Name	Mithridates VI
Title	King of Pontus
Reign	120 BC – 63 BC
Nationality	Greek
Successor	Pharnaces II of Pontus
Father	Mithridates V of Pontus
Mother	Laodice VI }}

Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI (), from Old Persian ''Mithradatha'', "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great (Megas) and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia (now Turkey) from about 120 BC to 63 BC. Mithridates is remembered as one of the Roman Republic’s most formidable and successful enemies, who engaged three of the prominent generals from the late Roman Republic in the Mithridatic Wars: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Lucullus and Pompey.

Ancestry, family and early life[link]

Mithridates was a prince of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. He claimed descent from King Darius I of Persia and was descended from the generals of Alexander the Great and later kings: Antigonus I Monophthalmus, Seleucus I Nicator and Regent, Antipater. Mithridates was born in the Pontic city of Sinope, and was raised in the Kingdom of Pontus. He was the first son and among the children born to Laodice VI and Mithridates V of Pontus (reigned 150–120 BC). His parents were distant relatives and had lineage from the Seleucid Dynasty. His father, Mithridates V, was a prince and the son of the former Pontic Monarchs Pharnaces I of Pontus and his wife-cousin Nysa. His mother, Laodice VI, was a Seleucid Princess and the daughter of the Seleucid Monarchs Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his wife-sister Laodice IV.

Mithridates V was assassinated in about 120 BC in Sinope, poisoned by unknown persons at a lavish banquet which he held. In the will of Mithridates V, he left the Kingdom to the joint rule of Laodice VI, Mithridates and his younger brother, Mithridates Chrestus. Mithridates and his younger brother were both under aged to rule and their mother retained all power as regent. Laodice VI’s regency over Pontus was from 120 BC to 116 BC (even perhaps up to 113 BC) and favored Mithridates Chrestus over Mithridates. During his mother’s regency, he had escaped from the plotting of his mother and had gone into hiding.

Mithridates between 116 BC and 113 BC returned to Pontus from hiding and was hailed King. He was able to remove his mother and his brother from the Pontic throne, thus becoming the sole ruler of Pontus. Mithridates showed clemency towards his mother and brother, imprisoning them both. Laodice VI died in prison of natural causes. However, Mithridates Chrestus could have died in prison from natural causes or was tried for treason and was executed on his orders. Mithridates married his first young sister Laodice. Laodice was 16 years old and was her brother’s first wife. Mithridates married Laodice to preserve the purity of their blood-line, as a wife to rule with him as a sovereign over Pontus, to ensure the succession to his legitimate children, and to claim his right as a ruling monarch.

Early reign[link]

Mithridates entertained ambitions of making his state the dominant power in the Black Sea and Anatolia. After he subjugated Colchis, the king of Pontus clashed for supremacy in the Pontic steppe with the Scythian King Palacus. The most important centres of Crimea, Tauric Chersonesus and the Bosporan Kingdom readily surrendered their independence in return for Mithridates' promises to protect them against the Scythians, their ancient enemies. After several abortive attempts to invade the Crimea, the Scythians and the allied Rhoxolanoi suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Pontic general Diophantus and accepted Mithridates as their overlord. The young king then turned his attention to Anatolia, where Roman power was on the rise. He contrived to partition Paphlagonia and Galatia with King Nicomedes III of Bithynia. It soon became clear to Mithridates that Nicomedes was steering his country into an anti-Pontic alliance with the expanding Roman Republic. When Mithridates fell out with Nicomedes over control of Cappadocia, and defeated him in a series of battles, the latter was constrained to openly enlist the assistance of Rome. The Romans twice interfered in the conflict on behalf of Nicomedes (92–95 BC), leaving Mithridates, should he wish to continue the expansion of his kingdom, with little choice other than to engage in a future Roman-Pontic war.

Mithridatic Wars[link]

The next ruler of Bithynia, Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, was a figurehead manipulated by the Romans. Mithridates plotted to overthrow him, but his attempts failed and Nicomedes IV, instigated by his Roman advisors, declared war on Pontus. Rome itself was involved in the Social War, a civil war with its Italian allies. Thus, in all of Roman Asia Province there were only two legions present in Macedonia. These legions combined with Nicomedes IV's army to invade Mithridates' kingdom of Pontus in 89 BC. Mithridates, however, won a decisive victory, scattering the Roman-led forces. His victorious forces were welcomed throughout Anatolia. The following year, 88 BC, Mithridates orchestrated a massacre of Roman and Italian settlers remaining in several Anatolian cities, essentially wiping out the Roman presence in the region. The Kingdom of Pontus comprised a mixed population in its Ionian Greek and Anatolian cities. The royal family moved the capital from Amasya to the Greek city of Sinope. Its rulers tried to fully assimilate the potential of their subjects by showing a Greek face to the Greek world and an Iranian/Anatolian face to the Eastern world. Whenever the gap between the rulers and their Anatolian subjects became greater, they would put emphasis on their Persian origins. In this manner, the royal propaganda claimed heritage both from Persian and Greek rulers, including Cyrus the Great, Darius I of Persia, Alexander the Great and Seleucus I Nicator. Mithridates too posed as the champion of Hellenism, but this was mainly to further his political ambitions; it is no proof that he felt a mission to promote its extension within his domains. Whatever his true intentions, the Greek cities (including Athens) defected to the side of Mithridates and welcomed his armies in mainland Greece, while his fleet besieged the Romans at Rhodes. Neighboring King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, established an alliance with Mithridates and married one of Mithridates’ daughters, Cleopatra of Pontus. They would support each other in the coming conflict with Rome.

After conquering western Anatolia in 88 BC, Mithridates' turned to combating increasing Roman power in Anatolia. Tapping into local discontent with the Romans and their taxes he orchestrated the murder of 80,000 Roman, Italian and other foreigners in Asia Minor in an incident known as the Asiatic Vespers. The Romans responded by organising a large invasion force to defeat him and remove him from power.

The First Mithridatic War, fought between 88 BC and 84 BC, saw Lucius Cornelius Sulla force Mithridates VI out of Greece proper. After victory in several battles, Sulla received news of trouble back in Rome posed by his enemy Gaius Marius and hurriedly concluded peace talks with Mithridates. As Sulla returned to Italy Lucius Licinius Murena was left in charge of Roman forces in Anatolia. The lenient peace treaty, which was never ratified by the Senate, allowed Mithridates VI to recoup his forces. Murena attacked Mithridates in 83 BC, provoking the Second Mithridatic War from 83 BC to 81 BC. Mithridates scored a victory over Murena's green forces before peace was again declared by treaty.

When Rome attempted to annex Bithynia (bequested to Rome by its last king) nearly a decade later, Mithridates VI attacked with an even larger army, leading to the Third Mithridatic War from 73 BC to 63 BC. First Lucullus and then Pompey were sent against Mithridates VI, who surged back to retake his kingdom of Pontus, but was at last defeated by Pompey. After his defeat by Pompey in 63 BC, Mithridates VI fled with a small army from Colchis (modern Georgia) over the Caucasus Mountains to Crimea and made plans to raise yet another army to take on the Romans. His eldest living son, Machares, viceroy of Cimmerian Bosporus, was unwilling to aid his father. Mithridates had Machares killed, and Mithridates took the throne of the Bosporan Kingdom. Mithridates then ordered the conscriptions and preparations for war. In 63 BC, Pharnaces II of Pontus, one of his sons, led a rebellion against his father, joined by Roman exiles in the core of Mithridates' Pontic army. Mithridates withdrew to the citadel in Panticapaeum, where he committed suicide. Pompey buried Mithridates in the rock-cut tombs of his ancestors in Amasya, the old capital of Pontus.

