One Hundred Proofs That the Earth Is Not a Globe — Context and Discussion

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Authors: Carpenter, William, 1830-1896 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2017 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Earth (Planet) -- Miscellanea Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Reading time 109 min

Text sections 3

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Source: Project Gutenberg record #55387

William Carpenter's 1885 polemic presents 100 arguments against a spherical Earth, drawing on nautical observations, optical phenomena, and scriptural references. The author's combative diction and repeated rhetorical structure reveal a deliberate challenge to established astronomy.

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A Challenge to the JOHNS HOPKINS University

ONE HUNDRED PROOFS THAT THE EARTH IS NOT A GLOBE.

Dedicated to RICHARD A. PROCTOR, Esq. "The Greatest Astronomer of the Age."

By WM. CARPENTER, Referee for John Hampden, Esq., in the Celebrated Scientific Wager, in 1870; Author of 'Common Sense' on Astronomy, (London, 1866;) Proctor's Planet Earth; Wallace's Wonderful Water; The Delusion of the Day, &c., &c.

"UPRIGHT, DOWNRIGHT, STRAIGHTFORWARD."

BALTIMORE: Printed and Published by the Author, No. 71 Chew Street 1885.

TWENTY-FIVE CENTS. Five Copies, Postage Paid, for One Dollar. 5th Edition: 6th Thousand.

1 The aeronaut sees for himself. 2 Standing water level. 3 Surveyors' "allowance." 4 Flow of Rivers--the Nile. 5 Lighthouses--Cape Hatteras. 6 The sea-shore.--"Coming up." 7 A trip down Chesapeake Bay. 8 The model globe useless. 9 The sailor's level charts. 10 The mariners' compass. 11 The southern circumference. 12 Circumnavigation of the Earth. 13 Meridians are straight lines. 14 Parallels of latitude--circles. 15 Sailing down and underneath. 16 Distance round the South. 17 Levelness required by man. 18 The "level" of the astronomers. 19 Half the globe is cut off, now! 20 No "up" or "down" in nature? 21 The "spherical lodestone." 22 No falsehoods wanted! 23 No proof of "rotundity." 24 A "most complete" failure. 25 The first Atlantic Cable. 26 Earth's "curvature." 27 Which end goes down? 28 A "hill of water." 29 Characteristics of a globe. 30 Horizon--level with the eye. 31 Much too small a globe. 32 Vanishing point of objects. 33 We are not "fastened on." 34 Our "antipodes."--a delusion. 35 Horizon a level line. 36 Chesapeake Bay by night. 37 Six months day and night. 38 The "Midnight Sun." 39 Sun moves round the Earth. 40 Suez Canal--100 miles--level. 41 The "true level."--a curve. 42 Projectiles--firing east or west. 43 Bodies thrown upwards. 44 Firing in opposite direction. 45 Astronomer Royal of England. 46 An utterly meaningless theory. 47 Professor Proctor's cylinder. 48 Proctor's false perspective. 49 Motion of the clouds. 50 Scriptural proof--a plane. 51 The "Standing Order." 52 More ice in the south. 53 Sun's accelerated pace, south. 54 Balloons not left behind. 55 The Moon's beams are cold. 56 The Sun and Moon. 57 Not Earth's shadow at all. 58 Rotating and revolving. 59 Proctor's big mistake. 60 Sun's distance from Earth. 61 No true "measuring-rod." 62 Sailing "round" a thing. 63 Telescopes--"hill of water." 64 The laws of optics--Glaisher. 65 "Dwelling" upon error. 66 Ptolemy's predictions. 67 Canal in China--700 miles. 68 Mr. Lockyer's false logic. 69 Beggarly alternatives. 70 Mr. Lockyer's suppositions. 71 North Star seen from S. lat. 72 "Walls not parallel!" 73 Pendulum experiments. 74 "Delightful uncertainty." 75 Outrageous calculations. 76 J. R. Young's Navigation. 77 "Tumbling over." 78 Circumnavigation--south. 79 A disc--not a sphere. 80 Earth's "motion" unproven. 81 Moon's motion east to west. 82 All on the wrong track. 83 No meridianal "degrees." 84 Depression of North Star. 85 Rivers flowing up-hill? 86 100 miles in five seconds. 87 Miserable makeshifts. 88 What holds the people on. 89 Luminous objects. 90 Practice against theory. 91 Unscientific classification. 92 G. B. Airy's "suppositions." 93 Astronomers give up theory. 94 School-room "proofs" false. 95 Pictorial proof--Earth a plane. 96 Laws of perspective ignored. 97 "Rational suppositions." 98 It is the star that moves. 99 Hair-splitting calculation. 100 How "time" is lost or gained.

"Parallax," the Founder of the Zetetic Philosophy, is dead; and it now becomes the duty of those, especially, who knew him personally and who labored with him in the cause of Truth against Error, to begin, anew, the work which is left in their hands. Dr. Samuel B. Rowbotham finished his earthly labours, in England, the country of his birth, December 23, 1884, at the age of 89. He was, certainly, one of the most gifted of men: and though his labours as a public lecturer were confined within the limits of the British Islands his published work is known all over the world and is destined to live and be republished when books on the now popular system of philosophy will be considered in no other light than as bundles of waste paper. For several years did "Parallax" spread a knowledge of the facts which form the basis of his system without the slightest recognition from the newspaper press until, in January, 1849, the people were informed by the "Wilts Independent" that lectures had been delivered by "a gentleman adopting the name of 'Parallax,' to prove modern astronomy unreasonable and contradictory," that "great skill" was shown by the lecturer, and that he proved himself to be "thoroughly acquainted with the subject in all its bearings." Such was the beginning--the end will not be so easily described. The Truth will always find advocates--men who care not a snap of their fingers for the mere opinion of the world, whatever form it may take, whilst they know that they are the masters of the situation and that Reason is King! In 1867, "Parallax" was described as "a paragon of courtesy, good temper, and masterly skill in debate." The author of the following hastily-gotten-up pages is proud of having spent many a pleasant hour in the company of Samuel Birley Rowbotham.

