Except in some academic circles, Titus Smith Jr. is mostly a forgotten man. The year 2018 marked the 250th anniversary of Titus Smith Jr‘s. birth in Granby, Massachusetts (1768-1850). While general articles about Smith‘s life exist (Punch 1978), surprisingly there have only been three serious studies celebrating his knowledge and scientific thinking (Piers 1938, Clark 1954, Gorham 1955). Smith lived prior to the era when science hardened into specialized fields and when a single mind could move between disciplines allowing each to inform the other. Smith‘s interdisciplinary methods and his belief that nature is a global force are once again coming to the forefront as climate change emerges as the single most important threat to the survival of the planet. This essay attempts to bring this 19th century philosopher of nature into a modern environmental context.