Assassination conspiracy[link]

During the time of the First Mithridatic War, a group of Mithridates' friends plotted to kill him. These intimates were Mynnio and Philotimus of Smyrna, Clisthenes and Asclepiodotus of Lesbos. Asclepiodotus changed his mind and became an informant. He arranged to have Mithridates hide under a couch to hear the plot against him. The other conspirators were tortured and executed.

Propaganda[link]

Where his ancestors pursued philhellenism as a means of attaining respectability and prestige among the Hellenistic kingdoms, Mithridates VI made use of Hellenism as a political tool. As protector of Greek cities on the Black Sea and in Asia against barbarism, Mithridates VI logically became protector of Greece and Greek culture, and would use this stance in his clashes with Rome. Strabo mentions that Chersonesus buckled under the pressure of the barbarians and asked Mithridates VI to become its protector (7.4.3. c.308). The most impressive symbol of Mithridates VI's approbation with Greece (Athens in particular) appears at Delos: a heroon dedicated to the Pontic king in 102/1 by the Athenian Helianax, a priest of Poseidon Aisios. A dedication at Delos, by Dicaeus, a priest of Sarapis, was made in 94/93 BC on behalf of the Athenians, Romans, and "King Mithridates Eupator Dionysus." Greek styles mixed with Persian elements also abound on official Pontic coins – Perseus was favored as an intermediary between both worlds, East and West. Certainly influenced by Alexander the Great, Mithridates VI extended his propaganda from "defender" of Greece to the "great liberator" of the Greek world as war with Roman Republic became inevitable. The Romans were easily translated into "barbarians", in the same sense as the Persian Empire during the war with Persia in the first half of the 5th century BC and during Alexander's campaign. How many Greeks genuinely bought into this claim will never be known. It served its purpose, however. At least partially because of it, Mithridates VI was able to fight the First War with Rome on Greek soil, and maintain the allegiance of Greece. His campaign for the allegiance of the Greeks was aided in no small part by his enemy Sulla, who allowed his troops to sack the city of Delphi and plunder many of the city's most famous treasures to help finance his military expenses.

Death[link]

When Mithridates VI was at last defeated by Pompey and in danger of capture by Rome, he is alleged to have attempted suicide by poison; this attempt failed, however, because of his immunity to the poison. According to Appian's ''Roman History'', he then requested his Gaul bodyguard and friend, Bituitus, to kill him by the sword: :''Mithridates then took out some poison that he always carried next to his sword, and mixed it. There two of his daughters, who were still girls growing up together, named Mithridates and Nysa, who had been betrothed to the kings of [Ptolemaic] Egypt and of Cyprus, asked him to let them have some of the poison first, and insisted strenuously and prevented him from drinking it until they had taken some and swallowed it. The drug took effect on them at once; but upon Mithridates, although he walked around rapidly to hasten its action, it had no effect, because he had accustomed himself to other drugs by continually trying them as a means of protection against poisoners. These are still called the Mithridatic drugs.'' :''Seeing a certain Bituitus there, an officer of the Gauls, he said to him, "I have profited much from your right arm against my enemies. I shall profit from it most of all if you will kill me, and save from the danger of being led in a Roman triumph one who has been an autocrat so many years, and the ruler of so great a kingdom, but who is now unable to die by poison because, like a fool, he has fortified himself against the poison of others. Although I have kept watch and ward against all the poisons that one takes with his food, I have not provided against that domestic poison, always the most dangerous to kings, the treachery of army, children, and friends." Bituitus, thus appealed to, rendered the king the service that he desired.'' (XVI, §111) Cassius Dio ''Roman History'', on the other hand, records his death as murder: :''Mithridates had tried to make away with himself, and after first removing his wives and remaining children by poison, he had swallowed all that was left; yet neither by that means nor by the sword was he able to perish by his own hands. For the poison, although deadly, did not prevail over him, since he had inured his constitution to it, taking precautionary antidotes in large doses every day; and the force of the sword blow was lessened on account of the weakness of his hand, caused by his age and present misfortunes, and as a result of taking the poison, whatever it was. When, therefore, he failed to take his life through his own efforts and seemed to linger beyond the proper time, those whom he had sent against his son fell upon him and hastened his end with their swords and spears. Thus Mithridates, who had experienced the most varied and remarkable fortune, had not even an ordinary end to his life. For he desired to die, albeit unwillingly, and though eager to kill himself was unable to do so; but partly by poison and partly by the sword he was at once self-slain and murdered by his foes.'' (Book 37, chapter 13) At the behest of Pompey, Mithridates' body was later buried alongside his ancestors (in Sinope, Book 37, chapter 14). Mount Mithridat in the central Kerch and the town of Yevpatoria in Crimea commemorate his name.

Mithridates' antidote[link]

In his youth, after the assassination of his father Mithridates V in 120 BC, Mithridates is said to have lived in the wilderness for seven years, inuring himself to hardship. While there, and after his accession, he cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses of the same. He invented a complex 'universal antidote' against poisoning; several versions are described in the literature. Aulus Cornelius Celsus gives one in his De Medicina and names it ''Antidotum Mithridaticum'', whence English ''mithridate. Pliny the Elder's version comprised 54 ingredients to be placed in a flask and matured for at least two months. After Mithridates' death in 63 BC, many imperial Roman physicians claimed to possess and improve on the original formula, which they touted as Mithradatium. In keeping with most medical practices of his era, Mithridates' anti-poison routines included a religious component; they were supervised by the ''Agari'', a group of Scythian shamans who never left him. Mithridates was reportedly guarded in his sleep by a horse, a bull, and a stag, which would whinny, bellow, and bleat whenever anyone approached the royal bed.

Mithridates as polyglot[link]

In Pliny the Elder's account of famous polyglots, Mithridates could speak the languages of all the twenty-two nations he governed. This reputation led to the use of Mithridates' name as title in some later works on comparative linguistics, such as Conrad Gessner's ''Mithridates de differentis linguis,'' (1555), and Adelung and Vater's ''Mithridates oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde'' (1806–1817).

Wives, mistresses and children[link]

Mithridates VI had wives and mistresses, by whom he had various children. The names he gave his children are a representation of his Persian, Greek heritage and of his ancestry. #First wife, his sister Laodice. They were married from 115/113 BC till about 90 BC. Mithridates with Laodice had various children: #*Sons: Mithridates, Arcathius, Machares and Pharnaces II of Pontus #*Daughters: Cleopatra of Pontus (sometimes called Cleopatra the Elder to distinguish her from her sister of the same name) and Drypetina. (Her name is a diminutive form of Drypetis and she was Mithridates’ most devoted daughter. She never lost her baby teeth, so she had a double set of teeth in adulthood #Second wife, the Greek Macedonian Noblewoman, Monime. They were married from about 89/88 BC till 72/71 BC. By whom, he had: #*Daughter: Athenais, who married King Ariobarzanes II of Cappadocia #Third wife, Greek woman Berenice of Chios, married from 86 BC – 72/71 BC #Fourth wife, Greek woman Stratonice of Pontus, married from after 86 BC – 63 BC #*Son: Xiphares #Fifth wife, unknown # Sixth wife, Caucasian woman Hypsicratea, married from an unknown date to 63 BC

One of his mistresses was the Galatian Celtic Princess Adobogiona. By Adobogiona, Mithridates had two children: a son called Mithridates I of the Bosporus and a daughter called Adobogiona.

His sons born from his concubine were Cyrus, Xerxes, Darius, Ariarathes IX of Cappadocia, Artaphernes, Oxathres, Phoenix (Mithridates’ son by a mistress of Syrian descent) and Exipodras. His daughters born from his concubine were Nysa, Eupatra, Cleopatra the Younger, Mithridatis and Orsabaris. Nysa and Mithridatis, were engaged to the Egyptian Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy XII Auletes and his brother Ptolemy of Cyprus.

