[Ads-l] Further Antedating of "Black Hole" (Astrophysics)

[Laurence Horn]

> On May 27, 2024, at 8:15 PM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
> 
> SPECIAL NOTE TO DAVID A. DANIEL:  I implore you not to read this posting.  It directly concerns an issue that caused you in 2008 to contribute the most (far and away the most) anti-antedating message ever on this listserv.  You will risk getting even more upset if you read this.
> 

That sounds intriguing. I don’t recall that incident. But I am relieved that in 1963 the “experts on degenerate stars” were astrophysicists speaking at the AAAS rather than celebrity gossips interviewed on E! or Access Hollywood.  
> **
> 
> The astrophysical term "black hole" was often said to have been coined in 1967 by the great scientist John A. Wheeler, indeed when he died his obituaries had headlines like "coiner of 'black hole.'"  I discovered that science writer Ann Ewing used "black hole" in an article in 1964.  Now I have found a still earlier occurrence:
> 
> black hole (OED, astrophysical meaning, 1964)
> 
> 1963 _Washington Daily News_ 31 Dec. 12/2 (Newspapers.com)  CLEVELAND, Dec. 31 – Space may be peppered with "black holes."  This was suggested at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting here by experts on degenerate stars.
> 
> Fred Shapiro
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org