HJ MOZANS

HJ Mozans was the pseudonym of John Augustine Zahm (1851-1921) who received education in New Lexington (Ohio), his birthplace. He was inclined to study classics from early on and joined in 1867 a course for aspiring Catholic priests at Notre Dame. Here he gravitated towards the idea that science and progress were not against the Church-endorsed ideals. In 1875, Zahm was made professor and co- director of the Science Department at Notre Dame and same year, on June 4, he was ordained to priesthood. Pope Leo XIII awarded Zahm the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1895.

Zahm spent much time travelling through the US and Europe, taking note of recent inventions. His first book, Sound and Music (1892), was followed by Evolution and Dogma (1896).

In April 1896, he was made the Procurator General in Rome where he developed a keen interest in Dante.

After he lost the Vatican's confidence in 1906, Zahm resumed writing and travelling, displaying an appetite for adventure. The results of his travels in South America are Up the Orinoco and Down the Magdelena (1910) and The Conquistadores: Along the Andes and Down the Amazon (1911); therein he used the name H J Mozans for the first time. Woman in Science was sent to press prior to his 1913 expedition in the heart of the continent. It soon began to make an impact and was followed by Great Inspirers (1917), a study of the life of four women who inspired St Jerome and Dante.

Mozans had planned two more books, of which the manuscripts for From Berlin to Baghdad and Babylon were edited and published posthumously. His study of Dante could never begin.