In 63 BC, when the Kingdom of Pontus was annexed by the Roman general Pompey the remaining sisters, wives, mistresses and children of Mithridates VI in Pontus were put to death. Plutarch writing in his lives (Pompey v.45) states that Mithridates' sister and five of his children took part in Pompey's triumphal procession on this return to Rome in 61 BC.

The Cappadocian Greek nobleman and high priest of the temple-state of Comana, Cappadocia Archelaus had descended from Mithridates VI. He claimed to be a son of Mithridates VI, however chronologically Archelaus may have been a maternal grandson of the Pontic King, who his father was Mithridates VI’s favorite general may had married one of the daughters of Mithridates VI.

Literature[link]

The poet A. E. Housman alludes to Mithridates' antidote, also known as mithridatism, in the final stanza of his poem "Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff" in ''A Shropshire Lad''. :''There was a king reigned in the East: :''There, when kings will sit to feast, :''They get their fill before they think :''With poisoned meat and poisoned drink. :''He gathered all that springs to birth :''From the many-venomed earth; :''First a little, thence to more, :''He sampled all her killing store; :''And easy, smiling, seasoned sound, :''Sate the king when healths went round. :''They put arsenic in his meat :''And stared aghast to watch him eat; :''They poured strychnine in his cup :''And shook to see him drink it up: :''They shook, they stared as white’s their shirt: :''Them it was their poison hurt. :''–I tell the tale that I heard told. :''Mithridates, he died old.'' ::– A. E. Housman, ''A Shropshire Lad'' The legend also appears in Alexandre Dumas's novel ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. The demise of Mithridates VI is detailed in the 1673 play ''Mithridate'' written by Jean Racine. This play is the basis for several 18th century operas including one of Mozart's earliest, known most commonly by its Italian name, ''Mitridate, re di Ponto'' (1770). He is the subject of the opera ''Mitridate Eupatore'' (1707) by Alessandro Scarlatti. In ''The Grass Crown'', the second in the ''Masters of Rome'' series, Colleen McCullough, the Australian writer, describes in detail the various aspects of his life – the murder of Laodice (sister-wife of Mithridates VI of Pontus) Roman Consul, quite alone and surrounded by the Pontic army, orders Mithridates to leave Cappadocia immediately and go back to Pontus – which he does.

In Dorothy L. Sayers' Detective Novel "Strong Poison", from 1929, the protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey, refers to Mithridates' measures to survive poisoning; as well as Albert Einstein's theory of Special Relativity, when the protagonist warns not to trust someone who looks straight in your eye: as they're trying to distract you from seeing something, "..even the path light travels is bent".

''The Last King'' is an historical novel by Michael Curtis Ford about the King and his exploits against the Roman Republic. Mithridates is a major character in Poul Anderson's novel ''The Golden Slave.'' Mithridates of Pontus is mentioned by E. E. "Doc" Smith in ''Triplanetary'', the first novel of the famous ''Lensman'' science fiction series. In the story, Mithridates was supposed to be one of the humans possessed by a member of an evil alien race bent on remaking human civilization into its own image.

In the novel ''Mithridates is Dead'' (Spanish: ''Mitrídates ha muerto''), Ignasi Ribó traces parallelisms between the historical figures of Mithridates and Osama Bin Laden. Within a postmodern narrative of the making and unmaking of history, Ribó suggests that the September 11 attacks on the United States closely paralleled the massacre of Roman citizens in 88 B.C. and prompted similar consequences, namely the imperialist overstretch of the American and Roman republics respectively. Furthermore, he suggests that the ensuing Mithridatic Wars were one of the key factors in the demise of Rome's republican regime, as well as in the spread of the Christian faith in Asia Minor and eventually throughout the whole Roman Empire. The novel implies that the current events in the world might have similar, unforeseen consequences.

See also[link]

Bosporan Kingdom

Mithridatism (Mithridatization)

Mithridatic Wars

Roman Crimea

References[link]

"Poem LVII: Terence, this is stupid stuff." A Shropshire Lad. A.E. Housman (1896)

Further reading[link]

Duggan, Alfred, ''He Died Old: Mithradates Eupator, King of Pontus'', 1958.

Ford, Michael Curtis, ''The Last King: Rome's Greatest Enemy'', New York, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004, ISBN 0-312-27539-0

McGing, B. C. ''The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus'' (''Mnemosyne'', Supplements: 89), Leiden, Brill Academic Publishers, 1986, ISBN 90-04-07591-7 [paperback]

Cohen, Getzel M., ''Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands and Asia Minor'' (Berkeley, 1995).

Ballesteros Pastor, Luis. ''Mitrídates Eupátor, rey del Ponto''. Granada: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Granada, 1996, ISBN 84-338-2213-6.

Ribó, Ignasi, ''Mitrídates ha muerto'', Madrid, Bubok, 2010, ISBN 978-84-9981-114-7 (free e-book)

Mayor, Adrienne, ''The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy'' (Princeton, PUP, 2009).

External links[link]

Second and Third Mithridatic War

Livius.org: Mithridates VI Eupator

Category:Rulers of Pontus Category:Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom Category:Ancient Persian people Category:Ancient child rulers Category:132 BC births Category:63 BC deaths Category:Deaths by blade weapons Category:1st-century BC Asian rulers

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There are many people in history who are commonly appended with the phrase "''the Great''", or who were called that or an equivalent phrase in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes such as ''e Bozorg'' and ''e azam'' in Persian and Urdu respectively.

In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to be a colloquial version of the Old Persian title "Great King". This title was first used by the conqueror Cyrus II of Persia.

The Persian title was inherited by Alexander III of Macedon (336–323 BC) when he conquered the Persian Empire, and the epithet "Great" eventually became personally associated with him. The first reference (in a comedy by Plautus) assumes that everyone knew who "Alexander the Great" was; however, there is no earlier evidence that Alexander III of Macedon was called "''the Great''".

The early Seleucid kings, who succeeded Alexander in Persia, used "Great King" in local documents, but the title was most notably used for Antiochus the Great (223–187 BC).

Later rulers and commanders began to use the epithet "the Great" as a personal name, like the Roman general Pompey. Others received the surname retrospectively, like the Carthaginian Hanno and the Indian emperor Ashoka the Great. Once the surname gained currency, it was also used as an honorific surname for people without political careers, like the philosopher Albert the Great.

As there are no objective criteria for "greatness", the persistence of later generations in using the designation greatly varies. For example, Louis XIV of France was often referred to as "The Great" in his lifetime but is rarely called such nowadays, while Frederick II of Prussia is still called "The Great". A later Hohenzollern - Wilhelm I - was often called "The Great" in the time of his grandson Wilhelm II, but rarely later.

