Coleman Sellers Biography 1827–1907 Page 7
A QUICK LEARNER AND CONSTANT CURIOSITY – STORIES ABOUT COLEMAN SELLERS FROM THE WRITER
In his early manhood he amused himself and others at odd moments with feats of sleight-of-hand, in which he was
quite as expert as many professional prestidigitators. Besides the entertainment of informal gatherings of friends, he turned this accomplishment to account during the Civil War by giving performances at the hospitals for the amusement of the wounded soldiers, or elsewhere for the benefit of the Sanitary Commission, in which he was actively interested. While the proficiency he attained in this direction was chiefly a source of amusement to himself and others, it is a highly characteristic instance of mental concentration.
It was applied most effectively when serving as a member of the commission appointed by the University of Pennsylvania in accordance with the bequest of the late Henry Seybert to investigate the phenomena of modern spiritualism. These researches were begun in 1884, and continued for three years, during which time Dr. Sellers’ special training was of great value to his fellow com- missioners in devising tests and suggesting methods of investigation and observation. His strong common sense, his thorough knowledge of natural laws, have predisposed him at all times to challenge those who claim occult powers, and have enabled him to detect the impostures of charlatans. While he is entirely untrammeled by prejudice and his mind is ever open to the reception of new truths, he will never resort to hypothetical new “forces” to explain alleged phenomena until he has exhausted the possibilities of those forces of Nature which are already recognised.
COLEMAN SELLERS THE PROFESSOR AND HIS MEMBERSHIPS
It is characteristic of Dr. Sellers that throughout his life he has ever been ready to impart his knowledge to others, and he excels in the happy faculty of placing a subject clearly before the learner without emphasising the latter’ s want of knowledge. He has always sympathised with organisations for experimental investigation in physics and mechanics, and as a mere youth in Cincinnati he attached himself to the “Mechanics Institute” of that city, whose meetings he attended and in whose hall he gave his first lectures.
Soon after his return to Philadelphia he took up, with earnest zeal, the work of the now venerable Franklin Institute, serving on numerous important investigating committees, and contributing largely to the interest of the meetings by timely papers, discussions, and lectures. He served as vice-president for several years, and was elected president for five successive terms. He is still one of the board of managers, his service in this capacity having now extended over a long period, and he is also one of the publication committee that edits the Institute’s Journal. He has taken an active part in organising and managing the public exhibitions held from time to time under the auspices of the Institute, notably that of 1874.
When the writer was secretary of the Institute, a series of scientific lectures was projected by the managers. These lectures were to be delivered by the secretary, and were to be illustrated with brilliant experiments, produced on an unprecedented scale of magnitude. The lectures took place in 1865 and the six succeeding years, in the Academy of Music, before audiences of 3000 persons. Dr. Sellers took an active and most useful part in the work of preparation, and acted as stage manager in charge of the large corps of assistants required to manipulate apparatus for experiments that were then performed on a scale never before attempted ; and it is largely due to his energy, ingenuity, and resourcefulness that the lectures proved so successful.
He was a charter member, and is a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and for their
meeting of 1880 wrote his often quoted paper entitled, The Metric System: Is it Wise to Introduce it Into our Machine Shops? His well-known antagonism to all attempts to enforce the use of the metric system by legislative enactment has induced him to write freely on the subject in the technical and newspaper press, and he also prepared, in connection with the late Dr. William P. Tatham, the adverse report which was adopted by the Franklin Institute in 1876. [continue]