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William Carpenter opens his 1885 tract with a dedication to Richard A. Proctor, whom he calls “The Greatest Astronomer of the Age,” yet the book proceeds to systematically dismantle the very astronomy Proctor championed. The title page announces a “Challenge to the JOHNS HOPKINS University,” framing the work as a direct confrontation with institutional science. Carpenter’s diction is consistently confrontational: he labels Newtonian theory a “big blunder” and insists that “observation—man’s most certain mode of gaining knowledge” trumps mathematical models. The book’s structure—100 numbered proofs, each ending with the refrain “it is a proof that the Earth is not a globe”—creates a repetitive, incantatory rhythm that substitutes logical progression for cumulative assertion.

Rhetorical Repetition as Argument

Carpenter’s central rhetorical device is the repeated closing phrase “it is a proof that the Earth is not a globe.” This formula appears at the end of nearly every proof, transforming disparate observations—from the behavior of a donkey eating grass in a circle to the apparent motion of the Moon—into a uniform verdict. The repetition serves to equate all evidence, regardless of its nature, as equally conclusive. In proof 79, Carpenter compares seeing the Earth’s circular horizon from a ship to a donkey grazing around a stake: both reveal a disc, not a sphere. The analogy is deliberately homely, appealing to common sense over astronomical theory. This pattern of argument by analogy and repetition suggests that Carpenter’s intended audience is not scientists but lay readers who might be swayed by the sheer number of proofs rather than their individual merit.

The Authority of Direct Observation

Throughout the text, Carpenter elevates unaided sight above mathematical reasoning. In proof 82, he writes, “we may see her making her journey round, every day, if we make use of our eyes—and these are about the best things we have to use.” He contrasts this with astronomers’ claims that the Moon orbits Earth in 28 days, arguing that daily observation shows it moving east to west, not west to east. Similarly, proof 80 asserts that seeing the North Star from the same window corner all year proves Earth does not move—ignoring the vast scale of orbital motion. Carpenter’s reliance on “man’s most certain mode of gaining knowledge” reflects a populist epistemology that distrusts complex instrumentation and theory. His language is blunt: “it is clear that the astronomers are on the wrong track.” This stance aligns with the book’s self-published, low-cost format (twenty-five cents, or five copies for a dollar), positioning it as accessible truth for the common reader.

Nautical and Practical Evidence

Carpenter frequently invokes maritime experience to challenge spherical models. Proof 78 cites the Challenger expedition’s 69,000-mile voyage as evidence that the southern region is far larger than a globe would allow. He notes that the ship took three years to circumnavigate the South, a distance “long enough to have taken her six times round on the globular hypothesis.” The index lists several proofs based on lighthouses, canals, and Chesapeake Bay trips, grounding the argument in tangible geography. Carpenter’s own role as “Referee for John Hampden, Esq., in the Celebrated Scientific Wager” suggests he participated in a public debate on Earth’s shape, lending a veneer of practical authority. Yet his evidence often conflates local flatness with global planarity, as in proof 40, where the Suez Canal’s 100-mile level stretch is taken to refute curvature. The reliance on such examples reveals a method that prioritizes immediate sensory experience over abstract geometry.

Scriptural and Moral Undertones

Although the excerpts are limited, the index includes “Scriptural proof—a plane” as proof 50, indicating that Carpenter draws on religious authority. The book’s dedication to Proctor, an astronomer, is ironic given that Carpenter later attacks Proctor’s “false perspective” and “big mistake” (proofs 48, 59). The moral tone emerges in phrases like “No falsehoods wanted!” (proof 22) and “Beggarly alternatives” (proof 69), which frame the debate as a struggle between honest observation and corrupt theory. Carpenter’s self-description as “UPRIGHT, DOWNRIGHT, STRAIGHTFORWARD” on the title page reinforces a persona of plain-speaking integrity. This moral framing, combined with the book’s low price and populist rhetoric, suggests that the work aims not just to disprove a globe but to challenge the authority of elite scientific institutions. The reader is invited to trust their own eyes and common sense over the pronouncements of “Newtonian philosophers.”

Readers approaching Carpenter’s work should attend to its structure as a rhetorical artifact rather than a scientific treatise. The 100-proof format, the repeated closing formula, and the reliance on everyday analogies reveal a deliberate strategy to persuade through accumulation and appeal to common sense. The book’s historical context—published in Baltimore in 1885, during a period of public scientific debates—sheds light on its combative tone. Whether one reads it as a curiosity of pseudoscience or a case study in argumentation, the text rewards attention to its authorial choices in diction, analogy, and rhetorical framing.

That afternoon, rain drummed the window while Carpenter’s certainty rattled around me—his flat-earth proofs felt less like science than a stubborn heartbeat. I closed the book, reached for something steadier, and found Earthquakes and other earth movements — A Closer Reading on the shelf. Its slow account of ground shifting beneath our feet felt oddly soothing, a different kind of tremor—one I could almost trust.