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John Cleves Symmes, Jr. (November 5, 1780〔 – May 28, 1829〔) was an American Army officer, trader, and lecturer. Symmes is best known for his 1818 variant of the (now-discredited) Hollow Earth Theory, which introduced the concept of openings to the inner world at the poles. ==Early life== John Cleves Symmes, Jr. was born in Sussex County, NJ, son of Thomas and Mercy (''née'' Harker) Symmes. He was named for his uncle John Cleves Symmes, a delegate to the Continental Congress, a Colonel in the Revolutionary War, Chief Justice of New Jersey, father-in-law of US President William Henry Harrison and pioneer in the settlement and development of the Northwest Territory.〔 Though Justice Symmes had no male children, the younger John Cleves Symmes was often referred to by his later military rank, or with the suffix of "Jr.", so as to distinguish him from his famous uncle. Symmes "received a good common English education"〔 and at on March 26, 1802, the age of twenty-two, obtained a commission as an Ensign in the US Army〔 (with the assistance of his uncle).〔 He was commissioned into the 1st Infantry Regiment and was promoted to Second Lieutenant on May 1, 1804, to First Lieutenant on July 29, 1807 and to Captain on January 20, 1813. In 1807, Symmes fought a pistol duel with Lieutenant Marshall. Symmes suffered a wound in his wrist; Marshall one in his thigh. Afterwards, the two men became friends. On December 25, 1808, Symmmes married Mary Anne Lockwood (''nee.'' Pelletier), a widow with six children, all of whom he was to raise alongside his own children by Mary.〔 During the War of 1812, Symmes was initially stationed in Missouri Territory until 1814 when 1st Infantry Regiment was sent to Canada, arriving just in time to provide relief to American forces at Battle of Lundy's Lane.〔 Symmes also served during the Siege of Fort Erie,〔 and continued in his Army career until being honorably discharged on June 15, 1815.〔 After leaving the Army, Symmes moved to St. Louis (then a frontier settlement) and went into business as a trader. He sold supplies to Army, and obtained a license to trade with the Fox Indians. However, his business venture was unsuccessful and in 1819, Symmes moved his family to Newport, KY.〔 But while failing as a trader, Symmes was contemplating the rings of Saturn and developing his theory of the Hollow Earth—a theory which he would spend the remainder of his life promoting. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Cleves Symmes, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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