Rulers[link]

Abbas I of Persia (1571–1629), Shah of Iran

Akbar (1542–1605), ruler of the Mughal Empire of South Asia, mainly India

Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), French aristocrat

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), King of Macedonia, Persia, Greece, Egypt, and all of Mesopotamia

Alexander I of Georgia (1386–1446), King of Georgia

Alfonso III of León (c. 848-910), King of León, Galicia and Asturias

Alfred the Great (848/849-899), King of Wessex

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC), ruler of the Seleucid Empire

Ashoka the Great (c. 304–232 BC), Indian emperor of the Maurya dynasty

Ashot I of Iberia “the Great”(died 826/830), presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia),

Askia Mohammad I (c. 1442–1538), ruler of the Songhai Empire

Bhumibol Adulyadej (born 1927), King of Thailand

Bolesław I Chrobry (967-1025), sometimes called "the Great", first King of Poland

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the following section)

Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (1736–1809), founder and ruler of the Rattanakosin Kingdom (in what is now Thailand)

Cnut the Great (c. 985 or 995-1035), King of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden

Casimir III the Great (1310–1370), King of Poland

Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Empress of Russia

Chandragupta II (reigned 375-413/415), also known as Vikramaditya, ruler of the Gupta empire in India

Charlemagne (died 814), King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans

Chulalongkorn (1853–1910), King of Siam (now Thailand)

Chlothar II (584-629), King of Neustria and King of the Franks

Conrad, Margrave of Meissen (c. 1097-1157), Margrave of Meissen

Constantine I (c. 272-337), Roman emperor

Cyaxares the Great (c. 625-585 BC), third king of Media

Cyrus the Great (c. 600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), founder and ruler of the Persian or Achaemenid Empire

Darius the Great (550 – 486 BC), third ruler of the Persian Empire

Devapala (died 850), ruler of the Pala Empire in the Indian subcontinent

Dionysius I, Greek tyrant of Syracuse

Ferdinand I of León and Castile (c. 1015–1065), King of León and Count of Castile

Frederick the Great (1712–1786), King of Prussia

Genghis Khan (1162?-1227), founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire

Gero (c. 900–965), ruler of Marca Geronis, a very large march in Europe

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (1594–1632), King of Sweden, founder of the Swedish Empire, and noted military leader

Gwanggaeto the Great, King of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea

Hanno the Great, the name of three leaders of Carthage, in the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd centuries BC

Henry I, Duke of Burgundy (946–1002)

Henry IV of France (1553–1610), King of France and King of Navarre

Herod the Great (73/74 BC-4 BC), King of Judea

Hugh the Great (898-956), Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris

Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France

Hugh I, Count of Vermandois (1057–1101)

Humphrey I de Bohun (died c. 1123), Anglo-Norman aristocrat

Ivan III of Russia (1440–1505), Tsar of Russia

John I of Portugal (1358–1433), King of Portugal and the Algarve

John II of Aragon (1398–1479), King of Aragon and, through his wife, King of Navarre

Justinian I (483-565), Byzantine Emperor

Kamehameha I (c. 1758-1819), first King of Hawai'i

Kanishka (died c. 127), ruler of the Kushan Empire in Central Asia and parts of India

Kvirike III of Kakheti (1010–1029), King of Kakheti in eastern Georgia

Kublai Khan (1215–1294), Mongol ruler in the 13th century and Emperor of China; founder of the Yuan Dynasty

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1172–1240), Prince of Gwynedd and de facto ruler of most of Wales

Louis I of Hungary (1326–1382), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

Mangrai the Great (1238–1317), Lanna, northern Thailand

Emperor Meiji (1852–1912), Emperor of Japan

Mircea I of Wallachia (1355–1418)

Mithridates II of Parthia (died 88 BC), ruler of the Parthian Empire (in present day Iran)

Mithridates VI of Pontus (134 BC–63 BC), ruler of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom

Mstislav I of Kiev (1076–1132), Grand Prince of Kievan Rus

Naresuan (1555–1605), King of Ayutthaya

Narai (1633–1688), King of Ayutthaya (in what is now modern Thailand)

Odo the Great (died c. 735), Duke of Aquitaine

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (912-973)

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (603-683), ruler of the Mayan city-state of Palenque

Parakramabahu I of Polonnaruwa (1123–1186), King of Sri Lanka

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (died 1075), King of Croatia

Peter the Great (1672–1725), Tsar of Russia

Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285), King of Aragon and King of Sicily

Pompey (106 BC-48 BC), military and political leader of the late Roman Republic, rival of Julius Caesar

Radama I (1793–1828), first king of greater Madagascar

Raja Raja Chola I (c. 947-1014), Indian emperor of the Cholas.

Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014–1044), Tamil King of India

Ramesses II (reigned 1279 BC – 1213 BC), considered the greatest pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Ram Khamhaeng (around 1237 to 1247-1298), King of Sukhothai (in present day Thailand)

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona (1082–1131), also Count of Provence and various other counties

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878), King of Gwynedd (in present day Wales)

Roman the Great (after 1160-1205), Grand Prince of Kiev

Saladin (c. 1138-1193), Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, and victor over the Crusaders

Samudragupta (c. 335–375), ruler of the Gupta empire in the Indian subcontinent

Sancho III of Navarre (c. 992-1035), King of Kingdom of Navarre

Sargon of Akkad (died c. 2215 BC), ruler of the Akkadian Empire

Sejong the Great (1397–1450), Korean king

Shapur II (309-379), king of the Sassanid Empire, Persia

Simeon I of Bulgaria (864/865-927), ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire

Stephen III of Moldavia (1433–1504), Prince of Moldavia (Romania)

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia (c. 1308-1355), King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks

Taksin (1734–1782), King of the Thonburi Kingdom (Thailand)

Tamar (1160-1123), Queen of the Georgian Empire

Timur (1336–1405), better known as Tamerlane, founder of the Timurid Dynasty

Theobald II, Count of Champagne (1090–1151), Count of Blois and of Chartres as Theobald IV, Count of Champagne and of Brie

Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths, regent of the Visigoths and a viceroy of the Byzantine Empire

Theodosius I (347-395), Roman emperor

Tigranes the Great (140-55 BC), Emperor of Armenia

Tiridates III of Armenia (285-339), King of Armenia

Umar (c. 586 to 590–644), second caliph of the Muslim Empire

Valdemar I of Denmark (1131–1182), King of Denmark

Valentinian I (364-375), Roman Emperor

Vladimir I of Kiev (c. 958-1015), ruler of Kievan Rus

Vytautas (c. 1350-1430), archduke of the Lithuanian Grand Duchy

William I, Count of Burgundy (1020–1087), Count of Burgandy and Mâcon

William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969-1030), also Count of Poitou

Xerxes I (519-465 BC), King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire (Persia)

Yu the Great (c. 2200-2100 BC), legendary ruler in ancient China

Religious figures[link]

Abraham the Great of Kashkar (ca. 492-586), monk and saint of the Assyrian Church of the East

Abraham Kidunaia (died c. 366, hermit, priest, and Christian saint of Mesopotamia

Albertus Magnus (1193/1206–1280), medieval German philosopher and theologian

Anthony the Great (c. 251–356), early Christian saint of Egypt

Babai the Great (c. 551–628), Assyrian church leader

Basil of Caesarea (330-379), Greek bishop and theologian

Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lotharingia (also listed in the previous section)

Euthymius the Great (377-473), abbot and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint

Gertrude the Great (1256-c. 1302), German Benedictine, mystic, theologian and Roman Catholic saint

Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604)

Hiyya the Great, 3rd-century rabbi, Palestine

Pope John Paul II (1920–2005)

Pope Leo I (c. 391 or 400-461)

Macarius of Egypt (c. 300-391), Egyptian hermit

Pope Nicholas I (c. 800-867)

Photius I of Constantinople (c. 810–c. 893), Eastern Orthodox saint and Patriarch of Constantinople

William of Maleval (died 1157), founder of the Catholic congregation of Williamites

Other[link]

Beli Mawr, a figure in medieval Welsh literature and genealogies

Emmy the Great, folk singer

Matteo Rosso the Great, Roman politician and father of Pope Nicholas III

Prokop the Great, Hussite general in Bohemia

See also[link]

Epithet

List of monarchs by nickname

List of nicknames of European Royalty and Nobility: G-I

James, son of Zebedee, also known as James the Greater, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus

Ajax (mythology), called Ajax the Greater

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, whose common honorific "Mahatma" means "Great Soul"

Notes[link]

Category:Monarchs Great, List of people known as The Category:Greatest Nationals Category:Epithets

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name	Edward Elmer Smith
pseudonym	E. E. "Doc" Smith
birth name	Edward Elmer Smith
birth date	May 02, 1890
birth place	Sheboygan, Wisconsin
death date	August 31, 1965
death place	Seaside, Oregon
occupation	Food Engineer and Writer
nationality	American
period	Science Fiction 1928–1965
genre	Space Opera
influenced	Space Travel Fiction,Scientific Developments }}

Edward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and (to family) Ted (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965) was a food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and early science fiction author who wrote the ''Lensman'' series and the ''Skylark'' series, among others. He is sometimes referred to as the father of space opera.

