Samuel Rowbotham

Samuel Birley Rowbotham (AKA Parallax) (1816 – 1884), was an English medical doctor and inventor who wrote Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe, based on his decade-long scientific studies of the earth, published a 16-page pamphlet (1849), which he later expanded into a 430 page book (1881) expounding his views. According to Rowbotham's scientific method, which he called Zetetic Astronomy, the earth is a flat disk centered at the North Pole and bounded along its southern edge by a wall of ice, with the sun, moon, planets, and stars only a few thousand miles above the surface of the earth.

Rowbotham and his followers gained notoriety by engaging in raucous public debates with leading scientists of the day. One such clash, involving the prominent naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, led to several lawsuits for fraud and libel.

After Rowbotham's death, his thousands of followers established the Universal Zetetic Society, published a magazine entitled The Earth Not a Globe Review and remained active well into the early part of the 20th century.

=Flat Earth Lectures=

Over the period of several decades Samuel Birley Rowbotham toured the islands of Britian, giving lectures at prominent universities and institutions of the day. At the conclusion of his lectures he would debate with the brightest minds present over the shape of the earth. Dr. Rowbotham was successful in swaying many members of the audience over to his position. From his efforts a widespread Zetetic movement began, spawning several Zetetic societies, which demanded that the government look into the sphere issue.

The following quotes were published by the press on Rowbotham's lectures:

--South Mid-land Free Press, August 14th, 1858.

--Greenwich Free Press, May 19th, 1862.

--Warrington Advertiser, March 24th, 1866.

See Parallax and His Teachings: Opinions of the Press

=Obituary=

The American Association for the Advancement of Science lists him as Dr. Samuel Rowbotham in his 1885 obituary, as does the obituary in Engligh Mechanic and World of Science. The Bookseller obituary confirms he was a practicing doctor of medicine as a "legitimate profession with great success" (Archive).

From English Mechanic and the World of Science (Jan 2, 1885) (Archive):



Tombstone
Forum member Thork was able to find Dr. Rowbotham's tombstone at findagrave.com:



=Inventions=

Fire Resistant Starch
A patent acceptance shows that Dr. Samuel Birley Rowbotham was granted a patent for inflammable starch for use in fabrics and other substances (Archive):

Life Preserving Railway Carriage
Rowbotham is also inventor of the Life Preserving Cylindrical Railway Carriage.



=Medical Career=

Like other doctors and medical researchers at the time, Rowbotham studied and promoted phosphorous due to its apparent medical benefits.

Asthma
Rowbotham's work is cited in several medical texts:

From Consumption and Tuberculosis (Archive) by John Francis Churchill, M.D., we see:



The above suggests that other medical professionals considered Rowbotham's work to be a 'medicinal fact upon record'.

In Materia Medica and Therapeutics (Archive) by Thomas D. Mitchell, M.D., we find:



Phosphorous Studies
It is thought that Dr. Samuel Birley Rowbotham was one of the leading proponents of the phosphorous revolution in the 1800's. Beginning in the early 1840's, Rowbotham published numerous articles and books on the subject.

References and advertisements:


 * "In the year 1842, Dr. Birley drew public attention to the value of Phosphorus as an article of Diet and Medicine" (Archive)
 * Rowbotham gives describes the discovery, benefits and workings of Phosphorous here in The Harmsworth (Archive)
 * Brain Power: Its Attainment and Preservation (Archive)
 * Book: Phosphorus, as discovered and prepared by Dr. Birley
 * Reference to the "Birley Treatment" (Archive)
 * T.P.'s Weekly "The Wonders of Phosphorous" (Archive)
 * Studying a Subject Fifty Years (Archive)
 * Dr. Birley's Phosphorous in Womanhood Vol. 14 (Archive)

Rowbotham mixed phosphorous with other medicaments (Archive) to enhance their helpful qualities:

Phosphorous Medical Drinks
Dr. Samuel Birley Rowbotham was a pioneer of the phosphate medical drink industry of the 1800's, which offered phosphorous and phosphate-based medical drinks which were reputed to be beneficial for a number of health ailments. He marketed a drink called "Birley's Phosphorous":



Phosphorous Revolution
After Rowotham's championing of the medicinal benefits of phosphorus and the sale of his phosphorous medical beverage through the mid 1800's, the Phosphate soda industry is launched in the late 1870's:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5410083_phosphorus.html

https://delishably.com/beverages/SodaPops-of-the-1800s-1900s-20s-30s-40s-50s-and-60s (Archive)

Competitors
Dr. Rowbotham had a number of competitors in the phosphate medical drink industry, including Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola. These carbonated drinks were commonly thought to be healthy by the medical profession at the time. Coca-Cola was sold as a patent medicine. Both it and Dr.Pepper were started by pharmacists. Indeed, Dr. Rowbotham preceded them in history.



=Phosphorous Medical Research=

Today, according to modern sources, Phosphorous is agreed to be one of the most important elements in the human body:

http://www.answers.com/topic/soft-drink

Phosphorous has a rich history. Throughout the 1800's higher doses of phosphorous was closely studied by the medical community for its medicinal benefits. Phosphorous was said to be beneficial and curative for a number of ailments.

Neuralgia
From a medical text: Phosphorous in the Treatment of Nerualgia (1875) (Archive) in Transactions of the American Neurological Association, Volume 1, we find that Phosphorous was highly beneficial for treating Neuralgia:

A list of cases appears here

Cholera
Phosphorous has also been used to treat Cholera, producing success in even "advanced stages of Cholara, usually regarded as hopeless". From Materia Medica and Therapeutics (1857) on p.649 we see (Archive):

Fevers, Delerium, Tremors
In Materia Medica and Therapeutics (Archive) Dr. Mitchell relays the following accounts:

Overdose Risk
Phosphorous research by the medical community was possibly discontinued because of its poisonous effects when abused:

From the Materia Medica and Therapeutics section titled Phospherous A Poison (Archive) we see: