Community Calendar

Although born in poverty with almost no formal education, Bowditch was able to take advantage of opportunities that put him in the right place at the right time. While indentured as a young man to a chandlery in Salem Harbor during Salem’s peak involvement in the China Trade, Bowditch displayed a quick facility with mathematics. This was the first step toward becoming one of the best navigators of all time and producing The New American Practical Navigator, still used by the U.S. Navy and ships around the world. This lecture will focus on Bowditch's early years in Salem, and touch on the significant developments that changed his life even further in Boston. Susan Bowditch grew up in the Midwest and had never heard of Nathaniel Bowditch until she married one of his descendants. She received a BA from the College of Wooster and a MA from Vermont College. Living in Salem in 1997 she applied for and was awarded a grant from the Salem Marine Society through The House of Seven Gables, to research the life of Nathaniel Bowditch. The result was a lengthy paper, several lectures on Bowditch, plus designing and executing a walking tour for all the important landmarks in his Salem life.

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