author
J. A. (John Augustine) Zahm
1851–1921
A priest, scientist, and restless traveler, he helped shape the early intellectual life of the University of Notre Dame while writing widely on science, faith, and exploration. He also published under the pen name H. J. Mozans, bringing a lively curiosity to subjects ranging from evolution to South America.
3 Audiobooks
Woman in Science With an Introductory Chapter on Woman's Long Struggle for Things of the Mind
by J. A. (John Augustine) Zahm
Up the Orinoco and down the Magdalena
by J. A. (John Augustine) Zahm
From Berlin to Bagdad and Babylon
by J. A. (John Augustine) Zahm
About the author
Born in New Lexington, Ohio, in 1851, John Augustine Zahm entered the University of Notre Dame as a teenager, graduated with honors, joined the Congregation of Holy Cross, and was ordained a priest in 1875. He soon became one of Notre Dame's most visible scholars, teaching science and helping build the university's reputation for serious academic work.
Zahm wrote extensively on science, religion, travel, and history. He was especially known for trying to show that Catholic thought and modern science could speak to each other rather than stand apart. Some of his later books appeared under the pseudonym H. J. Mozans, a name he used for works on subjects including women in science and the history of scientific thought.
He was also an explorer as well as an author, traveling in South America and turning those journeys into popular books. Zahm died in Munich in 1921, but his legacy remained tied to Notre Dame, where he was remembered as an energetic teacher, writer, and public intellectual with unusually broad interests.