Biography[link]

Family and education[link]

Edward Elmer Smith was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin on May 2, 1890 to Fred Jay Smith and Caroline Mills Smith, both staunch Presbyterians of British ancestry. His mother was a teacher born in Michigan in February 1855; his father was a sailor, born in Maine in January 1855 to an English father. They moved to Spokane, Washington the winter after Edward Elmer was born, where Mr. Smith was working as a contractor in 1900. In 1902 the family moved to Seneaquoteen, near the Pend Oreille River, in Kootenai County, Idaho. He had four siblings, Rachel M. born September 1882, Daniel M. born January 1884, Mary Elizabeth born February 1886 (all of whom were born in Michigan), and Walter E. born July 1891 in Washington. In 1910, Fred and Caroline Smith and their son Walter were living in the Markham Precinct of Bonner County, Idaho; Fred is listed in census records as a farmer.

Smith worked primarily as a manual laborer until he injured his wrist, at the age of 19, while escaping from a fire. He attended the University of Idaho. He was installed in the 1984 Class of the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame. He entered its prep school in 1907, and graduated with two degrees in Chemical Engineering in 1914. He was president of the Chemistry Club, the Chess Club, and the Mandolin and Guitar Club, and captain of the Drill and Rifle Team; he also sang the bass lead in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. His undergraduate thesis was ''Some Clays of Idaho'', co-written with classmate Chester Fowler Smith, who died in California of tuberculosis the following year, after taking a teaching fellowship at Berkeley. It is not known whether the two were related.

On October 5, 1915, in Boise, Idaho he married Jeanne Craig MacDougall, the sister of his college roommate, Allen Scott (Scotty) MacDougall. (Her sister was named Clarissa MacLean MacDougall; the heroine of the ''Lensman'' novels would later be named Clarissa MacDougall.) Jeanne MacDougall was born in Glasgow, Scotland; her parents were Donald Scott MacDougall, a violinist, and Jessica Craig MacLean. Her father had moved to Boise, Idaho when the children were young, and later sent for his family; he died while they were en route in 1905. Jeanne's mother, who remarried businessman and retired politician John F. Kessler in 1914 worked at, and later owned, a boarding house on Ridenbaugh Street.

The Smiths had three children:

Roderick N., born June 3, 1918 in the District of Columbia (employed as a design engineer at Lockheed Aircraft).

Verna Jean (later Verna Smith Trestrail), born August 25, 1920 in Michigan, his literary executor until her death in 1994. (Her son Kim Trestrail is now the executor.) Robert A. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Verna. Clarissa M. (later Clarissa Wilcox), born December 13, 1921 in Michigan.

Early chemical career and the beginning of ''Skylark''[link]

After college, Smith was a junior chemist for the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., developing standards for butter and for oysters. Smith may have served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War I, but in what capacity is not known Smith apparently requested exemption from the draft, partly because his wife was solely dependent on him, and partly perhaps because of his service as a civilian chemist in the war effort.

On one evening in 1915, the Smiths were with visiting his former classmate from the University of Idaho, Dr. Carl Garby, who had also moved to Washington, D.C. They lived near the Smiths in the Seaton Place Apartments in Washington with his wife, Lee Hawkins Garby. A long discussion about journeys into outer space ensued. Then, it was suggested to Smith that he should write down his ideas and speculations as a story about interstellar travel. Although he was interested, Smith thought that some amount of romantic elements would be required as well—a task that he found himself uncomfortable with.

Mrs. Garby then made an offer to take care of the love interest and the romantic dialogue, and Smith decided to give it a try. The sources of inspirations for the main characters in the novel were themselves. The "Seatons" were based on the Smiths while the "Cranes" were drawn from the Garbys. About one-third of ''The Skylark of Space'' was completed by the end of 1916, when Smith and Garby gradually abandoned work on it.

Smith earned his master's degree in chemistry from the George Washington University in 1917, studying under Dr. Charles E. Munroe. Smith completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering, in 1918, emphasizing food engineering with a thesis entitled ''The effect of bleaching with oxides of nitrogen upon the baking quality and commercial value of wheat flour'', which was published in 1919. Warner and Fleischer instead give the thesis title as ''The Effect of the Oxides of Nitrogen upon the Carotin Molecule — C40H56'', which is difficult to explain. Sam Moskowitz instead gives the date of the degree as 1919, which may reflect the differences between the thesis submission date, its defense date, and the degree certification date.

Writing ''Skylark''[link]

In 1919 Dr. Smith was hired as chief chemist for F. W. Stock & Sons of Hillsdale, Michigan, at one time the largest family-owned mill east of the Mississippi, working on doughnut mixes.

Late in 1919, after moving to Michigan, one evening Smith was baby-sitting (presumably for Roderick) while his wife attended a movie; he resumed work on ''The Skylark of Space'', finishing it in the spring of 1920. He submitted it to many book publishers and magazines, spending more in postage than he would eventually receive for its publication. He received an encouraging rejection letter from Bob Davis, editor of ''Argosy'', in 1922, saying that he liked the novel personally, but that it was too far out for his readers. (According to Warner, but no other source, Dr. Smith began work on the sequel, ''Skylark III'', before the first book was accepted.) Finally, upon seeing the April 1927 issue of ''Amazing Stories'', he submitted it to the magazine; it was accepted, initially for $75, later raised to $125. It was published in the August–October 1928 issues. It was such a success that managing editor T. O'Conor Sloane requested a sequel before the second installment had been published.

Mrs. Garby was not interested in collaborating further, so Dr. Smith began work on ''Skylark Three'' on his own. It was published in the August through October 1930 issues of ''Amazing.'' (In 1930 the Smiths were living in Michigan, at 33 Rippon Avenue in Hillsdale.) This was as far as he had planned to take the ''Skylark'' series; it was praised in ''Amazing'''s letter column, and he was paid 3/4¢ per word, surpassing ''Amazing'''s previous record of half a cent.

The early 1930s: between ''Skylark'' and ''Lensman''[link]

Dr. Smith then began work on what he intended as a new series, starting with ''Spacehounds of IPC,'' which he finished in the autumn of 1930. In this novel he took pains to avoid the scientific impossibilities which had bothered some readers of the ''Skylark'' novels. Even in 1938, after he had written ''Galactic Patrol'', Dr. Smith considered it his finest work; he later said of it, "This was really scientific fiction; not, like the Skylarks, pseudo-science"; and even at the end of his career he considered it his only work of true science fiction. It was published in the July through September 1931 issues of ''Amazing'', but with unauthorized changes by Sloane. Fan letters in the magazine complained about the novel's containment within the solar system, and Sloane sided with the readers. So when Harry Bates, editor of Astounding Stories, offered Smith 2¢/word—payable on publication—for his next story, he agreed; this meant that it could not be a sequel to ''Spacehounds.''

