THE CHICAGO MAP SOCIETY
60 W Walton St
Chicago, IL 60610
312-255-3689

September 2005, 5:30 PM
Marquette Myths
Speaker: Carl J. Weber ( DeVry University)
Location: The Newberry Library

The 1673 Marquette–Jolliet Mississippi expedition of discovery endures as documented truth. In the 1920s and in 1960, although falling on deaf ears, formidable challenges to the Marquette–Jolliet story arose. They were based on allegations of fabricated documents said to have been concocted in the 1670s and 1850s. Today, scholars of the highest repute do indeed admit that the legitimacy of certain documents can no longer be sustained. However, as a historical “smoking gun,” the Marquette Autograph map, “drawn in his own hand,” is preserved by scholars as adequate to confirm the historicity of the expedition. Professor Weber, through comparative historical cartographic analysis, claims his evidence, prima facie, shows that Marquette’s Autograph map could not have been drawn before 1813. If true, the motives and implications of these findings are sure to stir up a historical hornet’s nest.