The reliable and readable scientific writing published in the Scientific American has instructed and entertained readers since its foundation in 1845, and the magazine occupies a unique position in the culture of science. Early readers felt an affinity for the magazine because of its personal contact with inventors. Clarifying patent procedures, the magazine's editors answered readers' questions, stimulated their creativity, and encouraged their ambitions. By being accessible to, and interactive with, its readers, whether nineteenth-century tinkerers or twentieth-century rocket scientists, the magazine had a significant impact on the development, understanding, and acceptance of science in America. Throughout the twentieth century, it remained at the forefront in providing informative articles about current and emerging technology, covering the space age, the development of modern pharmaceuticals, and philosophical debates about science. The Scientific American, indeed, has chronicled the inventive spirit of America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The first...