This book would be ''Triplanetary'', "in which scientific detail would not be bothered about, and in which his imagination would run riot." Indeed, characters within the story point out its psychological and scientific implausibilities, and sometimes even seem to suggest self-parody. At other times they are conspicuously silent about obvious implausibilities. The January 1933 issue of ''Astounding'' announced that ''Triplanetary'' would appear in the March issue, and that issue's cover illustrated a scene from the story, but ''Astounding'''s financial difficulties prevented the story from appearing. Dr. Smith then submitted the manuscript to ''Wonder Stories'', whose editor, Charles D. Hornig, rejected it, later boasting about the rejection in a fanzine. He finally submitted it to ''Amazing'', which published it beginning in January 1934, but for only half a cent a word. Shortly after it was accepted, F. Orlin Tremaine, the new editor of the revived ''Astounding'', offered one cent a word for ''Triplanetary;'' when he learned that he was too late, he suggested a third ''Skylark'' novel instead.

In the winter of 1933-4 Dr. Smith worked on ''The Skylark of Valeron'', but he felt that the story was getting out of control; he sent his first draft to Tremaine, with a distraught note asking for suggestions. Tremaine accepted the rough draft for $850, and announced it in the June 1934 issue, with a full-page editorial and a three-quarter page advertisement. The novel was published in the August 1934 through February 1935 issues. ''Astounding'''s circulation rose by 10,000 for the first issue, and its two main competitors, ''Amazing'' and ''Wonder Stories'' fell into financial difficulties, both skipping issues within a year.

The ''Lensman'' series[link]

In January 1936, a time period where he was already an established science fiction writer, he took a job for salary plus profit-sharing, as a food technologist (a cereal chemist) at the Dawn Doughnut Company of Jackson, Michigan. This initially entailed almost a year's worth of eighteen-hour days and seven-day workweeks. Individuals who knew Dr. Smith confirmed that he had a role in developing mixes for doughnuts and other pastries, but the contention that he developed the first process for making powdered sugar adhere to doughnuts cannot be substantiated. Dr. Smith was reportedly dislocated from his job at Dawn Doughnuts due to pre-war rationing in early 1940.

Dr. Smith had been contemplating writing a "space-police novel" since early 1927; once he had "the Lensmen's universe fairly well set up", he reviewed his science fiction collection for "cops-and-robbers" stories. He cites Clinton Constantinescue's "War of the Universe" as a negative example, and Starzl and Williamson as positive ones. Tremaine responded extremely positively to a brief description of the idea.

Once Dawn Doughnuts became profitable in late 1936, Dr. Smith wrote an eighty-five page outline for what became the four core ''Lensman'' novels; in early 1937 Tremaine committed to buying them. Segmenting the story into four novels required considerable effort to avoid dangling loose ends; Dr. Smith cites Edgar Rice Burroughs as a negative example. After the outline was complete, he wrote a more detailed outline of ''Galactic Patrol'', plus a detailed graph of its structure, with "peaks of emotional intensity and the valleys of characterization and background material." He notes, however, that he was never able to follow any of his outlines at all closely, as the "characters get away from me and do exactly as they damn please." After completing the rough draft of ''Galactic Patrol'', he wrote the concluding chapter of the last book in the series, ''Children of the Lens.'' ''Galactic Patrol'' was published in the September 1937 through February 1938 issues of ''Astounding''; unlike the revised book edition, it was not set in the same universe as ''Triplanetary''.

''Gray Lensman'', the second book in the series, appeared in ''Astounding's'' October 1939 through January 1940 issues. (Note that the frequent British spelling "grey" is simply a recurrent mistake, starting with the cover of the first installment; Moskowitz's usage, ''"The Grey Lensman",'' is even harder to justify.) ''Gray Lensman'' (and its cover illustration) was extremely well received. Campbell's editorial in the December issue suggested that the October issue was the best issue of ''Astounding'' ever, and ''Gray Lensman'' was first place in the ''Analytical Laboratory'' statistics "by a lightyear", with three runners-up in a distant tie for third place. The cover was also praised by readers in ''Brass Tacks'', and Campbell noted, "We got a letter from E. E. Smith saying he and Hubert Rogers agreed on how Kinnison looked."

Dr. Smith was the guest of honor at Chicon I, the second World Science Fiction Convention, held in Chicago over Labor Day weekend 1940, giving a speech on the importance of science fiction fandom entitled "What Does This Convention Mean?" He attended the convention's masquerade as C.L. Moore's Northwest Smith, and met fans living near him in Michigan, who would later form the Galactic Roamers, which previewed and advised him on his future work.

Dr. Smith worked for the US Army between 1941 and 1945. An extended segment in the novel version of ''Triplanetary'', set during World War II, suggests intimate familiarity with explosives and munitions manufacturing. Some biographers cite as fact that, just as Smith's protagonist in this segment lost his job over failure to approve sub-standard munitions, Smith did as well. Smith began work for the J. W. Allen Company (a manufacturer of doughnut and frosting mixes) in 1946 and worked for them until his professional retirement in 1957.

Retirement and late writing[link]

After Dr. Smith retired, he and his wife lived in Clearwater, Florida, in the fall and winter, driving the smaller of their two trailers to Seaside, Oregon, each April, often stopping at science fiction conventions on the way. (Dr. Smith did not like to fly.) In 1963, he was presented the inaugural First Fandom Hall of Fame award at the 21st World Science Fiction Convention in Washington, D.C. Some of his biography is captured in an essay by Robert A. Heinlein, which was reprinted in the collection ''Expanded Universe'' in 1980. There is a more detailed, although allegedly error-ridden, biography in Sam Moskowitz's ''Seekers of Tomorrow.''

Robert A. Heinlein and Dr. Smith were friends. (Heinlein dedicated his 1958 novel ''Methuselah's Children'' "To Edward E. Smith, Ph.D.") Heinlein reported that E. E. Smith perhaps took his "unrealistic" heroes from life, citing as an example the extreme competence of the hero of ''Spacehounds of IPC''. He reported that E. E. Smith was a large, blond, athletic, very intelligent, very gallant man, married to a remarkably beautiful, intelligent red-haired woman named MacDougal (thus perhaps the prototypes of 'Kimball Kinnison' and 'Clarissa MacDougal'). In Heinlein's essay, he reports that he began to suspect Smith might be a sort of "superman" when he asked Dr. Smith for help in purchasing a car. Smith tested the car by driving it on a back road at illegally high speeds with their heads pressed tightly against the roof columns to listen for chassis squeaks by bone conduction—a process apparently improvised on the spot.

In his non-series novels written after his professional retirement, ''Galaxy Primes'', ''Subspace Explorers'', and ''Subspace Encounter'', E. E. Smith explores themes of telepathy and other mental abilities collectively called "psionics", and of the conflict between libertarian and socialistic/communistic influences in the colonization of other planets.

Lord Tedric[link]

Dr. Smith wrote a novelette entitled "Lord Tedric", published in ''Other Worlds'' in 1952, and which was almost completely forgotten.

Much later, 13 years after Dr. Smith's death, Gordon Eklund published another novel of the same name about the same fictional character, introducing it as "a new series conceived by E. E. 'Doc' Smith". Eklund later went on to publish the other novels in the series, one or two under the pseudonym "E. E. 'Doc' Smith" or "E. E. Smith". The protagonist possesses similar heroic qualities common to the heroes in Dr. Smith's original novels and can communicate with an extra-dimensional race of beings known as The Scientists, whose archenemy is Fra Villion, a mysterious character described as a dark knight, skilled in whip-sword combat, and evil genius behind the creation of a planetoid-sized "iron sphere" armed with a weapon capable of destroying planets. As a result, Dr. Smith is believed by many to be the unacknowledged progenitor of themes that would appear in ''Star Wars''.

Critical opinion[link]

Smith's novels are generally considered to be the classic space operas, and he is sometimes called the "first nova" of twentieth century science fiction.

Dr. Smith expressed a preference for inventing fictional technologies that were not strictly impossible (so far as the science of the day was aware) but highly unlikely: "the more highly improbable a concept is—short of being contrary to mathematics whose fundamental operations involve no neglect of infinitesimals—the better I like it" was his phrase.

