author
William Carpenter
1830–1896
A 19th-century printer and polemicist, he is best remembered for arguing against the globe model of the Earth in short, provocative works that kept a fringe idea in public debate. His writing offers a striking glimpse into the world of Victorian dissent and self-published controversy.
1 Audiobook
One Hundred Proofs That the Earth Is Not a Globe
by William Carpenter
About the author
Born on February 25, 1830, William Carpenter was an English printer and author who became known for promoting the flat-Earth idea in the nineteenth century. Working from a printer's background helped him circulate his own arguments widely, especially in pamphlets aimed at general readers rather than specialists.
His best-known work is One Hundred Proofs the Earth is Not a Globe, a compact and combative book that gathered the claims he used to challenge mainstream science. Carpenter was active in both England and the United States, and his writing helped keep zetetic, anti-globe arguments visible during the late Victorian period.
Today he is remembered less as a literary figure than as an example of how print culture could spread unconventional beliefs. For listeners interested in unusual corners of nineteenth-century nonfiction, his work captures the energy, confidence, and controversy of a writer determined to persuade the public.