Theisen, L. S., & Angel, F. W. (1976). Frank Warner Angel’s notes on New Mexico Territory, 1878. Arizona and the West, 18(4), 333–370. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40168528
STEM Connection: Historical Figures as Catalysts of Scientific and Technological Progress
Though these figures are often studied through the lens of literature, theology, or political history, their contributions and experiences can also be used to anchor cross-disciplinary lessons that highlight intersections with science, innovation, and engineering.
Charles Loring Brace, for example, is known for founding the Children’s Aid Society and pioneering the orphan train movement—but his work also offers a way to examine early sociological data collection, population mapping, and the logistics of transportation systems in child relocation. Students can analyze the math and engineering behind rail logistics and estimate the carbon footprint or travel time using 19th-century rail maps and modern tools like GIS.
Lew Wallace, best known for Ben-Hur, was also a diplomat and military strategist. His biography invites exploration into military engineering and early communication systems. Students might model fortifications or reconstruct battlefield topography using elevation data to understand how terrain influenced movement and survival—a great tie-in to both physics and geometry.
Norman Macleod, a Scottish clergyman and social reformer, advocated for improvements in education and sanitation. His memoir opens doors to studying public health engineering—students can research 19th-century sanitation methods and compare them to modern plumbing, filtration, and waste management systems.
Finally, Frank Warner Angel’s notes on New Mexico Territory (1878) offer rich ground for examining geological surveying, hydrology, and the environmental impact of westward expansion. Students could extract observations from his writings and create layered maps of the region’s geography, water sources, and settlements to explore how infrastructure evolved—or failed to evolve—based on environmental constraints.
Together, these figures help students see that innovation is not always the domain of inventors alone. Reformers, strategists, and writers contributed to and reflected upon the scientific and engineering currents of their time. In short, these are not just lives worth remembering—they are lives worth reanalyzing through a STEM lens.