EDWARD HITCHCOCK was one of 19th-century America’s most eminent scientists. He was the first American scientist to publicly embrace the theory of continental glaciation, but he is better known for his landmark research on what he called the “fossil footmarks” of the Connecticut Valley. Although he was subject to criticism and ridicule at the time, Hitchcock became recognized as the first scientist to find evidence of dinosaurs in North America.

No biography had been written of him until 2021, when All the Light here Comes from Above: The Life and Legacy of Edward Hitchcock was published by retired HCC biology professor Bob McMaster.  In his presentation, Bob will review the life of Edward Hitchcock, his legacy as a scientist, and his role in the early development of local higher education.  Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Holyoke History Room.

Robert McMaster has degrees from Boston College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. He taught biology at Holyoke Community College from 1994 to 2014. His other books include the Trolley Days Series (four novels set in Holyoke in the World War I era) and Rose of Glenkerry: A County Wicklow Mystery, a contemporary novel set in Ireland.