Extending the ''Lensman'' universe[link]

''Vortex Blasters'' (also known as ''Masters of the Vortex'') is set in the same universe as the ''Lensman'' novels. It is an extension to the main storyline which takes place between ''Second Stage Lensmen'' and ''Children of the Lens'', and introduces a different type of psionics from that used by the Lensmen. ''Spacehounds of IPC'' is not a part of the series, despite occasional erroneous statements to the contrary. (It is listed as a novel in the series in some paperback editions of the 1970s.)

Robert A. Heinlein reported that Smith had planned a seventh ''Lensman'' novel, set after the events described in ''Children of the Lens'', which was unpublishable at that time (the early 1960s). Smith told Heinlein that the new novel proceeded inexorably from unresolved matters in ''Children'', a statement easily supported by a careful reading of ''Children''. Careful searches by people who knew Smith well (including Frederik Pohl, Smith's editor, and Verna Smith Trestrail, Smith's daughter) have failed to locate any material related to such a story. Smith apparently never wrote any of it down.

On 14 July 1965, barely a month before his death, Smith gave written permission to William B. Ellern to continue the ''Lensman'' series, which led to the publishing of "Moon Prospector" in 1965 and ''New Lensman'' in 1976. Smith's long-time friend, Dave Kyle, wrote three authorized added novels in the Lensman series that provided background about the major non-human Lensmen.

Influence on science and the military[link]

Smith was widely read by scientists and engineers from the 1930s into the 1970s. Literary precursors of ideas which arguably entered the military-scientific complex include SDI (''Triplanetary''), stealth (''Gray Lensman''), the OODA Loop, C3-based warfare, and the AWACS (''Gray Lensman'').

An influence that is inarguable was described in an 11 June 1947 letter to Doc from John W. Campbell (the editor of ''Astounding'' magazine, where much of the ''Lensman'' series was originally published). In it, Campbell relayed Captain Cal Laning's acknowledgment that he had used Smith's ideas for displaying the battlespace situation (called the "tank" in the stories) in the design of the United States Navy's ships' Combat Information Centers. "The entire set-up was taken specifically, directly, and consciously from the ''Directrix''. In your story, you reached the situation the Navy was in—more communication channels than integration techniques to handle it. You proposed such an integrating technique and proved how advantageous it could be. You, sir, were 100% right. As the Japanese Navy—not the hypothetical Boskonian fleet—learned at an appalling cost."

One underlying theme of the later ''Lensman'' novels was the difficulty in maintaining military secrecy—as advanced capabilities are revealed, the opposing side can often duplicate them. This point was also discussed extensively by John Campbell in his letter to Doc. Also in the later Lensman novels, and particular after the "Battle of Klovia" broke the Boskonian's power base at the end of ''Second Stage Lensmen'', the Boskonian forces and particularly Kandron of Onlo reverted to terroristic tactics to attempt to demoralize Civilization, thus providing an early literary glimpse into this modern problem of both law enforcement and military response. The use of "Vee-two" gas by the pirates attacking the ''Hyperion'' in ''Triplanetary'' (in both magazine and book appearances) also suggests anticipation of the terrorist uses of poison gases.

The beginning of the story the ''Skylark of Space'' describes in relative detail the protagonists research into separation of platinum group residues, subsequent experiments involving electrolysis and the discovery of a process evocative of cold fusion (over 50 years before Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann). He describes a nuclear process yielding large amounts of energy and producing only negligible radioactive waste—which then goes on to form the basis of the adventures in the Skylark books. Smith's general description of the process of discovery is highly evocative of Röntgen's descriptions of his discovery of the X-ray.

Another theme of the ''Skylark'' novels involves precursors of modern information technology. The humanoid aliens encountered in the first novel have developed a primitive technology called the "mechanical educator", which allows direct conversion of brain waves into intelligible thought for transmission to others or for electrical storage. By the third novel in the series, ''Skylark of Valeron'', this technology has grown into an "Electronic Brain" which is capable of computation on all "bands" of energy—electromagnetism, gravity, and "tachyonic" energy and radiation bands included. This is itself derived from a discussion of reductionist atomic theory in the second novel, ''Skylark Three'', which brings to mind modern quark and sub-quark theories of elementary particle physics.

Literary influences on Smith's writing[link]

In his 1947 essay "The Epic of Space", Smith listed (by last name only) authors he enjoyed reading: John W. Campbell, L. Sprague de Camp, Robert A. Heinlein, Murray Leinster, H. P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt (specifically ''The Ship of Ishtar'', ''The Moon Pool'', ''The Snake Mother'', and ''Dwellers in the Mirage'', as well as the character John Kenton), C.L. Moore (specifically Jirel of Joiry), Roman Frederick Starzl, John Taine, A.E. van Vogt, Stanley G. Weinbaum (specifically Tweerl), and Jack Williamson. In a passage on his preparation for writing the Lensman novels, he notes that Clinton Constantinescu's "War of the Universe" was not a masterpiece, but says that Starzl and Williamson were masters; this suggests that Starzl's Interplanetary Flying Patrol may have been an influence on Smith's Triplanetary Patrol, later the Galactic Patrol. The feeding of the Overlords of Delgon upon the life-force of their victims at the end of chapter five of ''Galactic Patrol'' seems a clear allusion to chapter twenty-nine of ''The Moon Pool;'' Merritt's account of the Taithu and the power of love in chapters twenty-nine and thirty-four also bear some resemblance to the end of ''Children of the Lens.'' Smith also mentions Edgar Rice Burroughs, complaining about loose ends at the end of one of his novels.

Smith acknowledges the help of the Galactic Roamers writers' workshop, plus E. Everett Evans, Ed Counts, an unnamed aeronautical engineer, Dr. James Enright, and Dr. Richard W. Dodson. Smith's daughter, Verna, lists the following authors as visitors to the Smith household in her youth: Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, Heinlein, Dave Kyle, Bob Tucker, Williamson, Frederik Pohl, Merritt, and the Galactic Roamers. Smith cites Bigelow's ''Theoretical Chemistry–Fundamentals'' as a justification for the possibility of the inertialess drive. There is also an extended reference to Rudyard Kipling's "Ballad of Boh Da Thon" in ''Gray Lensman'' (chapter 22, "Regeneration," in a conversation between Kinnison and MacDougall).

Sam Moskowitz's biographical essay on Smith in ''Seekers of Tomorrow'' states that he regularly read ''Argosy'' magazine, and everything by H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Moskowitz also notes that Smith's "reading enthusiasms included poetry, philosophy, ancient and medieval history, and all of English literature." (Smith's grandson notes that he spoke, and sang, German.) The influence of these is not readily apparent, except in the Roman section of ''Triplanetary'', and in the impeccable but convoluted grammar of Smith's narration. Some influence of nineteenth century philosophy of language may be detectable in the account in ''Galactic Patrol'' of the Lens of Arisia as a universal translator, which is reminiscent of Frege's strong realism about ''Sinn'', that is, thought or sense.

Both Moskowitz and Smith's daughter Verna Smith Trestrail report that Smith had a troubled relationship with John Campbell, the editor of ''Astounding''. It is noteworthy that Smith's most successful works were published under Campbell, but the degree of influence is uncertain. The original outline for the ''Lensman'' series had been accepted by F. Orlin Tremaine, and Smith angered Campbell by showing loyalty to Tremaine at his new magazine, ''Comet'', when he sold him "The Vortex Blaster" in 1941. Campbell's announcement of ''Children of the Lens'', in 1947, was less than enthusiastic. Campbell later said that he published it only reluctantly, though he praised it privately, and bought little from Smith thereafter.

