the Jackal - August 22, 1962
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016361317
On This Day: Vodou ceremony leads to slave rebellion, revolution, independence - Aug. 21, 1791
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016361208
On This Day: Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin first publish theory of evolution - August 20, 1858
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016361073
= new reply since forum marked as read
