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General William Wilson
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American army officer and storekeeper who apparently came from Northumberland Co., and by 1792 was operating a store that was located very near to Fort Franklin, Pennsylvania, as mentioned in Franklin Evening News, Centennial Edition, Franklin, PA, (5 Sep 1895).
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Science Quotes by General William Wilson (1 quote)
3 Kegs Senica oil 50 Dllrs.
[One of the earliest U.S. documents recording a quantity of petroleum with its price, also shown in pounds and shillings as L56. 5s.]
[One of the earliest U.S. documents recording a quantity of petroleum with its price, also shown in pounds and shillings as L56. 5s.]
— General William Wilson
Day book entry (Nov 1797). John E. Reynolds Collection, Crawford Historical Society, Meadville, Pennsylvania. Cited in Drake Well Foundation, Oil Industry History (2000), Vols 1-5, 23. Seneca Indians for centuries had cribbed oil seeps to collect petroleum for various uses, and trading. (It was not until 27 Aug 1859 that the world's first oil well was drilled in Titusville, PA.)
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