Derivative works and influence on popular culture[link]

Randall Garrett wrote a parody entitled ''Backstage Lensman'' which Dr. Smith reportedly enjoyed. Harry Harrison also parodied Smith's work in the novel, ''Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers''.

Garrett also included a reference to Dr. Smith in his ''Lord Darcy'' novels; the badge of the Royal Messengers resembles the Lens, and the spell to activate one was devised by a wizard named Dr Edward Elmer.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke's space battle in ''Earthlight'' was based on the attack on the Mardonalian fortress in chapter seven of ''Skylark Three''.

Steve 'Slug' Russell wrote one of the first computer games, ''Spacewar!'', with inspiration from the space battles from the Lensman series.

The GURPS role-playing game includes a worldbook based on the Lensman series.

There is a Japanese ''Lensman'' anime, but it is more an imitation of ''Star Wars'' than a translation of the ''Lensman'' novels. Efforts to print translations of the associated manga in the United States in the early 1990s without payment of royalties to the Smith family were successfully blocked in court by Verna Smith Trestrail with the help of several California science fiction authors and fans.

In his biography, George Lucas reveals that the ''Lensman'' novels were a major influence on his youth. J. Michael Straczynski, creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'', also has acknowledged the influence of the Lensman books. Superman-creator Jerry Siegel was impressed, at an early age, with the optimistic vision of the future presented in ''Skylark of Space''.

Two members of the Green Lantern Corps are named Arisia and Eddore.

Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment and Universal Studios are in negotiation with the Smith estate for an 18-month film rights option on the series.

Fictional appearances[link]

Doc himself appears as a character in the 2006 novel ''The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril'' by Paul Malmont. The novel describes friendship and rivalry among pulp writers of the 1930s. He also appears as "Lensman Ted Smith" in the 1980 novel ''The Number of the Beast'' by Robert A. Heinlein.

Bibliography[link]

Series[link]

Lensman # ''Triplanetary'' (Amazing Stories Jan–Apr 1934, Fantasy Press 1948) # ''First Lensman'' (Fantasy Press 1950) # ''Galactic Patrol'' (Astounding Stories Sep 1937–Feb 1938, Fantasy Press 1950) # ''Gray Lensman'' (Astounding Stories Oct 1939–Jan 1940, Fantasy Press 1951) # ''Second Stage Lensmen'' (Astounding Stories Nov 1941–Feb 1942, Fantasy Press 1953) # ''The Vortex Blaster'', also known as ''Masters of the Vortex'' ("The Vortex Blaster", ''Comet Stories'' July 1941, "Storm Cloud on Deka", ''Astonishing Stories'' June 1942, "The Vortex Blaster Makes War", ''Astonishing Stories'' Oct 1942. Revised and expanded book version Gnome Press 1960) # ''Children of the Lens'' (Astounding Stories Nov 1947–Feb 1948, Fantasy Press 1954)

Skylark # ''The Skylark of Space'' (written 1915–1920 with Mrs. Lee Hawkins Garby, Amazing Stories Aug–Oct 1928, Buffalo Book Co. 1946. Paperback edition, heavily revised and without the co-author credit, Pyramid Books 1958) # ''Skylark Three'' (Amazing Stories Aug–Oct 1930, Fantasy Press 1948) # ''Skylark of Valeron'' (Astounding Stories Aug 1934–Feb 1935, Fantasy Press 1949) # ''Skylark DuQuesne'' (Worlds of If Jun–Oct 1965, Pyramid Books 1966)

Subspace # ''Subspace Explorers'' (Canaveral Press 1965, Ace 1968; the first 30 pages of the book appeared in Astounding Jul 1960) # ''Subspace Encounter'' (1983)

Family D'Alembert (with Stephen Goldin—in fact only parts of the first book are by Smith, the rest is by Goldin based on Smith's novella) # ''Imperial Stars'' (1976) # ''Stranglers' Moon'' (1976) # ''The Clockwork Traitor'' (1976) # ''Getaway World'' (1977) # ''Appointment at Bloodstar'', also known as The Bloodstar Conspiracy (1978) # ''The Purity Plot'' (1978) # ''Planet of Treachery'' (1981) # ''Eclipsing Binaries'' (1983) # ''The Omicron Invasion'' (1984) # ''Revolt of the Galaxy'' (1985)

Lord Tedric (by Gordon Eklund based on an EES novella) # ''Lord Tedric'' (1978) # ''The Space Pirates'' (1979) # ''Black Knight of the Iron Sphere'' (1979) # ''Alien Realms'' (1980)

Non-series novels and collections[link]

''Spacehounds of IPC'' (Amazing Stories Jul–Sep 1931, Fantasy Press 1947, Ace 1966)

''The Galaxy Primes'' (Amazing Stories Mar–May 1959, Ace 1965. Dr. Smith expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the editing of this novel.)

''Masters of Space'' (1976) (with E. Everett Evans)

Non-fiction[link]

''Some Clays of Idaho'', (with Chester Fowler Smith) undergraduate thesis, University of Idaho, 1914. ''The effect of bleaching with oxides of nitrogen upon the baking quality and commercial value of wheat flour'', Ph.D. thesis, George Washington University, 1919, approximately 100 pp. "A study of some of the chemical changes which occur in oysters during their preparation for market", Bureau of Chemistry, U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 740, 1919, 24 pp. "Viscosity and Baking Quality", ''Cereal Chemistry'' 2, 178-89, 1925. "Report of the Subcommittee on Hydrogen-Ion Concentration with Special Reference to the Effect of Flour Bleach", ''Cereal Chemistry'' 9, 424–8, 1932.

"Catastrophe" (''Astounding Science Fiction'' May 1938).

Worldcon Guest of Honor Speech, originally presented at Chicon I on September 1, 1940. To be published in ''Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches'', edited by Mike Resnick and Joe Siclari, ISFiC Press, August 23, 2006.

"The Epic of Space" in ''Of Worlds Beyond: The Science of Science Fiction Writing'', edited by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (Fantasy Press 1947; includes a biographical sketch).

Introduction to ''Man of Many Minds'' by E. Everett Evans (Fantasy Press 1953).

Secondary sources[link]

Contains a biographical sketch on p. 4, which is included in the excerpt at Steve Jackson Games.

Ethan Fleischer Selectively Annotated English Primary Source Bibliography.

Ethan Fleischer Z9M9Z: A Lensman Website

Gharlane of Eddore (1998). Lensman FAQ http://www.chronology.org/noframes/lens/.

Robert A. Heinlein (1979). "Larger Than Life", written for MosCon I, published in .

Sam Moskowitz (1942). "Doughnut Specialist Smith Blasts Vortices in His Spare Time", ''Astonishing Stories'', June 1942, p. 6. Biographical note accompanying "Storm Cloud on Deka", which is inconsistent with other sources. Unsigned; attribution per Ellik, Evans, & Lewis p. 262.

Frederik Pohl (1964). "Ode to a Skylark", ''If'', May 1964. Reprinted in Lucchetti, pp. 11–15.

* (2009) Doc “Skylark” Smith

8pp. Reprint of an article in ''Fantasy Review'', 1948. Describes itself as an interview, but is mostly an essay with some extended quotations.

Verna Smith Trestrail (presumably 1979). MosCon I Keynote Speech, unpublished typewritten notes.

Harry Warner (1938). Brief biography in Spaceways Volume 1, #1.

References[link]

External links[link]

Edward E. Smith at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

''Skylark Three'' (original magazine version)

''Spacehounds of IPC'' (original magazine version)

Category:1890 births Category:1965 deaths Category:American science fiction writers Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Boise, Idaho Category:People from Sheboygan, Wisconsin Category:People from Seaside, Oregon Category:Writers from Wisconsin Category:University of Idaho alumni Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Worldcon Guests of Honor Category:American Presbyterians Category:Writers from Idaho

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